TUESDAY'S GAME: Miami wraps up a three-game homestand over a seven-day stretch, opening Mid-American Conference play against Buffalo at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 15. This is just the second time Miami has opened MAC play against Buffalo with the Bulls collecting a 79-72 win on January 7, 2015 in Millett Hall. 

MAC OPENERS: The RedHawks open their 74th Mid-American Conference season on Tuesday, Dec. 15 when they face Buffalo. Miami is 50-23 in MAC openers, however the RedHawks have lost their last two MAC-opening games, both at the hands of Central Michigan with one coming on the road and one at Millett Hall. Miami's last win in a MAC opener was at Bowling Green on January 2, 2018, 77-72. When opening MAC play at home, Miami is 27-8. The RedHawks' last MAC-opening win at home was against Northern Illinois on January 3, 2017, 69-67.  

COLEMAN-LANDS LEADS NATION IN ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO: Redshirt junior guard Isaiah Coleman-Lands has been stingy with turnovers and currently leads the nation in assist/turnover ratio (13.00) with 13 assists to a mere one turnover through four games. His lone turnover came late in the first half at Wright State on Dec. 5. Since then, Coleman-Lands has played 68:50 turnover-free minutes for the RedHawks while handing out eight assists. 

ABOUT BUFFALO: The Bulls enter Tuesday's game with a 2-2 record and 0-1 MAC mark. Buffalo is coming off an 81-64 win against Mercyhurst on Thursday. The Bulls dropped an 86-78 decision at Bowling Green on December 6 in their MAC opener. Buffalo has four players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Jeenathan Williams' 19.8 ppg (3rd MAC) and 9.3 rpg (2nd MAC). Jayvon Graves follows at 17.3 ppg and a team-leading 4.0 apg, while Ronaldo Segu averages 14.8 ppg and Keishawn Brewton averages 11.0 ppg. 

THE SERIES WITH THE BULLS: This is the 49th meeting between Miami and Buffalo with the RedHawks owning a 26-22 lead in the series. When playing in Oxford, Miami is 14-8 against the Bulls. Miami snapped a four-game losing skid to the Bulls with an 85-79 win in the opening round of the MAC Tournament in Buffalo on March 9, 2020, in what would be the final game of last season for the RedHawks after an abrupt end to the tournament due to COVID 19. Buffalo's last win in the series was on March 3, 2020 in Buffalo, 75-69, and its last win at Millett Hall was on January 14, 2020, 83-78. The Bulls have won the last two meetings in Oxford. Miami's last win in Millett Hall came on January 20, 2018, 84-81.

TELEVISION: Tuesday's game against Buffalo will be carried live on ESPN+ or ESPN3. Steve Baker will handle play-by-play duties, while Randy Hollowell will serve as the analyst. 

RADIO: In its second year of its partnership with Van Wagner, the Miami Sports Network, powered by Pepsi, continues its coverage of Miami Basketball with a group of affiliates blanketing most of Southwest Ohio and Southeast Indiana. The radio broadcast also will be carried via the TuneIn App. Terry Bridge will call the action. Tune-in to one of Miami's gameday affiliates:

WFMG-FM 101.3 (Richmond, Ind.)
WMOH-AM 1450 (Hamilton, Ohio)
WONE-AM 980 (Dayton, Ohio)
TuneIn App

LAIRY REMAINS PERFECT FROM FREE-THROW LINE: After sinking 10-of-10 free throws in the season opener against North Dakota, junior guard Mekhi Lairy has continued his perfect free-throw shooting through four games (18-of-18). Nationally, Lairy has the third-most made free throws while posting a 1.000 free-throw percentage. He ranks second in the MAC to Toledo's Marreon Jackson's 28-of-28 free throws through seven games. Lairy's season-opening performance against UND tied several others at Miami for the single-game free-throw percentage record (minimum of 10 attempts). The last time a Miami player was perfect from the charity stripe while hitting double figures in free throws was when Willie Moore went 12-for-12 from the line at Bowling Green on Jan. 25, 2014.

REDHAWKS LEAD MAC IN FEWEST TURNOVERS: Averaging 9.25 turnovers per game, Miami leads the MAC in fewest turnovers. Miami has committed fewer turnovers than its opponent in three games and the same number in its other game this season. The RedHawks turned the ball over just four times against Mount St. Joseph on December 11, their second straight game with fewer than 10 turnovers. 

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Senior forward Dalonte Brown notched a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds against Western Illinois on Dec. 9. It was his first double-double since Jan. 7, 2020 and the second for a RedHawk this season. Redshirt junior forward James Beck notched a 14-point, 10-rebound effort in the season opener against North Dakota. He also recorded 10 rebounds against Mount St. Joseph on Dec. 11 to lead all rebounders.

20/20 VISION: Junior guard Mekhi Lairy became the most-recent RedHawk to log a 20-point scoring effort with a career-high-tying 21 points against Mount St. Joseph on Dec. 11. Lairy was 8-of-13 (.615) from the floor against the Lions. Sophomore Dae Dae Grant posted the first 20-point scoring effort for the RedHawks with 21 points against North Dakota in the season opener on Nov. 25.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Entering the RedHawks' next game with 954 career points, senior forward Dalonte Brown is just 46 away from becoming 37th member of Miami's 1,000 Point Club. This season, Brown is averaging 9.8 ppg. At this pace, he would hit the 1,000-point plateau in five games.

ODDS 'N ENDS
Redshirt junior guard Isaiah Coleman-Lands posted a career-hight 19 points against Mount St. Joseph on Dec. 11.

The last time Miami opened MAC play in December was on December 4, 2005 when the RedHawks defeated Central Michigan, 75-62, in Mount Pleasant, Mich. 

UP NEXT: Miami hits the road for a game at Bradley on Saturday, Dec. 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. (ET). Miami and Bradley have met just one other time, with the RedHawks collecting a 71-55 win in Millett Hall on December 21, 2019.