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BUFFALO, NY - On Wednesday night, Buffalo scored an emphatic win over Mid-American Conference East Division leader Kent State. At 4 pm this Saturday in Oxford, OH, the Bulls get a shot at the other team currently ahead of them in the MAC East standings ­ the Miami RedHawks.

UB (13-11, 8-7 MAC) is arguably the hottest team in the conference, having won four straight and eight of its last 10 overall. Just over a month ago, the Bulls had a 1-5 mark in the MAC ­ making even a home pre-quarterfinal MAC Tournament contest seem unattainable. Now, UB has its followers considering the potential for - albeit still a bit of a long shot - a first-round bye.

With a victory, the Bulls can secure their first season with better than a .500 mark since the 1997-98 campaign, when they went 15-13.

Daniel Gilbert

Junior forward Daniel Gilbert (Detroit, MI/Cass Technical) led Buffalo with a career-high 22 points against Kent State. Both he and freshman center Yassin Idbihi (Tangier, Morocco/Schloss Hagerhof) hit four three-point shots. Meanwhile, junior point guard Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) turned in another spectacular all-around performance with 13 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.

Miami (15-9, 10-5 MAC) had its three-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday with a 62-54 loss to Northern Illinois. The defensive-minded RedHawks have held their opponents to just 60.2 points per game this season, but conversely are averaging only 62.0 points at the offensive end of the court.

Two RedHawks' guards - senior Juby Johnson (15.7 points per game) and junior Chet Mason (10.7) - are currently averaging in double figures.

In the meeting between the two schools in early January, Miami posted a 72-62 win at Alumni Arena. The RedHawks - who hold a 10-1 edge in the all-time series - jumped out to an 11-2 lead and did not relinquish it for the remainder of the contest.

Buffalo has lost in each of its five trips to face Miami at Millet Hall.