Under the Radar Game of the Day: Jacksonville State at Buffalo

Jacksonville State at Buffalo, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn3

The Under the Radar Game of the Day shuffles off to Buffalo tonight as the hometown Bulls welcome in the defending Ohio Valley Conference tournament champions, Jacksonville State.  Buffalo enters tonight’s game at 1-0 following a win this past weekend over Western New York Big Four rival Canisius, 80-75.  Nick Perkins led the way with 26 points for the Bulls, while Jeremy Harris had 15 and Davonta Jordan came off the bench to score 16 and pull down 8 rebounds.  The Bulls are one of the favorites this season in a wide-open Mid-American Conference race, but need to be careful not to look past tonight’s game to their next contest, against Cincinnati in the opening round of the Cayman Islands Classic.

Ray Harper’s Jacksonville State Gamecocks did the same thing Ray Harper’s Western Kentucky teams seemed to always do last season, puling a few upsets and winning their conference tournament.  For Jax State, the OVC tourney win brought with it the school’s first-ever bid to the Big Dance.  And, at least so far this season, it appears that this team is eyeing a return trip.  The Gamecocks are 2-0 including an incredibly impressive blowout win on Monday afternoon at Richmond.  Four players scored in double-figures for the team, led by a double-double from Christian Cunningham.  If the Gamecocks can score another big road win tonight, they will establish themselves early as one of the key Under the Radar teams to keep an eye on throughout the season.