The tide is high, but I'm holding on. "The Tide is High" - Blondie
Buffalo Bulls
85 – 72
FINAL Conference
Ball State Cardinals
Mid-American Conference · Broadview Arena · January 3, 2026
Betting Lines
Spread BUF -6.5 Home covered
O/U 145.5 Over
Money BUF -298 / BALL +240
Model Predictions
Spread Total BUF win
Actual BUF +13 157 Won
Massey BUF -15.8 (-2.8) — —
Massey Totals — 140.0 (+17.0) —
Bradley-Terry — — 99% ✓
Weighted B-T — — 100% ✓
Baseline Plus ML BUF -11.7 (+1.3) 138.3 (+18.7) 83% ✓
Efficiency Plus ML ★ BUF -10.6 (+2.4) 138.7 (+18.3) 85% ✓
Baseline Tuned ML BUF -12.1 (+0.9) 137.6 (+19.4) 87% ✓
Baseline ML BUF -12.3 (+0.7) 136.4 (+20.6) 85% ✓

Predictions use only rating snapshots dated before tip-off. Parenthesised values are the signed error vs. the actual result. Model performance →

Last 5 Meetings

Feb 12, 2026 BUF 63 – 53 BALL
Feb 22, 2025 BALL 80 – 66 BUF
Feb 1, 2025 BALL 89 – 76 BUF
Jan 24, 2024 BALL 87 – 59 BUF
Jan 25, 2023 BUF 91 – 65 BALL

Team Comparison

Record & Ratings BUF BALL
Overall 17-15 12-19
Conference 7-11 7-11
Home 7-8 7-7
Away 8-6 4-11
Neutral 2-1 1-1
Last 5 3-2 1-4
Streak L2 W4
Avg Pts For 77.5 66.1
Avg Pts Against 77.0 71.4
Massey 1.2 (#151) -10.7 (#321)
Bradley-Terry 1.32 (#84) -2.80 (#345)
W. Bradley-Terry 1.59 (#89) -3.53 (#341)
RPI 0.554 (#88) 0.339 (#362)
Shooting & Four Factors BUF BALL
FG% 47.0% 39.5%
3PT% 38.4% 29.4%
REB / G 31.8 32.0
OREB / G 9.2 10.5
AST / TO 1.24 1.09
Four Factors — Offense
eFG% 55.8% 45.4%
TOV% 15.4% 17.3%
ORB% 28.9% 27.7%
FT Rate 36.3% 20.9%
Four Factors — Defense
Opp eFG% 51.2% 53.4%
Opp TOV% 18.0% 19.7%
DRB% 68.3% 66.6%
Opp FT Rate 23.6% 21.5%

Game Analysis

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