Southern Indiana and Buffalo play in NIT
BOTTOM LINE: Southern Indiana plays Buffalo in the National Invitation Tournament.
The Screaming Eagles' record in OVC play is 14-9, and their record is 9-3 in non-conference play. Southern Indiana leads the OVC with 23.9 defensive rebounds per game led by Vanessa Shafford averaging 5.0.
The Bulls' record in MAC play is 14-6. Buffalo scores 73.5 points while outscoring opponents by 13.3 points per game.
Southern Indiana averages 71.5 points, 11.3 more per game than the 60.2 Buffalo gives up. Buffalo scores 10.5 more points per game (73.5) than Southern Indiana gives up (63.0).
TOP PERFORMERS: Meredith Raley is averaging 14.5 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Screaming Eagles. Shafford is averaging 12.2 points over the past 10 games.
Chellia Watson averages 1.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Bulls, scoring 20.5 points while shooting 31.9% from beyond the arc. Kirsten Lewis-Williams is averaging 12.7 points and 2.8 steals over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Screaming Eagles: 6-4, averaging 71.1 points, 34.7 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 8.2 steals and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.7 points per game.
Bulls: 7-3, averaging 70.0 points, 26.0 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 11.1 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.3 points.
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Bills head coach Sean McDermott didn't hold back. He gave a candid news conference addressing several topics that could directly impact the team's decisions for cutdown day. Teams must be at or under 53 players on their active roster by Aug. 26 at 4 p.m. ET. After hearing what McDermott said, taking in what is likely to be their two most intense practices of the week, along with other news and notes, several things stand out from this week. Advertisement One position that seemed to draw a massive reaction in the game against the Bears was the Bills' safeties — in particular, Cole Bishop, the team's second-round pick in 2024, who was with the first-team defense when healthy. Bishop was seen on the broadcast being a bit late on one catch over the middle to Bears tight end Colston Loveland, and then getting beaten by wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus for a 36-yard touchdown. It was Bishop's first preseason game of the year after he sat out the Giants game recovering from a quad injury — another source of frustration, since it's the second straight summer where Bishop's availability has been impacted by injury. McDermott had some direct words when asked about the state of his safety position. 'I think we're looking for that other safety to play alongside of (Taylor Rapp),' McDermott said. 'There's been really good moments for all those guys back there, young and some of the more veteran guys that are back there to play for us. But I think we're still looking to find, who is it going to be? And how consistent can they become and how quickly can they grow if they're a younger player?' Specifically about Bishop, McDermott was careful to uplift the young safety, but also provided a wake-up call, of sorts. 'I really feel like Cole, from the time he's come back, it's just been a short runway to this point. He continues to improve,' McDermott said. 'He has shown to this point that the ability, the skill level can be there. We're just not there yet. And so his refining process, if you will, goes one day at a time, one rep at a time. We're just kind of getting started because of what wasn't with his availability, again, it affects that.' Context may be needed with the in-game performance and some of McDermott's previous comments. On the Loveland catch, the Bills would likely want him to see the play developing and reacting a bit quicker, though that comes with the time on task that McDermott preaches about. There also needs to be some accountability on the linebackers. The Zaccheaus touchdown was a bit of a head scratcher because the defensive call put Bishop in a situation the Bills would mostly try to avoid in the regular season. The Bills dropped into a Cover-1 look with safety Damar Hamlin perched up high and linebacker Joe Andreessen serving as support in the middle of the field. 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On the rep, Bishop surrendered inside leverage to Zaccheaus with a bit too much of a reaction to the route, which is probably what caused some of McDermott's reaction. Bishop may have been expecting some help on the inside from Andreessen, and certainly some help from Hamlin to make the stop from the deep middle. However, it's still a matchup they'll try to avoid for Bishop in many cases. The replay wasn't as bad as the broadcast with all the added context from the film. Advertisement As for McDermott's warning, there have been several instances over his first eight seasons in which he has spoken candidly with reporters about a specific young player and their situation. It doesn't happen often, so when it does, there is usually intent in his words. He has long been a coach who preaches players earning opportunities, and after essentially handing Bishop the starting job in the offseason, perhaps McDermott's words were a not-so-subtle reminder that Bishop isn't guaranteed anything, and that urgency is immediately needed. It wouldn't be shocking to see Bishop play against the Buccaneers as a means for him to earn the job, even if the contest remains heavily weighted toward him. There was nothing from the first two practices of this week that indicated that the Bills were intent to make a change this late. With practices ticking down, and without a safety on the roster who would be a potential improvement to Bishop, it's far more likely the Bills begin the year with him in the starting lineup. They still really like Bishop's potential and felt good about what he showed in the starting lineup late last season. Benching a player they've spent the offseason planning to be a starter after only 11 snaps in a preseason game, in which he was the only projected starter on the field, would be an incredibly impulsive decision from an organization whose top two decision makers are generally averse to impulsive decisions. I'd chalk this up to the Bills trying to get more out of him with this message-through-the-media play. If there is one thing we know for sure about the Bills' wide receiver room, it's that they feel very good about the top three. Khalil Shakir is a known commodity as the slot receiver, Keon Coleman has made some good progress throughout the summer and has started to perform more consistently, and Joshua Palmer has fit into what the Bills are doing. After that, it's open for interpretation. 'Once you get kind of after that third person there, it's trying to figure out who the rest of them are and how they can help us,' McDermott said. 'Not only on offense, but on special teams and how we can ensure if we have someone — knock on wood — going down, that we have the right person, profile, size, speed, whatever it is to make sure we don't drop too far with that next spot.' This is undoubtedly a big week for Elijah Moore, Curtis Samuel, Tyrell Shavers, Kristian Wilkerson and Laviska Shenault. There are a pair of spots, at least, for the taking between that group of players. There's potentially a third spot for a player who helps their special teams picture. Should the Bills rest their starters once again this weekend, a massive opportunity is there for these five players, who are likely to get the bulk of the work early on. Advertisement Through Wednesday, it was abundantly clear based on their usage that the Bills are still trying to figure out which of them will stick around. At this point, Moore appears to be the safest. He has gotten a lot of work with Josh Allen because the Bills have been without Shakir since Aug. 1, and he gives them the best combination of availability and skill level. Samuel, for the first time since this summer, participated in team drills in full pads this week. His involvement on Tuesday was a bit more limited, but they ramped him up a bit more on Wednesday. It certainly looks like they're giving him every opportunity to prove that he should be one of the players they keep. He's made a couple of good plays on the ball, too, so perhaps he has done enough. It would make their lives easier, as his entire $6.91 million base salary is guaranteed in 2025. However, Samuel doesn't offer much on special teams, which is one of the things the Bills would like from their depth receivers. If there's one thing I wouldn't rule out, it's the Bills finding a trade suitor for someone like Samuel ahead of cutdown day. 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There may not be a path to the 53-man roster for him immediately, but he's a name to remember during the season — whether it's in an active roster role or on the practice squad. The Bills have a difficult decision without a clear answer, and they're quickly running out of time to make it. That's why Saturday night could mean everything for the receiver group. The Bills haven't declared whether Allen will play against the Buccaneers on Saturday for the preseason finale, but it would be more of a surprise if he did, given the proximity to the season. Allen didn't play against the Giants or the Bears in the first two weeks, and if a clue from Allen is to be believed, that could extend to the entire preseason. 'Conditioning. We did some before this last game, and I'm sure we'll do some in Tampa,' Allen said when asked what he does to prepare for a season with game reps. 'Game reps, it's a lot different. The amount of exhaustion that happens during a game, you can't really rep it. So, just making sure that I'm as in control of that as possible, making sure I'm getting extra reps conditioning.' Conceivably, Allen may have just been saying what they *would* do if he doesn't play, but it did come across as matter of fact rather than up in the air. If Allen does not play, it would mark the first time he has not taken any game reps in the preseason during his career. He's only played in one of the Bills' last three preseason finales, in 2023. If the Bills do play Allen, the 'sit, sit, play' preseason approach was done only once before in 2021. (Top photo of Cole Bishop: David Banks / Imagn Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
