Buffalo Bulls men's basketball

Buffalo Bulls
2015–16 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team
University	State University of New York at Buffalo
Conference	MAC East Division
Location	Buffalo, NY
Head coach	Nate Oats (1st year)
Arena	Alumni Arena (Capacity: 6,100)
Nickname	Bulls
Colors	Blue and White
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA Tournament appearances
2015
Conference tournament champions
2015
Conference regular season champions
2015
Conference division season champions
2014, 2015

The Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represents the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, United States. The team currently competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East division. Buffalo began play in 1915 and joined the MAC in 1998. They won their first MAC East division title in 2014, and won a second East division title in 2015 along with their first MAC Regular-Season championship and first MAC Tournament title to earn the program's first bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The Bulls also have six appearances in the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship between 1957 and 1965 and one appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). They are coached by Nate Oats, who was hired as head coach in April 2015. Home games are played at the 6,100-seat Alumni Arena, which opened in 1982.

Conference affiliations

• 1915–16 to 1942–43 – Independent
• 1943–44 to 1944–45 – no team due to World War II
• 1945–46 to 1977–78 – Independent
• 1978–79 to 1987–88 – State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)
• 1988–89 to 1990–91 – Mideast Conference
• 1991–92 to 1993–94 – East Coast Conference
• 1994–95 to 1997–98 – Mid-Continent Conference (Mid-Con)
• 1998–99 to present – Mid-American Conference

Postseason

NCAA Division I Tournament

The Bulls have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament one time. Their record is 0–1.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2015	12	Second Round	#5 West Virginia	L 62–68

NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Bulls have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament six times. Their combined record is 5–8.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1957	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight	Capital Evansville Kentucky Wesleyan	W 75–64 W 77–75 L 68–72
1958	Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place Game	American Wagner	L 60–77 L 65–72
1959	Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place Game	Saint Michael's Williams	L 51–53 W 78–53
1960	Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place Game	Wabash Arkansas State	L 65–76 W 53–52
1963	Regional Semifinals Regional 3rd Place Game	South Carolina State Youngstown State	L 63–80 L 53–65
1965	Regional Semifinals Regional Finals	Randolph-Macon Akron	W 81–69 L 58–69

NIT results

The Bulls have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2005	Opening Round First Round	Drexel Saint Joseph's	W 81–76 L 50–55

Alumni Arena

The Buffalo Bulls play their home games at Alumni Arena, located in Amherst, New York. The arena seats 6,100 spectators and features a state of the art video-board, sound, and lighting systems.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include:

• Turner Battle: MAC Player of the Year (2005), former Bulls assistant coach
• Yassin Idbihi: basketball player for Bayern Munich
• Javon McCrea: basketball player for Medi Bayreuth of the Bundesliga
• Sam Pellom: Played for the Atlanta Hawks (1979–82) & Milwaukee Bucks (1982–83)
• Mitchell Watt, basketball player for Ironi Nes Ziona of the Israeli Basketball Super League

All-Americans

The following Buffalo players were named NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans:

• Turner Battle – 2005 (AP Honorable Mention)^[1]
• Mitchell Watt – 2012 (AP Honorable Mention)^[2]
• Javon McCrea – 2014 (AP Honorable Mention)^[3]
• Justin Moss – 2015 (AP Honorable Mention)^[4]

Academic All-Americans

The following Buffalo players were named Academic All-Americans:

• Turner Battle – 2005

Mid-American Conference award recipients

Player of the Year

• Turner Battle – 2005^[5]
• Mitchell Watt – 2012^[5]
• Javon McCrea – 2014^[5]
• Justin Moss – 2015^[6]

Tournament MVP

• Xavier Ford – 2015^[7]

Coach of the Year

• Reggie Witherspoon – 2004^[5]

Freshman of the Year

• Javon McCrea – 2011^[5]

Sixth Man of the Year

• Mark Bortz – 2005^[5]

Academic All-MAC

• Mark Bortz – 2004, 2005^[5]
• Turner Battle – 2003, 2004, 2005^[5]
• Vadim Fedotov – 2009^[5]
• John Boyer – 2010^[5]
• Byron Mulkey – 2011^[5]
• Tony Watson II – 2012^[5]
• Will Regan – 2013, 2014^[5]

All-MAC teams

All-MAC First Team

• Turner Battle – 2005^[5]
• Rodney Pierce – 2009, 2010^[5]
• Mitchell Watt – 2012^[5]
• Javon McCrea – 2012, 2013, 2014^[5]
• Justin Moss – 2015^[8]

All-MAC Second Team

• Turner Battle – 2004^[5]
• Calvin Cage – 2006^[5]
• Byron Mulkey – 2011^[5]
• Shannon Evans II – 2015^[8]

All-Freshman Team

• Yassin Idbihi – 2004^[5]
• Javon McCrea – 2011^[5]
• Jarryn Skeete – 2013^[5]
• Shannon Evans II – 2014^[5]
• Lamonte Bearden – 2015^[8]

All-Tournament Team

• Turner Battle – 2005^[5]
• Yassin Idbihi – 2005^[5]
• Max Boudreau – 2009^[5]
• Mitchell Watt – 2012^[5]

References

External links

• Official website

University at Buffalo The State University of New York   Academics Arts and Sciences Architecture and Planning Dental Medicine Education Engineering and Applied Sciences Law Libraries Management Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Nursing Pharmacy Public Health Social Work   Athletics Baseball Basketball M W Football 2015 Men's rugby Softball Men's soccer True Blue Victor E. Bull Women's volleyball Danny White Lance Leipold Nate Oats   Notable people Alumni Faculty   Media UB Reporter WBFO FM88.7 UB Today News Services   Student life The Generation The Spectrum Student Association WRUB Thunder of the East Marching Band   Buildings Abbott Hall Alfiero Center Alumni Arena Baird Hall Baldy Hall Bell Hall Bissell Hall Bonner Hall Capen Hall Center for the Arts Clark Hall Clemens Hall Cooke Hall Davis Hall Diefendorf Hall Fronczak Hall Furnas Hall Harriman Hall Hayes Hall Hochstetter Hall Jacobs Management Center Jarvis Hall Ketter Hall Knox Hall Lockwood Library Mathematics Building Millard Fillmore Academic Center Natural Sciences Complex Norton Hall O'Brian Hall Park Hall Slee Hall Squire Hall Student Union Talbert Hall UB Stadium   Campuses North Campus South Campus Downtown Campus   Around campus Amherst Duff's Famous Wings University Heights   UB miscellanea Kunz Stadium Millard Fillmore UB 2020 Amherst Audubon Field

Buffalo Bulls men's basketball Venues Alumni Arena (1982–present) Culture & lore Victor E. Bull "Victory March" People Head coaches Seasons 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

Mid-American Conference men's basketball Teams East Division Akron Zips Bowling Green Falcons Buffalo Bulls Kent State Golden Flashes Miami RedHawks Ohio Bobcats West Division Ball State Cardinals Central Michigan Chippewas Eastern Michigan Eagles Northern Illinois Huskies Toledo Rockets Western Michigan Broncos Seasons 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 Championships and awards MAC Tournament Player of the Year