2018–19 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the State University of New York at Buffalo during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by fourth-year head coach Nate Oats, played their home games at Alumni Arena in Amherst, New York as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

2018–19 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball
Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic Goliath Champions
MAC East Division and regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 15
Record32–4 (16–2 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaAlumni Arena
Seasons
2018–19 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 15 Buffalo 16 2   .889 32 4   .889
Bowling Green 12 6   .667 22 12   .647
Kent State 11 7   .611 22 11   .667
Akron 8 10   .444 17 16   .515
Miami (OH) 7 11   .389 15 17   .469
Ohio 6 12   .333 14 17   .452
West
Toledo 13 5   .722 25 8   .758
Central Michigan 10 8   .556 23 12   .657
Eastern Michigan 9 9   .500 15 17   .469
Northern Illinois 8 10   .444 17 17   .500
Ball State 6 12   .333 16 17   .485
Western Michigan 2 16   .111 8 24   .250
2019 MAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The Bulls posted a school-record 32 wins, including an NCAA tournament victory over former head coach Bobby Hurley and Arizona State. Their season, which to that point was punctuated by a 13-game winning streak and MAC conference titles (regular and post-season), ended in a 78–58 loss to Texas Tech in the second round. At season's end, Oats departed to become head coach at Alabama despite signing an extension with Buffalo a week earlier.[1]

Previous season

edit

The bulls finished the 2017–18 season 27–9, 15–3 in MAC play to win the MAC East Division and regular season championships. They defeated Central Michigan, Kent State, and Toledo to win the MAC tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 13 seed in the South region, they upset Arizona in the First Round before losing to Kentucky in the Second Round.

2018 recruiting class

edit
College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jeenathan Williams
SF
Rochester, NY Prolific Prep 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sep 24, 2017 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Ronaldo Segu
PG
Orlando, Florida Orlando Christian Prep 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Oct 1, 2017 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Buffalo Bulls commits". Rivals.com.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

edit

[2]

2018–19 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 1 Montrell McRae 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Sr Cleveland Central Catholic
South Plains College
Cleveland, OH
G 2 Jeremy Harris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Page
Gulf Coast State College
Greensboro, NC
G 3 Jayvon Graves 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 193 lb (88 kg) So St. Vincent–St. Mary Malvern, OH
G 4 Davonta Jordan 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Jr Montverde Academy Cocoa, FL
G 5 C. J. Massinburg 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Sr South Oak Cliff Dallas, TX
G 10 Ronaldo Segu 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Orlando Christian Prep Orlando, FL
F 11 Jeenathan Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Fr Prolific Prep Rochester, NY
G 20 Colby Moultrie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Canisius HS North Tonawanda, NY
F 21 Dominic Johnson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Catholic Central Windsor, ON
G 22 Dontay Caruthers 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Sr East
Midland/Indian Hills
Rochester, NY
G 23 Jamon Bivens 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Fayette County HS Atlanta, GA
F 24 Tra'von Fagan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Cedar Falls
Florida SouthWestern State
Waterloo, IA
F 33 Nick Perkins 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Milan HS Ypsilanti, MI
C 41 Brock Bertram 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So Apple Valley Apple Valley, MN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 4 November 2018

Schedule and results

edit

The 2018-19 schedule was released on August 1, 2018.[3] The Bulls participated in the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic in Belfast, Northern Ireland.[4]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 26, 2018*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Daemen W 97–50 
 14  Segu   9  Harris   7  Segu  Alumni Arena (2,860)
Amherst, NY
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2018*
4:00pm, ESPN+
Saint Francis (PA) W 82–67  1–0
 16  Perkins   9  Perkins   5  Tied  Alumni Arena (1,852)
Amherst, NY
November 9, 2018*
9:00pm, ESPNU
at No. 13 West Virginia W 99–94 OT 2–0
 43  Massinburg   14  Massingburg   5  Tied  WVU Coliseum (12,657)
Morgantown, WV
November 12, 2018*
8:00pm, ESPN+
No. 25 at Southern Illinois W 62–53  3–0
 11  Tied   11  Perkins   5  Jordan  SIU Arena (4,373)
Carbondale, IL
November 21, 2018*
7:00pm, ESPN+
No. 22 Dartmouth
Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic campus game
W 110–71  4–0
 18  Perkins   10  Perkins   6  Graves  Alumni Arena (3,573)
Amherst, NY
November 24, 2018*
2:00pm, ESPN3
No. 22 Marist
Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic campus game
W 76–49  5–0
 21  Massinburg   7  Perkins   8  Harris  Alumni Arena (4,589)
Amherst, NY
November 30, 2018*
5:30am, BBC Sport
No. 21 vs. Milwaukee
Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic semifinals
W 96–77  6–0
 21  Harris   10  McRae   4  Tied  SSE Arena 
Belfast, Northern Ireland
December 1, 2018*
10:30am, CBSSN
No. 21 vs. San Francisco
Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic championship
W 85–81  7–0
 22  Perkins   8  Tied   5  Graves  SSE Arena 
Belfast, Northern Ireland
December 5, 2018*
7:00pm, ESPN3
No. 17 Le Moyne W 89–55  8–0
 20  Caruthers   13  Massinburg   10  Massinburg  Alumni Arena (4,412)
Amherst, NY
December 8, 2018*
4:00pm, ESPN+
No. 17 at St. Bonaventure W 80–62  9–0
 19  Graves   9  Massinburg   7  Jordan  Reilly Center (5,480)
St. Bonaventure, NY
December 15, 2018*
2:00pm, ESPN+
No. 14 Southern Illinois W 73–65  10–0
 20  Perkins   11  Perkins   4  Jordan  Alumni Arena (5,513)
Amherst, NY
December 18, 2018*
8:00pm, ESPN2
No. 14 at Syracuse W 71–59  11–0
 25  Massinburg   12  Perkins   5  Massinburg  Carrier Dome (18,620)
Syracuse, NY
December 21, 2018*
8:30pm, FS1
No. 14 at No. 20 Marquette L 85–103  11–1
 20  Harris   7  Tied   7  Jordan  Fiserv Forum (17,567)
Milwaukee, WI
December 29, 2018*
7:00pm, ESPN+
No. 21 at Canisius W 87–72  12–1
 22  Massinburg   9  Tied   6  Caruthers  Koessler Athletic Center (2,196)
Buffalo, NY
MAC regular season
January 4, 2019
9:00pm, CBSSN
No. 20 at Eastern Michigan W 74–58  13–1
(1–0)
 18  McRae   12  Harris   4  Massinburg  Convocation Arena (2,378)
Ypsilanti, MI
January 8, 2019
7:00pm, ESPN+
No. 19 Toledo W 110–80  14–1
(2–0)
 34  Harris   12  Graves   7  Massinburg  Alumni Arena (5,144)
Amherst, NY
January 12, 2019
12:00pm, CBSSN
No. 19 Miami (OH) W 88–64  15–1
(3–0)
 17  Harris   9  Massinburg   6  Caruthers  Alumni Arena (6,177)
Amherst, NY
January 15, 2019
7:00pm, ESPN+
No. 16 at Western Michigan W 88–79  16–1
(4–0)
 20  Harris   11  Harris   3  Jordan  University Arena (2,179)
Kalamazoo, MI
January 18, 2019
7:00pm, ESPNU
No. 16 Eastern Michigan W 77–65  17–1
(5–0)
 31  Massinburg   6  Tied   8  Jordan  Alumni Arena (6,193)
Amherst, NY
January 22, 2019
8:00pm, ESPN+
No. 14-T at Northern Illinois L 75–77  17–2
(5–1)
 23  Massinburg   8  Harris   4  Massinburg  Convocation Center (1,284)
DeKalb, IL
January 25, 2019
6:30pm, CBSSN
No. 14-T at Kent State W 88–79  18–2
(6–1)
 20  Tied   8  Tied   5  Caruthers  MAC Center (5,133)
Kent, OH
January 29, 2019
7:00pm, ESPN3
No. 18 Ball State W 83–59  19–2
(7–1)
 21  Caruthers   12  Graves   4  Tied  Alumni Arena (4,747)
Amherst, NY
February 1, 2019
8:00pm, CBSSN
No. 18 at Bowling Green L 88–92  19–3
(7–2)
 28  Caruthers   9  McRae   4  Jordan  Stroh Center (5,000)
Bowling Green, OH
February 9, 2019
3:30pm, ESPN+
No. 23 Central Michigan W 90–76  20–3
(8–2)
 19  Harris   8  Harris   8  Jordan  Alumni Arena (6,437)
Amherst, NY
February 12, 2019
7:00pm, ESPN+
No. 25 at Akron W 76–70  21–3
(9–2)
 21  Massinburg   9  Perkins   2  Tied  James A. Rhodes Arena (2,646)
Akron, OH
February 15, 2019
7:00pm, ESPNU
No. 25 at Toledo W 88–82  22–3
(10–2)
 26  Perkins   10  Harris   3  Tied  Savage Arena (7,401)
Toledo, OH
February 19, 2019
7:00pm, ESPN+
No. 25 Ohio W 114–67  23–3
(11–2)
 26  Graves   8  Williams   9  Jordan  Alumni Arena (6,231)
Amherst, NY
February 22, 2019
7:00pm, ESPN2
No. 25 Kent State W 80–57  24–3
(12–2)
 27  Perkins   7  Tied   8  Jordan  Alumni Arena (6,668)
Amherst, NY
February 26, 2019
7:00pm, ESPN+
No. 21 Akron W 77–64  25–3
(13–2)
 25  Perkins   10  Massinburg   6  Massinburg  Alumni Arena (5,789)
Amherst, NY
March 1, 2019
8:00pm, CBSSN
No. 21 at Miami (OH) W 77–69  26–3
(14–2)
 20  Massinburg   10  Massinburg   6  Jordan  Millett Hall (3,026)
Oxford, OH
March 5, 2019
7:00pm, ESPN+
No. 19 at Ohio W 82–79  27–3
(15–2)
 20  Harris   8  Perkins   6  Massinburg  Convocation Arena (5,834)
Athens, OH
March 8, 2019
6:00pm, ESPNU
No. 19 Bowling Green W 84–73  28–3
(16–2)
 22  Perkins   6  Tied   8  Caruthers  Alumni Arena (6,783)
Amherst, NY
MAC Tournament
Mar 14, 2019
12:00pm, ESPN+
(1) No. 18 vs. (8) Akron
Quarterfinals
W 82–46  29–3
 23  Harris   9  Massinburg   3  Tied  Quicken Loans Arena (2,499)
Cleveland, OH
Mar 15, 2019
6:00 pm, CBSSN
(1) No. 18 vs. (5) Central Michigan
Semifinals
W 85–81  30–3
 21  Massinburg   9  Tied   4  Graves  Quicken Loans Arena (6,044)
Cleveland, OH
Mar 16, 2019
7:30 pm, ESPN2
(1) No. 18 vs. (3) Bowling Green
Championship
W 87–73  31–3
 31  Harris   10  Massinburg   4  Jordan  Quicken Loans Arena (7,813)
Cleveland, OH
NCAA tournament
March 22, 2019*
4:00 pm, TNT
(6 W) No. 15 vs. (11 W) Arizona State
First Round
W 91–74  32–3
 21  Tied   10  Tied   7  Jordan  BOK Center (12,352)
Tulsa, OK
March 24, 2019*
6:10 pm, TNT
(6 W) No. 15 vs. (3 W) No. 9 Texas Tech
Second Round
L 58–78  32–4
 17  Perkins   10  Perkins   5  Harris  BOK Center (12,606)
Tulsa, OK
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

edit
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRV2522211714142120191614-T1823252521191815Not released
Coaches'RVRV25201815152220-T2017-T14172524242320161617

References

edit
  1. ^ Casagrande, Michael (March 28, 2019). "The story behind Alabama hiring Nate Oats in 3 days". AL.com. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  2. ^ "2018-19 Men's Basketball Roster". State University at Buffalo. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  3. ^ "Defending MAC Champs Set 2018-19 Schedule". University at Buffalo. August 1, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  4. ^ "Buffalo Men's Basketball Selected To Participate In 2018 Belfast Classic". University at Buffalo. May 22, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.