# 2016–17 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the State University of New York at Buffalo during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by second-year head coach Nate Oats, played their home games at Alumni Arena as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 17–14, 11–7 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the MAC tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals to Kent State.

## Previous season

The Bulls finished the 2015–16 season 20–15, 10–8 in MAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the East Division and third place overall. They defeated Miami (OH), Ohio, and Akron to be champions of the MAC tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, they lost to Miami (FL) in the first round.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Lamonte Bearden | 1 | G | 6'3" | 160 | Sophomore | Milwaukee, WI | Transferred to Western Kentucky |
| Mory Diane | 5 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Sophomore | Detroit, MI | Transferred to Ferris State |
| Jarryn Skeete | 10 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Brampton, ON | Graduated |
| Zac DiSalvo | 15 | G | 5'11" | 165 | Freshman | Rochester, NY | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Rodell Wigginton | 20 | G/F | 6'5" | 215 | Senior | Dartmouth, NS | Graduated |
| Tyler Moffe | 35 | G | 6'1" | 168 | Freshman | Elmria, NY | Walk-on; transferred to Jamestown CC |

## Recruiting class of 2016

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Davonta Jordan #30 PG | Montverde, FL | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Quate McKinzie #42 PF | Burgaw, NC | Pender High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Sep 14, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 ||||||
| Brock Bertram #41 C | Apple Valley, MN | Apple Valley High School | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Oct 27, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| James Jones SG | Chicago, IL | Bogan High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 19, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| James Reese SG | Columbia, SC | A. C. Flora High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 1, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| 11/04/2016* 8:30 PM | | Daemen | W 87–82 $^{OT}$ | | 27 – Massinburg | 8 – Tied | 5 – Tied | Alumni Arena (3,402) Amherst, NY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| 11/11/2016* 8:00 PM | | at Niagara | W 77–66 | 1–0 | 20 – Connor | 8 – Tied | 7 – Jordan | Gallagher Center (2,016) Lewiston, NY |
| 11/14/2016* 7:00 PM, CBSSN | | at No. 11 Xavier | L 53–86 | 1–1 | 15 – Perkins | 7 – Perkins | 7 – Jordan | Cintas Center (10,116) Cincinnati, OH |
| 11/17/2016* 7:00 PM | | Nazareth Great Alaska Shootout opening round | W 85–38 | 2–1 | 21 – Perkins | 8 – Perkins | 11 – Hamilton | Alumni Arena (3,152) Amherst, NY |
| 11/23/2016* 11:00 PM, CBSSN | | at Alaska Anchorage Great Alaska Shootout quarterfinals | W 85–79 | 3–1 | 36 – Hamilton | 8 – Hamilton | 7 – Jordan | Alaska Airlines Center (2,606) Anchorage, AK |
| 11/25/2016* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Nevada Great Alaska Shootout semifinals | L 62–67 | 3–2 | 14 – Hamilton | 9 – Perkins | 7 – Jordan | Alaska Airlines Center (2,723) Anchorage, AK |
| 11/26/2016* 9:30 PM | | vs. Weber State Great Alaska Shootout 3rd place game | W 74–72 | 4–2 | 23 – Hamilton | 10 – Perkins | 4 – Connor | Alaska Airlines Center (2,851) Anchorage, AK |
| 11/29/2016* 8:30 PM, FS1 | | at No. 10 Creighton | L 72–93 | 4–3 | 23 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 10 – Jordan | CenturyLink Center (16,434) Omaha, NE |
| 12/03/2016* 4:00 PM | | at St. Bonaventure | L 84–90 | 4–4 | 24 – Perkins | 6 – Tied | 7 – Jordan | Reilly Center (5,012) Olean, NY |
| 12/07/2016* 7:00 PM, ACCN Extra | | at Pittsburgh | L 79–84 | 4–5 | 23 – Perkins | 8 – Perkins | 6 – Jordan | Petersen Events Center (7,007) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 12/10/2016* 7:00 PM | | Coppin State | W 87–52 | 5–5 | 28 – Connor | 9 – McKinzie | 6 – Hamilton | Alumni Arena (3,457) Amherst, NY |
| 12/17/2016* 3:30 PM | | vs. Canisius Big 4 Basketball Classic | L 87–94 | 5–6 | 19 – Hamilton | 11 – Hamilton | 4 – Tied | KeyBank Center (5,327) Buffalo, NY |
| 12/21/2016* 7:00 PM | | vs. Robert Morris | L 71–74 | 5–7 | 24 – Hamilton | 11 – Perkins | 4 – Hamilton | Consol Energy Center (506) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 12/30/2016* 7:00 PM | | Maine | W 79–60 | 6–7 | 15 – Tied | 9 – Hamilton | 4 – Massinburg | Alumni Arena (2,784) Amherst, NY |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| 01/03/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | L 54–86 | 6–8 (0–1) | 12 – McKinzie | 6 – McKinzie | 2 – Tied | Savage Arena (3,688) Toledo, OH |
| 01/07/2017 2:30 PM, ESPN3 | | at Eastern Michigan | W 77–68 | 7–8 (1–1) | 21 – Hamilton | 10 – Massinburg | 4 – Caruthers | Convocation Center (1,862) Ypsilanti, MI |
| 01/10/2017 7:30 PM, ESPN3 | | Ohio | L 72–74 | 7–9 (1–2) | 17 – Hamilton | 13 – Hamilton | 6 – Hamilton | Alumni Arena (2,652) Amherst, NY |
| 01/14/2017 2:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Ball State | L 77–92 | 7–10 (1–3) | 23 – Kadiri | 11 – Kadiri | 9 – Hamilton | Alumni Arena (3,007) Amherst, NY |
| 01/17/2017 7:00 PM | | at Kent State | W 82–69 | 8–10 (2–3) | 22 – Massinburg | 9 – Massinburg | 4 – Massinburg | MAC Center (2,110) Kent, OH |
| 01/21/2017 3:30 PM, ESPN3 | | Western Michigan | W 66–54 | 9–10 (3–3) | 21 – Perkins | 10 – Perkins | 10 – Hamilton | Alumni Arena (3,284) Amherst, NY |
| 01/24/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | at Miami (OH) | L 74–75 | 9–11 (3–4) | 20 – Perkins | 10 – Kadiri | 4 – Massinburg | Millett Hall (1,293) Oxford, OH |
| 01/28/2017 7:30 PM | | at Akron | L 90–91 | 9–12 (3–5) | 33 – Hamilton | 8 – Perkins | 2 – Tied | James A. Rhodes Arena (4,884) Akron, OH |
| 01/31/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan | W 101–91 | 10–12 (4–5) | 27 – Hamilton | 11 – Hamilton | 8 – Hamilton | Alumni Arena (4,631) Amherst, NY |
| 02/03/2017 9:00 PM, ESPNU | | at Ball State | W 96–69 | 11–12 (5–5) | 25 – Hamilton | 6 – Tied | 8 – Hamilton | Worthen Arena (3,326) Muncie, IN |
| 02/07/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 65–45 | 12–12 (6–5) | 17 – Massinburg | 12 – Perkins | 4 – Tied | Alumni Arena (3,212) Amherst, NY |
| 02/11/2017 12:00 PM, ESPN3 | | at Bowling Green | W 88–74 | 13–12 (7–5) | 19 – Hamilton | 12 – Connor | 3 – Caruthers | Stroh Center (2,035) Bowling Green, OH |
| 02/14/2017 7:00 PM, ASN | | at Central Michigan | W 99–93 | 14–12 (8–5) | 22 – Connor | 9 – Massinburg | 7 – Hamilton | McGuirk Arena (2,560) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| 02/18/2017 3:30 PM, ESPN3 | | Miami (OH) | W 71–58 | 15–12 (9–5) | 23 – Hamilton | 6 – Tied | 7 – Caruthers | Alumni Arena (4,002) Amherst, NY |
| 02/21/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Kent State | L 69–77 | 15–13 (9–6) | 22 – Hamilton | 7 – Tied | 5 – Hamilton | Alumni Arena (3,212) Amherst, NY |
| 02/24/2017 8:00 PM, CBSSN | | Akron | L 83–89 | 15–14 (9–7) | 23 – Hamilton | 10 – Massinburg | 6 – Hamilton | Alumni Arena (6,598) Amherst, NY |
| 02/28/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | at Ohio | W 83–79 | 16–14 (10–7) | 19 – Tied | 6 – Kadiri | 5 – Hamilton | Convocation Center (5,672) Athens, OH |
| 03/03/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | W 80–68 | 17–14 (11–7) | 32 – Hamilton | 9 – Kadiri | 6 – Hamilton | Alumni Arena (3,969) Amherst, NY |
| MAC Tournament |||||||||
| 03/09/2017 9:00 pm | (3) | vs. (6) Kent State Quarterfinals | L 65–68 | 17–15 | 17 – Hamilton | 12 – Massinburg | 3 – Caruthers | Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. Source |||||||||