# Buffalo Bulls men's basketball

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 2009, and won a third MAC East Division title in 2015 along with their first outright 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 College Division Basketball Championship between 1957 and 1965 and two appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Their head coach position was filled on March 30, 2023 when Buffalo hired Villanova associate head coach George Halcovage.

## Conference affiliations

* 1915–16 to 1942–43 – Independent
* 1943–44 to 1944–45 –
* 1945–46 to 1977–78 – Independent
* 1978–79 to 1987–88 – State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)
* 1988–89 to 1990–91 – Mid American 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 four times. Their combined record is 2–4.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2015 | #12 | First round | #5 West Virginia | L 62–68 |
| 2016 | #14 | First round | #3 Miami | L 72–79 |
| 2018 | #13 | First round Second Round | #4 Arizona #5 Kentucky | W 89–68 L 75–95 |
| 2019 | #6 | First round Second Round | #11 Arizona State #3 Texas Tech | W 91–74 L 58–78 |

### 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) two times. Their record is 1–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2005 | Opening Round First round | Drexel Saint Joseph's | W 81–76 L 50–55 |
| 2021 | First round | Colorado State | L 73–75 |

## 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
### NBA players

Two former Bulls have played in the National Basketball Association (NBA):
* Sam Pellom: Played for the Atlanta Hawks (1979–82) & Milwaukee Bucks (1982–83)
* Jeenathan Williams: Debuted for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2023

### Other notable alumni

* Turner Battle, MAC Player of the Year (2005), former Bulls assistant coach, athletic director of The Park School of Buffalo
* Wes Clark, 2022 TBT Champion
* Modie Cox
* Shannon Evans
* Blake Hamilton, 2022 TBT Champion
* Jeremy Harris, 2022 TBT Champion
* Yassin Idbihi, former professional player, 3× Bundesliga champion and 2× All-Star
* C.J. Massinburg, 2022 TBT Champion & MVP
* Javon McCrea, MAC Player of the Year (2014), basketball player for Buffalo eXtreme of the American Basketball Association
* Justin Moss
* Nick Perkins, 2022 TBT Champion
* Jarryn Skeete
* Mitchell Watt, basketball player for Ironi Nes Ziona of the Israeli Basketball Super League

## Retired numbers

Buffalo Bulls retired numbers :
| No. | Player | Tenure |
| 13 | Jim Horne | 1970–73 |
| 19 | Harold Kuhn | 1951–55 |
| 50 | Sam Pellom | 1949–52 |
| 52 | Curtis Blackmore | 1970–1973 |

## Honored jerseys

Jerseys were retired but the numbers remain available:
| No. | Player | Tenure | Ref. |
| 11 | Rasaun Young | 1993–98 | |
| 11 | Turner Battle | 2001–05 | |

## All-Americans

The following Buffalo players were named NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans:
* Turner Battle – 2005 (AP Honorable Mention)
* Mitchell Watt – 2012 (AP Honorable Mention)
* Javon McCrea – 2014 (AP Honorable Mention)
* Justin Moss – 2015 (AP Honorable Mention)
* C. J. Massinburg – 2019 (AP Honorable Mention)

## 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
* Mitchell Watt – 2012
* Javon McCrea – 2014
* Justin Moss – 2015
* C. J. Massinburg – 2019

### Tournament MVP

* Xavier Ford – 2015
* Willie Conner – 2016
* Wes Clark – 2018
* Jeremy Harris – 2019

### Coach of the Year

* Reggie Witherspoon – 2004
* Nate Oats – 2018, 2019

### Defensive Player of the Year

* Dontay Caruthers – 2017, 2019
* Davonta Jordan – 2020
* Josh Mballa – 2021

### Freshman of the Year

* Javon McCrea – 2011

### Sixth Man of the Year

* Mark Bortz – 2005
* Nick Perkins – 2017, 2018, 2019
* Ronaldo Segu – 2020

### Academic All-MAC

* Mark Bortz – 2004, 2005
* Turner Battle – 2003, 2004, 2005
* Vadim Fedotov – 2009
* John Boyer – 2010
* Byron Mulkey – 2011
* Tony Watson II – 2012
* Will Regan – 2013, 2014
* Shannon Evans – 2015
* Nikola Rakicevic – 2017
* Dontay Caruthers – 2019
* Brock Bertram – 2020, 2021
* Tra'Von Fagan – 2021
* David Skogman – 2021

### All-MAC teams
#### All-MAC First Team

* Turner Battle – 2005
* Rodney Pierce – 2009, 2010
* Mitchell Watt – 2012
* Javon McCrea – 2012, 2013, 2014
* Justin Moss – 2015
* C. J. Massinburg – 2018, 2019
* Nick Perkins – 2018, 2019
* Jayvon Graves – 2020
* Jeenathan Williams – 2022

#### All-MAC Second Team

* Turner Battle – 2004
* Calvin Cage – 2006
* Byron Mulkey – 2011
* Shannon Evans – 2015
* Blake Hamilton – 2017
* Jeremy Harris – 2018, 2019
* Jayvon Graves – 2021
* Jeenathan Williams – 2021
* Josh Mballa – 2021, 2022
* Ronaldo Segu – 2022

#### All-MAC Third Team

* Lamonte Bearden – 2016
* Blake Hamilton – 2016
* Wes Clark – 2018
* Curtis Jones – 2023

#### All-Freshman Team

* Yassin Idbihi – 2004
* Javon McCrea – 2011
* Jarryn Skeete – 2013
* Shannon Evans – 2014
* Lamonte Bearden – 2015
* C.J. Massinburg – 2016

#### All-Defensive Team

* Willie Conner – 2016
* Dontay Caruthers – 2017, 2019
* Davonta Jordan – 2018, 2019
* Josh Mballa – 2021, 2022

#### All-Tournament team

* Turner Battle & Yassin Idbihi – 2005
* Max Boudreau – 2009
* Mitchell Watt – 2012
* Shannon Evans & Xavier Ford – 2015
* Lamonte Bearden, Willie Conner & C. J. Massinburg – 2016