# 2019–20 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the University at Buffalo during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by first-year head coach Jim Whitesell, played their home games at Alumni Arena in Amherst, New York as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

## Previous season

During the 2018–19 season, 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.

### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| David Skogman C | Waukesha, WI | Waukesha West | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | May 2, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Savion Gallion SG | Washington, DC | Mt. Zion Preparatory School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | May 8, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| 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: "2019 Buffalo Bulls commits". Rivals.com. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 24, 2019* 7:00 pm | | Daemen | W 111–73 | | 19 – Grant | 6 – Grant | 14 – Segu | Alumni Arena (2,562) Amherst, NY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Dartmouth | L 63–68 | 0–1 | 17 – Jordan | 9 – Mballa | 3 – Tied | Alumni Arena (3,376) Amherst, NY |
| November 11, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Nazareth | W 109–72 | 1–1 | 17 – Tied | 9 – Mballa | 6 – Segu | Alumni Arena (1,913) Amherst, NY |
| November 16, 2019* 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Harvard James Naismith Memorial Classic | W 88–76 | 2–1 | 21 – Segu | 8 – Williams | 7 – Jordan | Scotiabank Arena Toronto, ON |
| November 21, 2019* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. UConn Charleston Classic quarterfinals | L 68–79 | 2–2 | 15 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 5 – Jordan | TD Arena (4,003) Charleston, SC |
| November 22, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Towson Charleston Classic consolation 2nd round | W 76–73 | 3–2 | 25 – Graves | 11 – Mballa | 11 – Jordan | TD Arena (4,416) Charleston, SC |
| November 24, 2019* 3:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Missouri State Charleston Classic 5th place game | W 75–74 | 4–2 | 23 – Jordan | 5 – Tied | 5 – Jordan | TD Arena (3,122) Charleston, SC |
| November 30, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | William & Mary | W 88–77 | 5–2 | 24 – Graves | 8 – Mballa | 5 – Graves | Alumni Arena (3,420) Amherst, NY |
| December 3, 2019* 8:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Vanderbilt | L 76–90 | 5–3 | 16 – Johnson | 7 – Tied | 3 – Graves | Memorial Gymnasium (8,489) Nashville, TN |
| December 8, 2019* 5:00 pm, FS1 | | at DePaul | W 74–69 | 6–3 | 21 – Graves | 14 – Mballa | 8 – Jordan | Wintrust Arena (4,419) Chicago, IL |
| December 14, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Army | L 76–89 | 6–4 | 18 – Johnson | 8 – Jordan | 8 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (3,693) Amherst, NY |
| December 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Canisius | W 82–73 | 7–4 | 26 – Jordan | 11 – Hardnett | 5 – Graves | Alumni Arena (3,269) Amherst, NY |
| December 21, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Niagara | W 92–72 | 8–4 | 22 – Graves | 10 – Williams | 8 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (2,644) Amherst, NY |
| December 30, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | St. Bonaventure | W 84–79 | 9–4 | 28 – Graves | 15 – Mballa | 5 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (6,003) Amherst, NY |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 4, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | L 72–73 | 9–5 (0–1) | 17 – Williams | 11 – Mballa | 5 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (3,069) Amherst, NY |
| January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ball State | L 66–88 | 9–6 (0–2) | 16 – Johnson | 6 – Mballa | 4 – Jordan | Worthen Arena (4,811) Muncie, IN |
| January 10, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Miami (OH) | W 83–78 | 10–6 (1–2) | 25 – Graves | 13 – Mballa | 6 – Segu | Millett Hall (1,056) Oxford, OH |
| January 14, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Ohio | W 76–73 | 11–6 (2–2) | 26 – Williams | 9 – Mballa | 8 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (2,404) Amherst, NY |
| January 17, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Central Michigan | W 86–67 | 12–6 (3–2) | 18 – Williams | 9 – Johnson | 4 – Jordan | McGuirk Arena (2,121) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 21, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | W 90–79 | 13–6 (4–2) | 23 – Graves | 8 – Mballa | 5 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (2,748) Amherst, NY |
| January 24, 2020 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | Kent State | L 66–70 | 13–7 (4–3) | 13 – Jordan | 8 – Mballa | 6 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (3,554) Amherst, NY |
| January 28, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Akron | W 77–74 | 14–7 (5–3) | 18 – Johnson | 17 – Mballa | 4 – Tied | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,473) Akron, OH |
| January 31, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Bowling Green | L 77–78 | 14–8 (5–4) | 24 – Graves | 15 – Mballa | 3 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (5,322) Amherst, NY |
| February 4, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | L 62–66 | 14–9 (5–5) | 16 – Mballa | 11 – Mballa | 4 – Segu | Convocation Arena (1,364) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 7, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Central Michigan | W 65–60 | 15–9 (6–5) | 20 – Williams | 12 – Graves | 7 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (3,095) Amherst, NY |
| February 15, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | W 83–67 | 16–9 (7–5) | 27 – Graves | 7 – Johnson | 5 – Graves | Savage Arena (4,276) Toledo, OH |
| February 18, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Ball State | W 72–59 | 17–9 (8–5) | 16 – Tied | 15 – Mballa | 5 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (4,044) Amherst, NY |
| February 22, 2020 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | | at Kent State | W 104–98 $^{2OT}$ | 18–9 (9–5) | 33 – Graves | 14 – Mballa | 7 – Jordan | MAC Center (3,005) Kent, OH |
| February 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ohio | L 69–80 | 18–10 (9–6) | 16 – Graves | 7 – Tied | 6 – Jordan | Convocation Arena (4,837) Athens, OH |
| February 29, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Akron | L 73–86 | 18–11 (9–7) | 18 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 8 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (5,870) Amherst, NY |
| March 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | W 75–69 | 19–11 (10–7) | 15 – Graves | 14 – Mballa | 6 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (3,252) Amherst, NY |
| March 6, 2020 TBA, ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | W 88–84 | 20–11 (11–7) | 25 – Graves | 12 – Mballa | 8 – Jordan | Stroh Center (3,550) Bowling Green, OH |
| MAC Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 9, 2020 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | (5) | (12) Miami (OH) First round | L 79–85 | 20–12 | 20 – Segu | 10 – Williams | 6 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (3,741) Amherst, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||