# 2010–11 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

The 2010–11 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the University at Buffalo during the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by twelfth-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon, played their home games at Alumni Arena in Amherst, New York as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 20–14, 8–8 in MAC play to finish in sixth place in the MAC East. It was the third 20-win season in the school's NCAA Division I history and the second in their past three seasons.
Buffalo hosted unanimous national college player of the year Jimmer Fredette and the 16th-ranked BYU Cougars at Alumni Arena on December 30, 2010. The Bulls held Fredette to 6 points on 1-of-9 shooting in the first half but Fredette managed 28 points in the second half for a season-high total of 34; BYU ultimately won 90–82. After the game, Reggie Witherspoon said that Fredette was indisputably the best college basketball player ever to play a game in Western New York.
Despite an exit in the quarterfinals of the MAC men's basketball tournament, Buffalo received an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). It was the school's third Division I postseason appearance and first since the 2009 College Basketball Invitational. In the CIT, Buffalo won its first two games before losing in the quarterfinals against eventual runner-up Iona.
The 2010–11 season featured the college debut of Javon McCrea. At the end of the season, McCrea would be the first Buffalo player named the MAC Freshman of the Year. McCrea would go on to become the program's all-time leading scorer.
Four-year captain Byron Mulkey, a senior from Niagara-Wheatfield High School, set a program record with 85 steals in the final season of his college basketball career.

## Previous season

The previous year's Bulls finished the 2009–10 season with an overall record of 18–12 and a record of 9–7 in conference play. It was just their second consecutive season with a winning record. In spite of that, they lost in the second round of the 2010 MAC tournament. Buffalo graduated its top five scorers from this team. Senior guard Byron Mulkey redshirted in 2009–10 due to the logjam of seniors at the guard position and the need for senior leadership on the 2010–11 team.

### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Sean Smiley | 3 | G | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Senior | Erie, PA | Graduated |
| Rodney Pierce | 4 | G | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Senior | Niagara Falls, NY | Graduated |
| Derek Wolfley | 15 | F | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Freshman | Attica, NY | — |
| John Boyer | 22 | G | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Senior | Hollidaysburg, PA | Graduated |
| Calvin Betts | 25 | G | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Senior | Rochester, NY | Graduated |
| Adekambi Laleye | 33 | F | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Senior | Ottawa, ON | Graduated |
| Max Boudreau | 40 | F | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Senior | Montreal, QC | Graduated |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 13, 2010* | | Navy | W 88–46 | 1–0 | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| November 16, 2010* | | at Youngstown State | L 53–64 | 1–1 | Beeghly Center  Youngstown, OH |
| November 20, 2010* | | Towson | W 87–76 | 2–1 | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| November 23, 2010* | | at Canisius | W 81–64 | 3–1 | Koessler Athletic Center  Buffalo, New York |
| November 27, 2010* | | at Indiana State | L 54–58 | 3–2 | Hulman Center  Terre Haute, IN |
| December 1, 2010* | | at Army | W 56–54 | 4–2 | Christl Arena  West Point, NY |
| December 4, 2010* | | at St. Bonaventure | L 74–76 | 4–3 | Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY |
| December 8, 2010* | | Niagara | W 82–64 | 5–3 | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| December 11, 2010* | | Green Bay | W 78–64 | 6–3 | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| December 18, 2010* | | Houghton | W 79–47 | 7–3 | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| December 30, 2010* | | No. 16 BYU | L 82–90 | 7–4 | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| January 3, 2011* | | at Cornell | W 78–66 | 8–4 | Newman Arena  Ithaca, NY |
| January 8, 2011 | | Bowling Green | L 71–74 $^{2OT}$ | 8–5 (0–1) | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| January 13, 2011 | | at Miami (OH) | L 67–70 | 8–6 (0–2) | Millett Hall  Oxford, OH |
| January 16, 2011 | | Akron | W 73–70 | 9–6 (1–2) | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| January 19, 2011 | | Kent State | W 79–54 | 10–6 (2–2) | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| January 22, 2011 | | at Ohio | W 73–68 | 11–6 (3–2) | Convocation Center  Athens, OH |
| January 25, 2011 | | at Western Michigan | W 79–68 | 12–6 (4–2) | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 29, 2011 | | Northern Illinois | W 63–52 | 13–6 (5–2) | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| February 3, 2011 | | Toledo | W 81–58 | 14–6 (6–2) | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| February 5, 2011 | | at Ball State | L 71–72 | 14–7 (6–3) | Worthen Arena  Muncie, IN |
| February 8, 2011 | | Central Michigan | W 72–43 | 15–7 (7–3) | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| February 12, 2011 | | at Eastern Michigan | L 65–78 | 15–8 (7–4) | Convocation Center  Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 15, 2011 | | Ohio | L 69–76 | 15–9 (7–5) | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| February 19, 2011* | | Milwaukee ESPN BracketBusters | W 80–65 | 16–9 | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| February 24, 2011 | | at Kent State | L 69–72 | 16–10 (7–6) | MAC Center  Kent, OH |
| February 26, 2011 | | at Akron | L 60–69 | 16–11 (7–7) | James A. Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH |
| March 2, 2011 | | Miami (OH) | W 59–49 | 17–11 (8–7) | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| March 5, 2011 | | at Bowling Green | L 63–73 | 17–12 (8–8) | Anderson Arena  Bowling Green, OH |
| 2011 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2011 | (8) | (9) Central Michigan First Round | W 64–50 | 18–12 | Alumni Arena  Amherst, NY |
| March 10, 2011 | (8) | vs. (1) Kent State Quarterfinal | L 62–73 | 18–13 | Quicken Loans Arena  Cleveland, OH |
| 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament ||||||
| March 14, 2011 | | at Quinnipiac First Round | W 75–68 | 19–13 | TD Bank Sports Center  Hamden, CT |
| March 19, 2011 | | at Western Michigan Second Round | W 49–48 | 20–13 | University Arena  Kalamazoo, MI |
| March 22, 2011 | | at Iona Quarterfinal | L 63–78 | 20–14 | Hynes Athletic Center  New Rochelle, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards
### Freshman of the Year

* Javon McCrea – 2011

### Academic All-MAC

* Byron Mulkey – 2011

### All-MAC Second Team

* Byron Mulkey – 2011

### MAC All-Freshman Team

* Javon McCrea – 2011