# 2017–18 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the State University of New York at Buffalo during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by third-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. They finished the 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.

## Previous season

The Bulls finished the 2016–17 season 17–14, 11–7 in MAC play to finish in a tie for second place in the East Division. As the No. 3 seed in the MAC tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals to Kent State.

## Offseason
### 2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| 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 |
| 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

The Bulls participated in the Cayman Islands Classic held in the Cayman Islands and faced Cincinnati in their first game. The three-game tournament took place between November 20 and 22.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 28, 2017* 1:00 pm | | at Rhode Island Charity Exhibition for Disaster Relief | L 72–80 $^{OT}$ | – | 21 – Harris | 11 – McRae | 3 – Tied | Ryan Center (1,363) Kingston, RI |
| Nov 3, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Daemen | W 77–55 | – | 20 – Perkins | 11 – Harris | 6 – Caruthers | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Canisius | W 80–75 | 1–0 | 26 – Perkins | 8 – Jordan | 3 – Caruthers | Alumni Arena (3,279) Amherst, NY |
| Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jacksonville State | W 81–76 | 2–0 | 25 – Massinburg | 7 – Massinburg | 5 – Massinburg | Alumni Arena (2,319) Amherst, NY |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:30 pm, FloHoops.com | | vs. No. 12 Cincinnati Cayman Islands Classic first round | L 67–73 | 2–1 | 29 – Massinburg | 10 – Massinburg | 4 – Jordan | John Gray Gymnasium (1,200) Cayman Islands |
| Nov 21, 2017* 5:00 pm, FloHoops.com | | vs. UAB Cayman Islands Classic consolation round | W 96–91 $^{OT}$ | 3–1 | 23 – Caruthers | 7 – Caruthers | 6 – Jordan | John Gray Gymnasium (404) Cayman Islands |
| Nov 22, 2017* 2:30 pm, FloHoops.com | | vs. South Dakota State Cayman Islands Classic 5th place game | L 80–94 | 3–2 | 17 – Perkins | 4 – Tied | 5 – Tied | John Gray Gymnasium (450) Cayman Islands |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Niagara | W 106–87 | 4–2 | 25 – Massinburg | 8 – Massinburg | 7 – Jordan | Gallagher Center (1,664) Lewiston, NY |
| Dec 2, 2017* 2:00 pm | | St. Bonaventure | L 62–73 | 4–3 | 21 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 4 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (6,212) Amherst, NY |
| Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Delaware | W 75–72 | 5–3 | 30 – Massinburg | 14 – Massinburg | 4 – Jordan | Bob Carpenter Center (2,326) Newark, DE |
| Dec 9, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Penn | W 88–54 | 6–3 | 18 – Reese | 11 – Massinburg | 6 – Tied | Alumni Arena (2,225) Amherst, NY |
| Dec 16, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Robert Morris | W 86–70 | 7–3 | 23 – Massinburg | 10 – Massinburg | 7 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (2,158) Amherst, NY |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Syracuse | L 74–81 | 7–4 | 18 – Perkins | 8 – Massinburg | 6 – Clark | Carrier Dome (17,335) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 21, 2017* 9:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 8 Texas A&M | L 73–89 | 7–5 | 20 – Massinburg | 8 – Massinburg | 8 – Clark | Reed Arena (6,554) College Station, TX |
| Dec 28, 2017* 7:00 pm | | NJIT | W 86–81 $^{OT}$ | 8–5 | 27 – Clark | 10 – Massinburg | 6 – Clark | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| Jan 2, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Toledo | W 104–94 | 9–5 (1–0) | 27 – Massinburg | 10 – Perkins | 5 – Tied | Alumni Arena (1,100) Amherst, NY |
| Jan 6, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ball State | W 83–63 | 10–5 (2–0) | 16 – Tied | 11 – Perkins | 5 – Massinburg | Worthen Arena (3,622) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 9, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Akron | W 87–65 | 11–5 (3–0) | 17 – Tied | 12 – Massinburg | 5 – Clark | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,924) Akron, OH |
| Jan 13, 2018 2:00 pm | | Miami (OH) | W 82–66 | 12–5 (4–0) | 23 – Harris | 11 – Massinburg | 7 – Clark | Alumni Arena (3,139) Amherst, NY |
| Jan 16, 2018 7:00 pm | | Northern Illinois | W 95–67 | 13–5 (5–0) | 26 – Perkins | 7 – Smart | 8 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (2,098) Amherst, NY |
| Jan 19, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Western Michigan | W 84–74 | 14–5 (6–0) | 20 – Tied | 8 – Massinburg | 9 – Clark | University Arena (2,548) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Jan 23, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 83–69 | 15–5 (7–0) | 22 – Harris | 14 – Harris | 4 – Tied | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY |
| Jan 26, 2018 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Ohio | W 73–66 | 16–5 (8–0) | 20 – Perkins | 14 – Smart | 3 – Tied | Convocation Center (6,470) Athens, OH |
| Jan 30, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kent State | L 79–82 | 16–6 (8–1) | 20 – Harris | 4 – Harris | 5 – Jordan | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (2,877) Kent, OH |
| Feb 2, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Western Michigan | W 92–86 | 17–6 (9–1) | 26 – Massinburg | 6 – Tied | 9 – Clark | Alumni Arena (6,670) Amherst, NY |
| Feb 6, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | W 88–82 | 18–6 (10–1) | 22 – Harris | 7 – Tied | 6 – Clark | McGuirk Arena (1,979) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Feb 10, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois | L 88–90 $^{OT}$ | 18–7 (10–2) | 22 – Perkins | 9 – Perkins | 5 – Jordan | Convocation Center (1,565) DeKalb, IL |
| Feb 13, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kent State | W 84–72 | 19–7 (11–2) | 24 – Harris | 10 – Perkins | 7 – Massinburg | Alumni Arena (3,707) Amherst, NY |
| Feb 16, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Bowling Green | W 95–82 | 20–7 (12–2) | 24 – Massinburg | 12 – Massinburg | 8 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (5,707) Amherst, NY |
| Feb 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Miami (OH) | L 81–84 | 20–8 (12–3) | 23 – Harris | 8 – Harris | 3 – Tied | Millett Hall (1,870) Oxford, OH |
| Feb 24, 2018 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Ohio | W 108–82 | 21–8 (13–3) | 21 – Perkins | 10 – Harris | 11 – Clark | Alumni Arena (6,198) Amherst, NY |
| Feb 27, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Akron | W 80–68 | 22–8 (14–3) | 26 – Massinburg | 10 – Massinburg | 5 – Clark | Alumni Arena (3,659) Amherst, NY |
| Mar 2, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Bowling Green | W 100–70 | 23–8 (15–3) | 19 – Tied | 9 – Perkins | 6 – Jordan | Stroh Center Bowling Green, OH |
| MAC Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (8) Central Michigan Quarterfinals | W 89–74 | 24–8 | 27 – Harris | 10 – Harris | 8 – Caruthers | Quicken Loans Arena (2,023) Cleveland, OH |
| March 9, 2018 6:30 pm, CBSSN | (1) | vs. (5) Kent State Semifinals | W 78–61 | 25–8 | 22 – Harris | 7 – Tied | 4 – Clark | Quicken Loans Arena (4,625) Cleveland, OH |
| March 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | vs. (2) Toledo Championship | W 76–66 | 26–8 | 26 – Clark | 8 – Harris | 4 – Jordan | Quicken Loans Arena (5,633) Cleveland, OH |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 15, 2018* 9:40 pm, CBS | (13 S) | vs. (4 S) No. 12 Arizona First Round | W 89–68 | 27–8 | 25 – Clark | 6 – Massinburg | 7 – Clark | Taco Bell Arena (11,673) Boise, ID |
| March 17, 2018* 5:15 pm, CBS | (13 S) | vs. (5 S) No. 18 Kentucky Second Round | L 75–95 | 27–9 | 26 – Clark | 8 – Massinburg | 6 – Clark | Taco Bell Arena (11,686) Boise, ID |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | Not released |
| Coaches | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings