# 2022–23 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the University at Buffalo in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by fourth-year head coach Jim Whitesell, played their home games at Alumni Arena in Amherst, New York as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 15–17, 9–9 in MAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the MAC tournament they lost to Akron in the quarterfinals.
On March 11, 2023, the school fired head coach Jim Whitesell. On March 30, the school named longtime Villanova assistant coach George Halcovage the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

The Bulls finished the 2021–22 season 19–11 and 13–6 in MAC play to finish in fifth place. They lost to Akron in the first round of the MAC tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason |
| Ty Perry | 20 | G | 6'3" | 210 | Junior | Boston, Massachusetts | Transferred to New Haven |
| Lucas Saleh | 22 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Sophomore | Tiburon, California | Transferred to Belmont Abbey College |
| Tra'Von Fagan | 24 | F | 6'8" | 211 | RS-Senior | Waterloo, Iowa | Transferred to UMBC |
| Josh Mballa | 34 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Junior | Bordeaux, France | Transferred to Mississippi |
| Brock Bertram | 41 | C | 6'11" | 244 | Grad Student | Apple Valley, Minnesota | Exhausted Eligibility |
| Dominic Johnson | 21 | F | 6'5" | 223 | Grad Student | Windsor, Ontario | |
| Jamon Bivens | G | 23 | 6'3" | 190 | RS-Senior | Atlanta, Georgia | |
| Keishawn Brewton | 4 | G | 6"2" | 185 | RS-Senior | Spartanburg, South Carolina | Exhausted Eligibility |
| Ronaldo Segu | 10 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Senior | Rochester, New York | |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason |
| Kanye Jones | 0 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Freshman | Orlando, Florida | Transferred from Boston College |
| Armoni Foster | 4 | G | 6'5" | 230 | 5th | Meadville, Pennsylvania | Transferred from Indiana (PA) |
| Yazid Powell | 13 | G | 6'4" | | Junior | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Transferred from Harcum College |
| Sy Chatman | 22 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Junior | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Transferred from Illinois State |
| Isaiah Adams | 23 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Freshman | Jacksonville, Florida | Transferred from UCF |
| Jonnivius Smith | 24 | F | 6'9" | 200 | Freshman | Jacksonville, Florida | Transferred from Seton Hall |

### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Devin Ceaser G | Waldorf, Maryland | St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A | Aug 7, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Kuluel Mading F | High Point, North Carolina | The Burlington School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Apr 16, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Isaac Jack C | Port Alberni, British Columbia | Fort Erie International Academy | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | N/A | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Jaden Slaughter G | Buffalo, New York | Cheshire Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | |
| 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: "2022 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 30, 2022* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Daemen | W 95–66 | – | 16 – C. Jones | 7 – Powell | 8 – Powell | Alumni Arena (1,531) Amherst, NY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Colgate | W 88–87 | 1–0 | 24 – Powell | 8 – Smith | 6 – C. Jones | Alumni Arena (1,841) Amherst, NY |
| November 12, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | James Madison | L 67–92 | 1–1 | 13 – Jones | 6 – Jones | 2 – Tied | Alumni Arena (1,949) Amherst, NY |
| November 15, 2022* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at No. 25 UConn | L 64–84 | 1–2 | 11 – Tied | 6 – Powell | 3 – C. Jones | XL Center (10,112) Hartford, CT |
| November 18, 2022* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | vs. Drake Paradise Jam Quarterfinals | L 72–80 | 1–3 | 26 – Hardnett | 12 – Hardnett | 3 – C. Jones | Sports and Fitness Center Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| November 19, 2022* 3:15 p.m., ESPN3 | | vs. Howard Paradise Jam | L 59–63 | 1–4 | 22 – Jones | 11 – Hardnett | 2 – Tied | Sports and Fitness Center Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| November 21, 2022* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | vs. George Mason Paradise Jam | W 82–74 | 2–4 | 24 – Adams | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Sports and Fitness Center Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| November 27, 2022* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Canisius | W 86–66 | 3–4 | 22 – Jones | 7 – Smith | 5 – Tied | Alumni Arena (1,922) Amherst, NY |
| December 3, 2022* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at St. Bonaventure | W 83–66 | 4–4 | 32 – Jones | 9 – Adams | 4 – Powell | Reilly Center (4,633) Olean, NY |
| December 6, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | St. John Fisher | W 91–53 | 5–4 | 17 – Ceaser | 7 – Jones | 6 – Tied | Alumni Arena (1,575) Amherst, NY |
| December 10, 2022* 11:30 a.m. | | vs. Tulane Holiday Hoopsgiving | L 63–88 | 5–5 | 13 – Hardnett | 10 – Tied | 2 – Tied | State Farm Arena Atlanta, GA |
| December 18, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at West Virginia | L 78–96 | 5–6 | 20 – Adams | 6 – Tied | 4 – Jones | WVU Coliseum (10,689) Morgantown, WV |
| December 21, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | SUNY Canton | W 129–62 | 6–6 | 25 – Ceaser | 13 – Jack | 6 – Tied | Alumni Arena (1,497) Amherst, NY |
| December 30, 2022* 6:00 p.m., BTN | | at Michigan State | L 68–89 | 6–7 | 15 – Adams | 8 – Smith | 5 – Foster | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 3, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Ohio | W 75–72 | 7–7 (1–0) | 20 – Jones | 16 – Hardnett | 5 – Foster | Alumni Arena (1,621) Amherst, NY |
| January 7, 2023 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 80–62 | 8–7 (2–0) | 19 – Jones | 12 – Hardnett | 5 – Foster | Alumni Arena (2,030) Amherst, NY |
| January 10, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | L 80–91 | 8–8 (2–1) | 20 – Powell | 9 – Jones | 3 – Jones | Millett Hall (921) Oxford, OH |
| January 14, 2023 4:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | L 78–87 $^{OT}$ | 8–9 (2–2) | 20 – Jones | 11 – Adams | 6 – Foster | McGuirk Arena (1,756) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 17, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bowling Green | W 100–71 | 9–9 (3–2) | 27 – Powell | 10 – Powell | 8 – Jones | Alumni Arena (1,565) Amherst, NY |
| January 20, 2023 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | | Toledo | L 77–86 | 9–10 (3–3) | 18 – Hardnett | 12 – Hardnett | 7 – Foster | Alumni Arena (2,009) Amherst, NY |
| January 24, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ball State | W 91–65 | 10–10 (4–3) | 27 – Jonee | 8 – Hardnett | 7 – Foster | Worthen Arena (3,943) Muncie, IN |
| January 27, 2023 9:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Kent State | L 68–74 | 10–11 (4–4) | 23 – Adams | 12 – Hardnett | 5 – Foster | MAC Center (3,021) Kent, OH |
| January 31, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Akron | L 64–81 | 10–12 (4–5) | 19 – Jones | 6 – Jones | 5 – Blocker | Alumni Arena (5,001) Amherst, NY |
| February 4, 2023 2:30 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | W 85–76 | 11–12 (5–5) | 30 – Jones | 15 – Hardnett | 6 – Foster | University Arena (2,007) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 7, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan | W 102–97 | 12–12 (6–5) | 21 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 11 – Foster | Alumni Arena (4,507) Amherst, NY |
| February 10, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Kent State | L 65–72 | 12–13 (6–6) | 15 – Powell | 8 – Smith | 8 – Jones | Alumni Arena (4,207) Amherst, NY |
| February 14, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ohio | L 61–85 | 12–14 (6–7) | 14 – Tied | 8 – Smith | 3 – Foster | Convocation Center (4,455) Athens, OH |
| February 18, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Akron | L 66–86 | 12–15 (6–8) | 12 – Foster | 7 – Hardnett | 4 – Blocker | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,068) Akron, OH |
| February 21, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Central Michigan | W 63–35 | 13–15 (7–8) | 14 – Jones | 11 – Adams | 5 – Tied | Alumni Arena (4,114) Amherst, NY |
| February 25, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Toledo | W 101–71 | 13–16 (7–9) | 20 – Tied | 6 – Hardnett | 5 – Foster | Savage Arena (6,014) Toledo, OH |
| February 28, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | W 85–75 | 14–16 (8–9) | 21 – Jones | 8 – Hardnett | 4 – Jones | Convocation Center (701) DeKalb, IL |
| March 3, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | W 68–63 | 15–16 (9–9) | 16 – Adams | 11 – Jack | 4 – Tied | Alumni Arena (4,403) Amherst, NY |
| MAC tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2022 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (3) Akron Quarterfinals | L 77–101 | 15–17 | 25 – Powell | 10 – Hardnett | 2 – Tied | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (3,852) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source