# 2018–19 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the State University of New York at Buffalo during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by fourth-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.
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.

## Previous season

The bulls finished the 2017–18 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.

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jeenathan Williams SF | Rochester, NY | Prolific Prep | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Sep 24, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ronaldo Segu PG | Orlando, Florida | Orlando Christian Prep | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Oct 1, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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: "2018 Buffalo Bulls commits". Rivals.com. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

The 2018-19 schedule was released on August 1, 2018. The Bulls participated in the Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 26, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Daemen | W 97–50 | | 14 – Segu | 9 – Harris | 7 – Segu | Alumni Arena (2,860) Amherst, NY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 4:00pm, ESPN+ | | Saint Francis (PA) | W 82–67 | 1–0 | 16 – Perkins | 9 – Perkins | 5 – Tied | Alumni Arena (1,852) Amherst, NY |
| November 9, 2018* 9:00pm, ESPNU | | at No. 13 West Virginia | W 99–94 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | 43 – Massinburg | 14 – Massingburg | 5 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (12,657) Morgantown, WV |
| November 12, 2018* 8:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 25 | at Southern Illinois | W 62–53 | 3–0 | 11 – Tied | 11 – Perkins | 5 – Jordan | SIU Arena (4,373) Carbondale, IL |
| November 21, 2018* 7:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 22 | Dartmouth Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic campus game | W 110–71 | 4–0 | 18 – Perkins | 10 – Perkins | 6 – Graves | Alumni Arena (3,573) Amherst, NY |
| November 24, 2018* 2:00pm, ESPN3 | No. 22 | Marist Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic campus game | W 76–49 | 5–0 | 21 – Massinburg | 7 – Perkins | 8 – Harris | Alumni Arena (4,589) Amherst, NY |
| November 30, 2018* 5:30am, BBC Sport | No. 21 | vs. Milwaukee Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic semifinals | W 96–77 | 6–0 | 21 – Harris | 10 – McRae | 4 – Tied | SSE Arena Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| December 1, 2018* 10:30am, CBSSN | No. 21 | vs. San Francisco Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic championship | W 85–81 | 7–0 | 22 – Perkins | 8 – Tied | 5 – Graves | SSE Arena Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| December 5, 2018* 7:00pm, ESPN3 | No. 17 | Le Moyne | W 89–55 | 8–0 | 20 – Caruthers | 13 – Massinburg | 10 – Massinburg | Alumni Arena (4,412) Amherst, NY |
| December 8, 2018* 4:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 17 | at St. Bonaventure | W 80–62 | 9–0 | 19 – Graves | 9 – Massinburg | 7 – Jordan | Reilly Center (5,480) St. Bonaventure, NY |
| December 15, 2018* 2:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 14 | Southern Illinois | W 73–65 | 10–0 | 20 – Perkins | 11 – Perkins | 4 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (5,513) Amherst, NY |
| December 18, 2018* 8:00pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | at Syracuse | W 71–59 | 11–0 | 25 – Massinburg | 12 – Perkins | 5 – Massinburg | Carrier Dome (18,620) Syracuse, NY |
| December 21, 2018* 8:30pm, FS1 | No. 14 | at No. 20 Marquette | L 85–103 | 11–1 | 20 – Harris | 7 – Tied | 7 – Jordan | Fiserv Forum (17,567) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 29, 2018* 7:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 21 | at Canisius | W 87–72 | 12–1 | 22 – Massinburg | 9 – Tied | 6 – Caruthers | Koessler Athletic Center (2,196) Buffalo, NY |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 4, 2019 9:00pm, CBSSN | No. 20 | at Eastern Michigan | W 74–58 | 13–1 (1–0) | 18 – McRae | 12 – Harris | 4 – Massinburg | Convocation Arena (2,378) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 8, 2019 7:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 19 | Toledo | W 110–80 | 14–1 (2–0) | 34 – Harris | 12 – Graves | 7 – Massinburg | Alumni Arena (5,144) Amherst, NY |
| January 12, 2019 12:00pm, CBSSN | No. 19 | Miami (OH) | W 88–64 | 15–1 (3–0) | 17 – Harris | 9 – Massinburg | 6 – Caruthers | Alumni Arena (6,177) Amherst, NY |
| January 15, 2019 7:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 16 | at Western Michigan | W 88–79 | 16–1 (4–0) | 20 – Harris | 11 – Harris | 3 – Jordan | University Arena (2,179) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 18, 2019 7:00pm, ESPNU | No. 16 | Eastern Michigan | W 77–65 | 17–1 (5–0) | 31 – Massinburg | 6 – Tied | 8 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (6,193) Amherst, NY |
| January 22, 2019 8:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 14-T | at Northern Illinois | L 75–77 | 17–2 (5–1) | 23 – Massinburg | 8 – Harris | 4 – Massinburg | Convocation Center (1,284) DeKalb, IL |
| January 25, 2019 6:30pm, CBSSN | No. 14-T | at Kent State | W 88–79 | 18–2 (6–1) | 20 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 5 – Caruthers | MAC Center (5,133) Kent, OH |
| January 29, 2019 7:00pm, ESPN3 | No. 18 | Ball State | W 83–59 | 19–2 (7–1) | 21 – Caruthers | 12 – Graves | 4 – Tied | Alumni Arena (4,747) Amherst, NY |
| February 1, 2019 8:00pm, CBSSN | No. 18 | at Bowling Green | L 88–92 | 19–3 (7–2) | 28 – Caruthers | 9 – McRae | 4 – Jordan | Stroh Center (5,000) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 9, 2019 3:30pm, ESPN+ | No. 23 | Central Michigan | W 90–76 | 20–3 (8–2) | 19 – Harris | 8 – Harris | 8 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (6,437) Amherst, NY |
| February 12, 2019 7:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 25 | at Akron | W 76–70 | 21–3 (9–2) | 21 – Massinburg | 9 – Perkins | 2 – Tied | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,646) Akron, OH |
| February 15, 2019 7:00pm, ESPNU | No. 25 | at Toledo | W 88–82 | 22–3 (10–2) | 26 – Perkins | 10 – Harris | 3 – Tied | Savage Arena (7,401) Toledo, OH |
| February 19, 2019 7:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 25 | Ohio | W 114–67 | 23–3 (11–2) | 26 – Graves | 8 – Williams | 9 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (6,231) Amherst, NY |
| February 22, 2019 7:00pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | Kent State | W 80–57 | 24–3 (12–2) | 27 – Perkins | 7 – Tied | 8 – Jordan | Alumni Arena (6,668) Amherst, NY |
| February 26, 2019 7:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 21 | Akron | W 77–64 | 25–3 (13–2) | 25 – Perkins | 10 – Massinburg | 6 – Massinburg | Alumni Arena (5,789) Amherst, NY |
| March 1, 2019 8:00pm, CBSSN | No. 21 | at Miami (OH) | W 77–69 | 26–3 (14–2) | 20 – Massinburg | 10 – Massinburg | 6 – Jordan | Millett Hall (3,026) Oxford, OH |
| March 5, 2019 7:00pm, ESPN+ | No. 19 | at Ohio | W 82–79 | 27–3 (15–2) | 20 – Harris | 8 – Perkins | 6 – Massinburg | Convocation Arena (5,834) Athens, OH |
| March 8, 2019 6:00pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | Bowling Green | W 84–73 | 28–3 (16–2) | 22 – Perkins | 6 – Tied | 8 – Caruthers | Alumni Arena (6,783) Amherst, NY |
| MAC Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 14, 2019 12:00pm, ESPN+ | (1) No. 18 | vs. (8) Akron Quarterfinals | W 82–46 | 29–3 | 23 – Harris | 9 – Massinburg | 3 – Tied | Quicken Loans Arena (2,499) Cleveland, OH |
| Mar 15, 2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN | (1) No. 18 | vs. (5) Central Michigan Semifinals | W 85–81 | 30–3 | 21 – Massinburg | 9 – Tied | 4 – Graves | Quicken Loans Arena (6,044) Cleveland, OH |
| Mar 16, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | (1) No. 18 | vs. (3) Bowling Green Championship | W 87–73 | 31–3 | 31 – Harris | 10 – Massinburg | 4 – Jordan | Quicken Loans Arena (7,813) Cleveland, OH |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2019* 4:00 pm, TNT | (6 W) No. 15 | vs. (11 W) Arizona State First Round | W 91–74 | 32–3 | 21 – Tied | 10 – Tied | 7 – Jordan | BOK Center (12,352) Tulsa, OK |
| March 24, 2019* 6:10 pm, TNT | (6 W) No. 15 | vs. (3 W) No. 9 Texas Tech Second Round | L 58–78 | 32–4 | 17 – Perkins | 10 – Perkins | 5 – Harris | BOK Center (12,606) Tulsa, OK |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | 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 | 19 | Final |
| AP | RV | 25 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 14-T | 18 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 15 | Not released |
| Coaches' | RV | RV | 25 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 22 | 20-T | 20 | 17-T | 14 | 17 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 17 |