Buffalo Bulls
Mid-American Conference (19-10, 12-4)
The Mid-American Conference usually produces one NCAA Tournament representative each season: the conference tournament champion. The Buffalo Bulls have never been that team, never having made the Big Dance. Yet this has probably been the best Bulls team in a while, perhaps since the 2004-2005 team that made the NIT. Although Buffalo has seen postseason play under Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon, it has more often been the lesser tournaments. And, frankly, that is probably where MAC teams who don’t win the conference belong. Akron was the top team in the MAC regular season this year, with Buffalo finishing just a single game behind and a 2-0 record against the conference leader.
Big Wins: 11/30 at Dayton (84-55), 1/18 Akron (82-70), 2/29 at Akron (74-70)
Bad Losses: 1/14 at Miami OH (51-52), 2/18 at South Dakota State (65-86), 2/14 at Kent State (71-76)
Coach: Reggie Witherspoon (13 seasons at Buffalo)
Why They Can Surprise:
A key ingredient to an effective team is rebounding. Grabbing defensive rebounds prevents your opponent from getting second chances and multiple looks at the basket. Offensive rebounding of course helps your own offense, collecting second chance points on possessions where the defense thinks they’ve won. Buffalo is the 14th best rebounding team in the entire nation, collecting over 40 per game. Although Akron finished with the better regular season record, Buffalo finished first in the conference in rebounding (obviously), points per game, assists per game and field goal percentage. An upperclassmen-laden roster, the Bulls share the load very well in all aspects of their offense except three point shooting. Behind the arc, senior Zach Filzen is responsible for nearly half of the Bulls’ makes this season, and he does so while shooting a solid 40%. Senior forward Titus Robinson is another one of Buffalo’s efficient scorers, ranking fourth on the team in points per game while playing less than 20 minutes per contest. He does so by getting to the line a lot and shooting an insane percentage from the floor.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Outside of their two tilts with Akron, Buffalo has not really been challenged this year. Their strength of schedule will most likely finish in the mid-hundreds when the season is in the books and only two games on their schedule were against high quality opponents: December 20 at BYU and December 28 at Temple (both losses). Even with a handful of nice teams in the East division of the MAC to tussle with the Bulls, the conference itself does not deserve more than one representative in the NCAAs. With close games likely in postseason play and what could be considered a relatively unchallenged team thus far, it is alarming that Buffalo is so dreadful at free-throw shooting and stealing the basketball, two key skills that often make the difference in one possession games.
Probable Starters:
Jarod Oldham, Sophomore, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 6.0 apg
Zach Filzen, Senior, Guard, 11.9 ppg, 1.2 apg
Auraum Nuiriankh, Sophomore, Guard, 3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg
Mitchell Watt, Senior, Forward, 16.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.3 bpg
Javon McCrea, Sophomore, Forward, 14.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Dave Barnett, Senior, Guard, 6.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Titus Robinson, Senior, Forward, 7.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg
Tony Watson II, Junior, Guard, 5.6 ppg, 1.7 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 72.6 (64th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.7 (169, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.3 (59, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 39.1 (19, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.6 (116, 3)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.0 (137, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 65.7 (270, 11)
Rebound Margin: 6.9 (14, 1)
Assists Per Game: 16.4 (10, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 15.1 (284, 11)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
Buffalo 2011 CIT First Round win over Quinnipiac
Buffalo 2011 CIT Second Round win over Western Michigan
Buffalo 2011 CIT Quarterfinal loss to Iona
Buffalo 2009 CBI First Round loss to Wichita State
Buffalo 2005 NIT Opening Round win over Drexel
Buffalo 2005 NIT First Round loss to St. Joseph's
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
