The Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represents the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, United States. The team currently competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division. Buffalo began play in 1915 and joined the MAC in 1998. They won their first MAC East Division title in 2009, and won a third MAC East Division title in 2015 along with their first outright MAC Regular-Season championship and first MAC Tournament title to earn the program's first bid to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Bulls also have six appearances in the NCAA College Division Basketball Championship between 1957 and 1965 and two appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Their head coach position was filled on March 30, 2023 when Buffalo hired Villanova associate head coach George Halcovage.
History Men's basketball teams representing the University at Buffalo date back to at least December 1, 1905 when the Buffalo Bisons played in front of a crowd of 400 in Buffalo, losing 27–23 to Cornell University. Their first known win came in their following game against Tonawanda High School in the high school's gym. Their first known win against a fellow college basketball team came in the first game of the following season against Cornell at a roller rink.
In 1915, an official basketball program was launched with the full support of the university amid an athletic revival that saw the rebirth of the football team in the same year. Art Powell of the University of Rochester was hired as head coach for the inaugural season. The team practiced at a Turn-Verein building and played its home games at a Fraternal Order Orioles hall.
Although the university did not officially change its athletics teams' names from Bisons to Bulls until 1931, the basketball team was referred to as the Bulls in newspaper coverage as early as 1926.
Conference affiliations 1915–16 to 1942–43 – Independent 1943–44 to 1944–45 – Did not play 1945–46 to 1977–78 – Independent 1978–79 to 1987–88 – State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) 1988–89 to 1990–91 – Mideast Conference 1991–92 – East Coast Conference 1992–93 – Independent 1993–94 – East Coast Conference 1994–95 to 1997–98 – Mid-Continent Conference (Mid-Con) 1998–99 to present – Mid-American Conference
Postseason
NCAA Division I tournament
The Bulls have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament four times. Their combined record is 2–4. 2015 #12 First round #5 West Virginia L 62–68 2016 #14 First round #3 Miami L 72–79 2018 #13 First roundSecond Round #4 Arizona#5 Kentucky W 89–68L 75–95 2019 #6 First roundSecond Round #11 Arizona State #3 Texas Tech W 91–74L 58–78
NCAA Division II Tournament results The Bulls appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament six times. Their combined record is 6–7.
1957 Regional semifinalsRegional FinalsElite Eight CapitalEvansvilleKentucky Wesleyan W 75–64W 77–75L 68–72 1958 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game AmericanPhiladelphia Textile L 60–77W 77–73 1959 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Saint Michael'sWilliams L 51–53W 78–53 1960 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game WabashArkansas State L 65–76W 53–52 1963 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game South Carolina StateYoungstown State L 63–80L 53–65 1965 Regional semifinalsRegional Finals Randolph-MaconAkron W 81–69L 58–69
NCAA Division III Tournament results The Bulls appeared in the NCAA Division III tournament once. They went 0–2.
1982 Regional semifinalsRegional 3rd-place game Staten IslandIthaca L 53–64L 73–74
NIT results The Bulls have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their record is 1–2.
2005 Opening RoundFirst round DrexelSaint Joseph's W 81–76OT L 50–55 2021 First round Colorado State L 73–75
CIT results The Bulls have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) two times. Their combined record is 3–2.
2011 First roundSecond RoundQuarterfinals QuinnipiacWestern MichiganIona W 75–68W 49–48 L 63–78 2012 First roundSecond Round AmericanOakland W 78–61 L 76–84
CBI results The Bulls have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) once. Their record is 0–1.
2009 First round Wichita State L 73–84
Broadview Arena
The Buffalo Bulls play their home games at Broadview Arena, located in Amherst, New York. The arena seats 6,100 spectators and features a state of the art video-board, sound, and lighting systems.
Notable former players NBA players Three former Bulls have played in the National Basketball Association (NBA):
Sam Pellom: Played for the Atlanta Hawks (1979–82) & Milwaukee Bucks (1982–83) Nate Williams: Debuted for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2023 Curtis Jones: Debuted for the Denver Nuggets in 2025
Other notable alumni Turner Battle, MAC Player of the Year (2005), Bulls assistant coach, athletic director of The Park School of Buffalo Wes Clark, The Basketball Tournament (TBT) 2022 champion Modie Cox, professional basketball player and coach Shannon Evans, professional basketball player Blake Hamilton, TBT 2022 champion Jeremy Harris, TBT 2022 champion Yassin Idbihi, professional player, 3× Bundesliga champion and 2× All-Star C. J. Massinburg, MAC Player of the Year, TBT 2022 champion and MVP, Italian Cup champion Javon McCrea, MAC Player of the Year (2014), professional basketball player, ABA All-Star Justin Moss, MAC Player of the Year (2015), professional basketball player Nick Perkins, professional basketball player, 2022 TBT Champion Jarryn Skeete, Canadian professional basketball player Mitchell Watt, MAC Player of the Year (2012), champion of the FIBA Europe Cup, Italian Cup, German Cup and Balkan League
Retired numbers
Buffalo Bulls retired numbers No. Player Tenure Ref. Jim Horne 1951–55 1954-1955 Buffalo Bulls Basketball by Scott Hollander at University at Buffalo Libraries Harold Kuhn 1949–52 Sam Pellom 1974–78 Curtis Blackmore 1970–73 2018-19 Buffalo men's basketball media guide, p. 94–95
Honored jerseys Jerseys were retired but the numbers remain available:
Rasaun Young 1993–98 Bulls to Honor Former Standout Rasaun Young on March 8, 28 Feb 2019 at UBBull.com (archived) Turner Battle 2001–05
All-Americans The following Buffalo players were named NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans: Sam Pellom – 1976 (AP Honorable Mention) Turner Battle – 2005 (AP Honorable Mention) Mitchell Watt – 2012 (AP Honorable Mention) Javon McCrea – 2014 (AP Honorable Mention) Justin Moss – 2015 (AP Honorable Mention) C. J. Massinburg – 2019 (AP Honorable Mention)
Academic All-Americans The following Buffalo players were named Academic All-Americans:
Turner Battle – 2005
Mid-American Conference award recipients
Player of the Year Turner Battle – 2005 Mitchell Watt – 2012 Javon McCrea – 2014 Justin Moss – 2015 C. J. Massinburg – 2019
Tournament MVP Xavier Ford – 2015 Willie Conner – 2016 Wes Clark – 2018 Jeremy Harris – 2019
Coach of the Year Reggie Witherspoon – 2004 Nate Oats – 2018, 2019
Defensive Player of the Year Dontay Caruthers – 2017, 2019 Davonta Jordan – 2020 Josh Mballa – 2021
Freshman of the Year Javon McCrea – 2011
Sixth Man of the Year Mark Bortz – 2005 Nick Perkins – 2017, 2018, 2019 Ronaldo Segu – 2020
Academic All-MAC
All-MAC teams
All-MAC First Team Turner Battle – 2005 Rodney Pierce – 2009, 2010 Mitchell Watt – 2012 Javon McCrea – 2012, 2013, 2014 Justin Moss – 2015 C. J. Massinburg – 2018, 2019 Nick Perkins – 2018, 2019 Jayvon Graves – 2020 Jeenathan Williams – 2022
All-MAC Second Team Turner Battle – 2004 Calvin Cage – 2006 Byron Mulkey – 2011 Shannon Evans – 2015 Blake Hamilton – 2017 Jeremy Harris – 2018, 2019 Jayvon Graves – 2021 Jeenathan Williams – 2021 Josh Mballa – 2021, 2022 Ronaldo Segu – 2022
All-MAC Third Team Lamonte Bearden – 2016 Blake Hamilton – 2016 Wes Clark – 2018 Curtis Jones – 2023 Ryan Sabol – 2026
All-Freshman Team
All-Defensive Team Willie Conner – 2016 Dontay Caruthers – 2017, 2019 Davonta Jordan – 2018, 2019 Josh Mballa – 2021, 2022
All-Tournament team
See also Blue Collar U, a team of primarily Buffalo Bulls alumni that participates in The Basketball Tournament
References
External links