A weekend recap of UB Athletics, as the basketball teams started its season and the volleyball team is headed to the MAC Tournament.
And now, after 18 years of being a student of the game, and just before he makes his debut as the head coach of the Buffalo men’s basketball team, Oats is ready to be the teacher.
Two true freshmen and a junior college transfer combined to score 55 points in the men’s basketball team’s first and only preseason game against Daemen College last week. And they are less than half of Buffalo’s new players this season. The Bulls’ roster is filled with new players after an offseason of turnover with the transfer of star point guard Shannon Evans, the expulsion of MAC Player of the Year Justin Moss and the graduation of impact seniors like Will Regan and Xavier Ford.
The Spectrum sports editors shared their opinions on whether or not sophomore guard Shannon Evans, who was released from his UB scholarship and is speaking with other schools about transferring, will leave UB's basketball program.
On Thursday men’s basketball head coach Nate Oats named three assistant coaches for the 2015-16 season: former St. Johns assistant coach Jim Whitesell, ex-UConn standout Donyell Marshall and former Midland coach Bryan Hodgson.
UB Athletics introduced Oats as Buffalo’s 13th men’s basketball head coach in Alumni Arena on Monday afternoon. Oats is replacing Hurley, who Oats worked under as an assistant the past two seasons. The hire came less than 48 hours after Hurley let the team know via conference call last Thursday that he would be accepting the head coaching position at Arizona State.
The Spectrum breaks down this week in UB sports, including men's and women's tennis, men's basketball and softball.
With the men’s basketball team 2013-14 season finished, it’s time to look ahead. If the Bulls are to make another run at a Mid-American Conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance, they are going to have to replace the talent they lost. Bobby Hurley can help with this.
Following the Bulls' first visit to the NCAA Tournament, will Hurley stay or will he go?
UB Athletics is ready to make men’s basketball coach Bobby Hurley the highest paid coach in the Mid-American Conference.
Despite playing in a Mid-Major conference and having a small amount of success throughout its Division I history, UB Athletics has said it’s building “America’s next big-time college athletics brand” for the past two years under the New York Bulls Initiative or #NYBI. After the men’s basketball team’s historic season, maybe it’s finally on its way to doing it.
The men’s basketball team (23-10, 12-6 Mid-American Conference) ended its season with a loss to West Virginia (25-9) 68-62 in the first round of the NCAA tournament last Saturday.
COLUMBUS, OHIO –The No. 12 seeded men’s basketball team (23-10, 12-6 Mid-American Conference) fell 68-62 to No. 5 seed West Virginia (24-9, 11-7 Big 12) Friday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Spectrum sports staff gives their predictions for Buffalo's NCAA tournament matchup with West Virginia on Friday.
Hurley, who won back-to-back national titles with Duke from 1991-92, is returning to the tournament for the first time since his playing days. But he will be leading a team from the sidelines instead of on the court.
Xavier Ford brought expectations with him to Buffalo. The senior forward and former top-level recruit admits he’s “probably one of the most decorated guys to be recruited” to UB. But he admits he didn’t hold up to that standard.
The Spectrum scouts the Mountaineers projected starting five as well as a matchup to watch out for.
The No. 2 Bulls (22-9, 13-6 MAC) defeated No. 7 Akron 68-59 after closing the game out on a 19-10 run on Friday night at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Buffalo advances to the MAC Championships for the first time since 2009, where it lost to Akron 65-53. The Bulls will face No. 1 Central Michigan on Saturday night for the conference title.
Bulls claimed a MAC East division title, a share of the regular season MAC Championship and a triple-bye in this week’s conference tournament in Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The No. 2 seeded Bulls (21-9, 12-6 MAC) will play a yet to be determined opponent Friday in the MAC Semifinals – meaning they’ll will need just two victories to claim their first ever MAC Tournament championship, as well as the program’s first ever NCAA tournament bid.
The Spectrum sports desk discusses whether the Bulls are legitimate contenders to win the tournament or if there is a team or two that we see knocking them off beforehand.
Solutions by The State News
