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.
Well, it was a good story while it lasted. That’s what I can’t help but think while looking at the Buffalo men’s basketball team.
Sharkey is one of the most prolific players in program history. She ranks fifth in program history in both career games (120) and free throws (305), 10th in rebounds (759) and 11th in blocks (98). Sharkey returns as an assistant coach to teach the young wave of new Bulls what it’s like to play in Buffalo.
The men’s basketball team, the reigning Mid-American Conference Champions, isn’t even nationally ranked in the top-100. That’s according to CBS Sports. And even Buffalo’s own conference’s media has picked it to finish no better than fourth – in the MAC East. But it’s nothing of concern for first-year head coach Nate Oats.
As soon as the Mid-American Conference Championship banner was revealed on the wall of Alumni Arena, something changed.
This is a young women’s basketball team, but let’s backtrack for a second. Buffalo is coming off its best season in program history, winning 19 games and making its first-ever Women’s National Invitational Tournament appearance.
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.
Legette-Jack wants to use the same mentality used to help raiser her to raise her Buffalo women’s basketball program.
Despite a Bulls’ (5-5, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) comeback, Northern Illinois showed why it is the superior team and claimed a 41-30 victory at UB Stadium Wednesday night. The loss puts an end to Buffalo’s three-game winning streak, as the Bulls will have to wait another week to try for its sixth victory to make them bowl eligible for just the third time since rejoining Division I in 1999.
The Spectrum has your scouting report on who has the edge in Wednesday’s matchup.
The Bulls (5-4, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) seek their all-important sixth win of the season when they take on MAC West powerhouse Northern Illinois (6-3, 4-1 MAC) at UB Stadium Wednesday night.
A breakdown in the week of UB Athletics.
On a night where the Bulls hung their Mid-American Conference Championship banner in Alumni Arena, new faces who weren’t even on last year’s championship team lead the way for an 87-68 exhibition win over Daemen Friday night. New players Massinburg, Conner and Perkins accounted for 55 of the team’s 87 points on a night where Buffalo turned the ball over 24 times.
The Broncos (12-3-5, 8-1-2 MAC) ended the Bulls’ (11-7-3, 7-3-1 Mid-American Conference) season with a 1-0 victory in the MAC Semifinals Friday, one season after Buffalo defeated Western Michigan 1-0 in the conference championship game.
The football team (5-4, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) picked up its third straight conference victory with an 18-17 come-from-behind win over Kent State (3-6, 2-3 MAC). With the victory, the Bulls are just one win away from being bowl eligible for the third time since returning to Division I. Here is your report card of the Buffalo performances.
The Bulls (5-4, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) defeated the Golden Flashes (3-6, 2-3 MAC) 18-17 Thursday night in Kent, Ohio to move one step closer to bowl eligibility. The Bulls are currently on a three-game win streak and are one victory away from being Bowl eligible.
Senior forward Raheem Johnson and sophomore guard Mory Diane have been suspended for the men’s basketball team’s season opener on Nov. 13 against Pitt-Bradford for “conduct detrimental to the team over the summer,” according to head coach Nate Oats via an official UB press release.
The football team (4-4, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) continues to stride toward bowl eligibility.
The Bulls (4-4, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) have had recent success in past weeks with the running game, but this will be their biggest test to date in conference play as they face Kent State (3-5, 2-2 MAC) and its second-ranked rush defense on Thursday night.
Oats announced his wife Crystal’s diagnosis on his Facebook page Monday. He said Crystal will undergo a strong chemotherapy treatment over the next 5-6 months and he will continue to coach the Bulls this season while devoting all his other time to his wife and three young daughters.
Solutions by The State News
