2019–20 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represents the University at Buffalo during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by first-year head coach Jim Whitesell, play their home games at Alumni Arena in Amherst, New York as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

2019–20 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	East Division
2019–20 record	20–12 (11–7 MAC)
Head coach	Jim Whitesell (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Jamie Quarles (3rd season) Angres Thorpe (1st season) Hunter Jenkins (1st season)
Home arena	Alumni Arena

2019–20 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Akron	14	–	4		.778			24	–	7		.774
Bowling Green	12	–	6		.667			21	–	10		.677
Buffalo	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
Kent State	9	–	9		.500			20	–	12		.625
Ohio	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
Miami (OH)	5	–	13		.278			13	–	19		.406
West
Ball State	11	–	7		.611			18	–	13		.581
Northern Illinois	11	–	7		.611			18	–	13		.581
Toledo	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
Central Michigan	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
Western Michigan	6	–	12		.333			13	–	19		.406
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12		.333			16	–	16		.500
As of August 14, 2020; Rankings from AP Poll NOTE: The 2020 MAC Tournament was canceled prior to the quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous season

During the 2018–19 season, 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.[1]

2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
David Skogman C	Waukesha, WI	Waukesha West	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	May 2, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Savion Gallion SG	Washington, DC	Mt. Zion Preparatory School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	May 8, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
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: "2019 Buffalo Bulls commits". Rivals.com. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

[2]

2019–20 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G/F 0 David Nickelberry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Windermere Prep Trinity Valley Community College Orlando, FL F 1 Gabe Grant 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Sr Mount Carmel HS[3] Houston Cougars Chicago, IL G 2 Antwain Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Sr Malone High School Greenwood, FL G 3 Jayvon Graves 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr St. Vincent-St. Mary High School Malvern, Ohio G 4 Davonta Jordan 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Montverde Academy Cocoa, FL G 5 Savion Gallion 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Mount Zion Preparatory Washington, DC G 10 Ronaldo Segu 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Orlando Christian Prep Orlando, FL F 11 Jeenathan Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Prolific Prep Rochester, NY G 20 Patrick Moore 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Fredonia High School Cortland Red Dragons Fredonia, NY F 21 Dominic Johnson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Catholic Central Windsor, ON G 22 Laquill Hardnett 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Perry Hall High School Cincinnati Bearcats Philadelphia , PA G 23 Jamon Bivens 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Fayette County HS Atlanta, GA F 24 Tra'von Fagan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Jr Cedar Falls Florida SouthWestern State Waterloo, IA F 31 Giambattista Davis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Sr The Park School of Buffalo Daemen Wildcats Buffalo, NY F 34 Josh Mballa 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 217 lb (98 kg) So Putnam Science Academy Texas Tech Red Raiders Paris, France C 41 Brock Bertram 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 247 lb (112 kg) Jr Apple Valley Apple Valley, MN C 42 David Skogman 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 221 lb (100 kg) Fr Waukesha West High School Waukesha, Wisconsin	Head coach Jim Whitesell (Luther) Assistant coach(es) Jamie Quarles (Augusta University) Angres Thorpe (St. Leo University) Hunter Jenkins (Louisiana Tech University) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 15 November 2019

Schedule and Results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 24, 2019* 7:00 pm		Daemen	W 111–73		19 – Grant	6 – Grant	14 – Segu	Alumni Arena (2,562) Amherst, NY
Non-conference regular season
November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Dartmouth	L 63–68	0–1	17 – Jordan	9 – Mballa	3 – Tied	Alumni Arena (3,376) Amherst, NY
November 11, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Nazareth	W 109–72	1–1	17 – Tied	9 – Mballa	6 – Segu	Alumni Arena (1,913) Amherst, NY
November 16, 2019* 2:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. Harvard James Naismith Memorial Classic	W 88–76	2–1	21 – Segu	8 – Williams	7 – Jordan	Scotiabank Arena  Toronto, ON
November 21, 2019* 9:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. UConn Charleston Classic quarterfinals	L 68–79	2–2	15 – Tied	8 – Tied	5 – Jordan	TD Arena (4,003) Charleston, SC
November 22, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. Towson Charleston Classic consolation 2nd round	W 76–73	3–2	25 – Graves	11 – Mballa	11 – Jordan	TD Arena (4,416) Charleston, SC
November 24, 2019* 3:30 pm, ESPNU		vs. Missouri State Charleston Classic 5th place game	W 75–74	4–2	23 – Jordan	5 – Tied	5 – Jordan	TD Arena (3,122) Charleston, SC
November 30, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		William & Mary	W 88–77	5–2	24 – Graves	8 – Mballa	5 – Graves	Alumni Arena (3,420) Amherst, NY
December 3, 2019* 8:00 pm, SECN+		at Vanderbilt	L 76–90	5–3	16 – Johnson	7 – Tied	3 – Graves	Memorial Gymnasium (8,489) Nashville, TN
December 8, 2019* 5:00 pm, FS1		at DePaul	W 74–69	6–3	21 – Graves	14 – Mballa	8 – Jordan	Wintrust Arena (4,419) Chicago, IL
December 14, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Army	L 76–89	6–4	18 – Johnson	8 – Jordan	8 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (3,693) Amherst, NY
December 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Canisius	W 82–73	7–4	26 – Jordan	11 – Hardnett	5 – Graves	Alumni Arena (3,269) Amherst, NY
December 21, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Niagara	W 92–72	8–4	22 – Graves	10 – Williams	8 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (2,644) Amherst, NY
December 30, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		St. Bonaventure	W 84–79	9–4	28 – Graves	15 – Mballa	5 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (6,003) Amherst, NY
MAC regular season
January 4, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Illinois	L 72–73	9–5 (0–1)	17 – Williams	11 – Mballa	5 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (3,069) Amherst, NY
January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Ball State	L 66–88	9–6 (0–2)	16 – Johnson	6 – Mballa	4 – Jordan	Worthen Arena (4,811) Muncie, IN
January 10, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN		at Miami (OH)	W 83–78	10–6 (1–2)	25 – Graves	13 – Mballa	6 – Segu	Millett Hall (1,056) Oxford, OH
January 14, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Ohio	W 76–73	11–6 (2–2)	26 – Williams	9 – Mballa	8 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (2,404) Amherst, NY
January 17, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Central Michigan	W 86–67	12–6 (3–2)	18 – Williams	9 – Johnson	4 – Jordan	McGuirk Arena (2,121) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 21, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Western Michigan	W 90–79	13–6 (4–2)	23 – Graves	8 – Mballa	5 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (2,748) Amherst, NY
January 24, 2020 6:30 pm, CBSSN		Kent State	L 66–70	13–7 (4–3)	13 – Jordan	8 – Mballa	6 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (3,554) Amherst, NY
January 28, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Akron	W 77–74	14–7 (5–3)	18 – Johnson	17 – Mballa	4 – Tied	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,473) Akron, OH
January 31, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU		Bowling Green	L 77–78	14–8 (5–4)	24 – Graves	15 – Mballa	3 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (5,322) Amherst, NY
February 4, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Michigan	L 62–66	14–9 (5–5)	16 – Mballa	11 – Mballa	4 – Segu	Convocation Arena (1,364) Ypsilanti, MI
February 7, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPNU		Central Michigan	W 65–60	15–9 (6–5)	20 – Williams	12 – Graves	7 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (3,095) Amherst, NY
February 15, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN3		at Toledo	W 83–67	16–9 (7–5)	27 – Graves	7 – Johnson	5 – Graves	Savage Arena (4,276) Toledo, OH
February 18, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Ball State	W 72–59	17–9 (8–5)	16 – Tied	15 – Mballa	5 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (4,044) Amherst, NY
February 22, 2020 3:30 pm, ESPN2		at Kent State	W 104–98 ^2OT	18–9 (9–5)	33 – Graves	14 – Mballa	7 – Jordan	MAC Center (3,005) Kent, OH
February 25, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Ohio	L 69–80	18–10 (9–6)	16 – Graves	7 – Tied	6 – Jordan	Convocation Arena (4,837) Athens, OH
February 29, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Akron	L 73–86	18–11 (9–7)	18 – Williams	9 – Williams	8 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (5,870) Amherst, NY
March 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Miami (OH)	W 75–69	19–11 (10–7)	15 – Graves	14 – Mballa	6 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (3,252) Amherst, NY
March 6, 2020 TBA, ESPN+		at Bowling Green	W 88–84	20–11 (11–7)	25 – Graves	12 – Mballa	8 – Jordan	Stroh Center (3,550) Bowling Green, OH
MAC Tournament
Mar 9, 2020 7:30 PM, ESPN+	(5)	(12) Miami (OH) First round	L 79–85	20–12	20 – Segu	10 – Williams	6 – Jordan	Alumni Arena (3,741) Amherst, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

1. Casagrande, Michael (March 28, 2019). "The story behind Alabama hiring Nate Oats in 3 days". AL.com. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
2. "2019-20 Men's Basketball Roster". State University at Buffalo. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
3. "Gabe Grant". 247Sports.com. Retrieved January 13, 2020.