The 2010–11 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the University at Buffalo during the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by twelfth-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon, played their home games at Alumni Arena in Amherst, New York as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 20–14, 8–8 in MAC play to finish in sixth place in the MAC East. It was the third 20-win season in the school's NCAA Division I history and the second in their past three seasons.[1]
| 2010–11 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball | |
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CIT, Quarterfinals | |
| Conference | Mid-American Conference |
| East | |
| Record | 20–14 (8–8 MAC) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | Alumni Arena |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kent State | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 25 | – | 12 | .676 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami (OH) | 11 | – | 5 | .688 | 16 | – | 17 | .485 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 19 | – | 16 | .543 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron † | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 23 | – | 13 | .639 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling Green | 8 | – | 8 | .500 | 14 | – | 19 | .424 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buffalo | 8 | – | 8 | .500 | 20 | – | 14 | .588 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Michigan | 11 | – | 5 | .688 | 21 | – | 13 | .618 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ball State | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 19 | – | 13 | .594 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 10 | – | 21 | .323 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 5 | – | 11 | .313 | 9 | – | 21 | .300 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Michigan | 5 | – | 11 | .313 | 9 | – | 22 | .290 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Toledo | 1 | – | 15 | .063 | 4 | – | 28 | .125 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Buffalo hosted unanimous national college player of the year Jimmer Fredette and the 16th-ranked BYU Cougars at Alumni Arena on December 30, 2010. The Bulls held Fredette to 6 points on 1-of-9 shooting in the first half but Fredette managed 28 points in the second half for a season-high total of 34; BYU ultimately won 90–82. After the game, Reggie Witherspoon said that Fredette was indisputably the best college basketball player ever to play a game in Western New York.[2]
Despite an exit in the quarterfinals of the MAC men's basketball tournament, Buffalo received an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). It was the school's third Division I postseason appearance and first since the 2009 College Basketball Invitational. In the CIT, Buffalo won its first two games before losing in the quarterfinals against eventual runner-up Iona.[3]
The 2010–11 season featured the college debut of Javon McCrea. At the end of the season, McCrea would be the first Buffalo player named the MAC Freshman of the Year.[4] McCrea would go on to become the program's all-time leading scorer.[5]
Previous season
The previous year's Bulls finished the 2009–10 season with an overall record of 18–12 and a record of 9–7 in conference play. It was just their second consecutive season with a winning record.[1] In spite of that, they lost in the second round of the 2010 MAC tournament.[6] Buffalo graduated its top five scorers from this team.[7] Senior guard Byron Mulkey redshirted in 2009–10 due to the logjam of seniors at the guard position and the need for senior leadership on the 2010–11 team.[8]
Departures
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Sean Smiley | 3 | G | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Senior | Erie, PA | Graduated |
| Rodney Pierce | 4 | G | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Niagara Falls, NY | ||
| Derek Wolfley | 15 | F | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Freshman | Attica, NY | — |
| John Boyer | 22 | G | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Senior | Hollidaysburg, PA | Graduated |
| Calvin Betts | 25 | G | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Rochester, NY | ||
| Adekambi Laleye | 33 | F | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Ottawa, ON | ||
| Max Boudreau | 40 | F | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Montreal, QC |
Roster
| 2010–11 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date time, TV | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| November 13, 2010* | Navy | W 88–46 | 1–0 | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| November 16, 2010* | at Youngstown State | L 53–64 | 1–1 | Beeghly Center Youngstown, OH | |||||||
| November 20, 2010* | Towson | W 87–76 | 2–1 | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| November 23, 2010* | at Canisius | W 81–64 | 3–1 | Koessler Athletic Center Buffalo, New York | |||||||
| November 27, 2010* | at Indiana State | L 54–58 | 3–2 | Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN | |||||||
| December 1, 2010* | at Army | W 56–54 | 4–2 | Christl Arena West Point, NY | |||||||
| December 4, 2010* | at St. Bonaventure | L 74–76 | 4–3 | Reilly Center St. Bonaventure, NY | |||||||
| December 8, 2010* | Niagara | W 82–64 | 5–3 | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| December 11, 2010* | Green Bay | W 78–64 | 6–3 | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| December 18, 2010* | Houghton | W 79–47 | 7–3 | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| December 30, 2010* | No. 16 BYU | L 82–90 | 7–4 | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| January 3, 2011* | at Cornell | W 78–66 | 8–4 | Newman Arena Ithaca, NY | |||||||
| January 8, 2011 | Bowling Green | L 71–74 2OT | 8–5 (0–1) | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| January 13, 2011 | at Miami (OH) | L 67–70 | 8–6 (0–2) | Millett Hall Oxford, OH | |||||||
| January 16, 2011 | Akron | W 73–70 | 9–6 (1–2) | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| January 19, 2011 | Kent State | W 79–54 | 10–6 (2–2) | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| January 22, 2011 | at Ohio | W 73–68 | 11–6 (3–2) | Convocation Center Athens, OH | |||||||
| January 25, 2011 | at Western Michigan | W 79–68 | 12–6 (4–2) | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI | |||||||
| January 29, 2011 | Northern Illinois | W 63–52 | 13–6 (5–2) | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| February 3, 2011 | Toledo | W 81–58 | 14–6 (6–2) | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| February 5, 2011 | at Ball State | L 71–72 | 14–7 (6–3) | Worthen Arena Muncie, IN | |||||||
| February 8, 2011 | Central Michigan | W 72–43 | 15–7 (7–3) | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| February 12, 2011 | at Eastern Michigan | L 65–78 | 15–8 (7–4) | Convocation Center Ypsilanti, MI | |||||||
| February 15, 2011 | Ohio | L 69–76 | 15–9 (7–5) | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| February 19, 2011* | Milwaukee ESPN BracketBusters | W 80–65 | 16–9 | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| February 24, 2011 | at Kent State | L 69–72 | 16–10 (7–6) | MAC Center Kent, OH | |||||||
| February 26, 2011 | at Akron | L 60–69 | 16–11 (7–7) | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH | |||||||
| March 2, 2011 | Miami (OH) | W 59–49 | 17–11 (8–7) | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | |||||||
| March 5, 2011 | at Bowling Green | L 63–73 | 17–12 (8–8) | Anderson Arena Bowling Green, OH | |||||||
| 2011 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 8, 2011 | (8) | (9) Central Michigan First Round | W 64–50 | 18–12 | Alumni Arena Amherst, NY | ||||||
| March 10, 2011 | (8) | vs. (1) Kent State Quarterfinal | L 62–73 | 18–13 | Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland, OH | ||||||
| 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 14, 2011 | at Quinnipiac First Round | W 75–68 | 19–13 | TD Bank Sports Center Hamden, CT | |||||||
| March 19, 2011 | at Western Michigan Second Round | W 49–48 | 20–13 | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI | |||||||
| March 22, 2011 | at Iona Quarterfinal | L 63–78 | 20–14 | Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, NY | |||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. | |||||||||||
Awards
Freshman of the Year
- Javon McCrea – 2011[4]
Academic All-MAC
- Byron Mulkey – 2011[4]
All-MAC Second Team
- Byron Mulkey – 2011[4]
MAC All-Freshman Team
- Javon McCrea – 2011[4]