2010–11 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

2010–11 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball
CIT, Quarterfinals
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	East
Record	20–14 (8–8 MAC)
Head coach	Reggie Witherspoon (12th season)
Assistant coaches	Jim Kwitchoff (12th season) Kevin Heck (6th season) Turner Battle (4th season)
Home arena	Alumni Arena

2010–11 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
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

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]

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
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Tony Watson II 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Palm Beach Gardens High School West Palm Beach, FL G 2 Byron Mulkey (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Niagara-Wheatfield High School Wheatfield, NY G 3 Jarod Oldham 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Eisenhower High School Decatur, IL G 4 Richie Sebuharara (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Vestal High School Vestal, NY G 5 Zach Filzen 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Northern Arizona Northfield, MN G 10 Corey Raley-Ross 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Harding University High School Charlotte, NC F 12 Javon McCrea 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Newark High School Newark, NY F 21 Mitchell Watt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Desert Edge High School Goodyear, AZ G 22 Auraum Nuiriankh 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Charis Prep High School Baltimore, MD G 24 Dave Barnett 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr East Aurora High School East Aurora, NY F 30 Titus Robinson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr East Mecklenburg High School Charlotte, NC F 32 Jawaan Alston 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Albert Gallatin High School Uniontown, PA C 33 Cameron Downing 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Fr Memorial High School Tulsa, OK F 44 Mike Clifford 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Bishop Fenwick High School Danvers, MA	Head coach Reggie Witherspoon (Wheeling) Assistant coach(es) Jim Kwitchoff (Boston College) Kevin Heck (Wayne State (MI)) Turner Battle (Buffalo) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

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]

References

1. "Buffalo Bulls Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
2. Bronstein, Jonah (December 30, 2010). "Fredette nets 34 points as BYU downs UB, 90-82". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
3. "2010–11 Buffalo Bulls Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
4. "2014 MAC Record Book" (PDF). MAC-Sports.com. Mid-American Conference. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
5. Mandelaro, Jim (March 4, 2014). "Newark's Javon McCrea shines for UB basketball". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
6. "2009–10 Buffalo Bulls Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
7. "2009–10 Buffalo Bulls Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
8. Bronstein, Jonah (March 7, 2011). "The Mulkey Way: Niagara Falls native, Niagara-Wheatfield product, Buffalo fan favorite". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved March 30, 2022.