2004–05 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

The 2004–05 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team represented the University at Buffalo during the 2004–05 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulls, led by sixth-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 23–10, 11–7 in MAC play to finish in fifth place in the MAC East. It was the first 20-win season in the school's NCAA Division I history.[1]

2004–05 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball
NIT, First Round
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast
Record23–10 (11–7 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jim Kwitchoff (6th season)
  • Michael Mennenga (5th season)
  • Chris Hawkins (5th season)
Home arenaAlumni Arena
Seasons
← 2003–04
2005–06 →
2004–05 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Miami (OH) 12 6   .667 19 11   .633
Buffalo 11 7   .611 23 10   .697
Ohio 11 7   .611 21 11   .656
Akron 11 7   .611 19 10   .655
Kent State 11 7   .611 20 13   .606
Marshall 3 15   .167 6 22   .214
West
Western Michigan 11 7   .611 20 13   .606
Toledo 11 7   .611 16 13   .552
Bowling Green 10 8   .556 18 11   .621
Ball State 10 8   .556 15 13   .536
Northern Illinois 7 11   .389 11 17   .393
Eastern Michigan 5 13   .278 12 18   .400
Central Michigan 4 14   .222 10 18   .357
2005 MAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

They reached the finals of the MAC men's basketball tournament for the first time in school history and at one point held a 19-point lead but ultimately lost to Ohio after a last-second tip-in in overtime.[2][3] They were also invited to the National Invitation Tournament for the first time in program history and won their opening-round game against Drexel.

Writing for the Associated Press, Tom Withers described it as "Buffalo's dream season."[4]

Following the season, Buffalo guard Turner Battle became the first Bull in program history to be named an Academic All-American, an Honorable Mention All-American, the MAC Men's Basketball Player of the Year and to the All-MAC First Team. Battle and Yassin Idbihi became the first Bulls in program history to be named to the MAC All-Tournament Team. Mark Bortz became the first Bull in program history to be named the MAC Sixth Man of the Year.[5]

Previous season

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The Bulls finished the 2003–04 season with an overall record of 17–12 and a record of 11–7 in conference play. It was their first winning season since having joined the MAC for the 1998–99 season.[1] In spite of that, they lost in the second round of the 2004 MAC tournament.[6] Eleven of the thirteen players from the 2003–04 season, including the eleven who appeared in the most games for the 2003–04 team, returned for the 2004–05 season.[7][8]

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
B. J. Walker 0 F 6'9" 245 Sophomore Cincinnati, OH Transferred to Garden City Community College[9]
Marcus Henderson 4 G 5'8" 165 Freshman Niagara Falls, NY Declared academically ineligible[10]

Roster

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2004–05 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Jason Bird 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Ypsilanti High School Ypsilanti, MI
G 3 Wallace Hall 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Denby High School Detroit, MI
G 4 Darwin Young (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Hutchinson Central Technical High School Buffalo, NY
G 10 Calvin Cage 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Bladensburg High School Capitol Heights, MD
G 11 Turner Battle 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr East Forsyth High School Kernersville, NC
F 21 Andrew Atman 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Upper St. Clair High School Pittsburgh, PA
G 22 Roderick Middleton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Brewster Academy University Park, IL
F 23 Brian Andre 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 310 lb (141 kg) So Maine Central Institute Bingham, ME
G 31 Daniel Gilbert 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Cass Technical High School Detroit, MI
F 32 Parnell Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Pike High School Indianapolis, IN
F 33 Mario Jordan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Benedictine High School Cleveland, OH
F 35 Barnard Onyenucheya (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr John F. Kennedy High School Bronx, NY
F 42 Mark Bortz 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Sr Walled Lake Central High School Commerce Township, MI
F 44 Christian Schmidt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Schloss Hagerhof Chemnitz, East Germany
C 45 Yassin Idbihi 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) So Schloss Hagerhof Cologne, West Germany
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
November 20, 2004*
at No. 8 Connecticut L 68–90  0–1
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
 Storrs, CT
November 23, 2004*
Fairleigh Dickinson W 87–84 OT 1–1
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
November 27, 2004*
Indiana State W 92–64  2–1
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
December 1, 2004*
Colgate W 74–62  3–1
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
December 4, 2004
Western Michigan L 53–70  3–2
(0–1)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
December 7, 2004*
at Elon W 70–63 OT 4–2
(0–1)
 Alumni Gym 
 Elon, NC
December 11, 2004*
Niagara W 95–92 2OT 5–2
(0–1)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
December 18, 2004*
at Canisius W 69–65  6–2
(0–1)
 Koessler Athletic Center 
 Buffalo, NY
December 21, 2004*
at Penn State W 72–70  7–2
(0–1)
 Bryce Jordan Center 
 University Park, PA
January 2, 2005
at Bowling Green L 88–95  7–3
(0–2)
 Anderson Arena 
 Bowling Green, OH
January 6, 2005
at Central Michigan W 83–67  8–3
(1–2)
 Rose Arena 
 Mount Pleasant, MI
January 9, 2005
Toledo W 56–54  9–3
(2–2)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
January 12, 2005
at Akron L 59–75  9–4
(2–3)
 James A. Rhodes Arena 
 Akron, OH
January 15, 2005
Miami W 67–56  10–4
(3–3)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
January 19, 2005
at Kent State L 80–85 OT 10–5
(3–4)
 MAC Center 
 Kent, OH
January 25, 2005
Northern Illinois W 86–80  11–5
(4–4)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
January 27, 2005
Marshall W 78–65  12–5
(5–4)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
January 29, 2005
at Eastern Michigan W 80–68  13–5
(6–4)
 Convocation Center 
 Ypsilanti, MI
February 2, 2005
Ohio L 90–92  13–6
(6–5)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
February 5, 2005
at Miami L 74–77 OT 13–7
(6–6)
 Millett Hall 
 Oxford, OH
February 8, 2005
at Western Michigan W 85–79  14–7
(7–6)
 University Arena 
 Kalamazoo, MI
February 12, 2005
Ball State W 67–58  15–7
(8–6)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
February 15, 2005
Kent State W 77–66  16–7
(9–6)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
February 19, 2005*
at Fresno State
ESPN BracketBusters
W 52–49  17–7
(9–6)
 Save Mart Center 
 Fresno, CA
February 23, 2005
at Marshall W 68–55  18–7
(10–6)
 Cam Henderson Center 
 Huntington, WV
March 2, 2005
at Ohio L 77–90  18–8
(10–7)
 Convocation Center 
 Athens, OH
March 5, 2005
Akron W 72–56  19–8
(11–7)
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
2005 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament
March 7, 2005
Northern Illinois
First Round
W 73–66  20–8
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
March 10, 2005
vs. Toledo
Quarterfinal
W 85–72  21–8
 Gund Arena 
 Cleveland, OH
March 11, 2005
vs. Western Michigan
Semifinal
W 75–68  22–8
 Gund Arena 
 Cleveland, OH
March 12, 2005
vs. Ohio
MAC Championship
L 79–80 OT 22–9
 Gund Arena 
 Cleveland, OH
2005 National Invitation Tournament
March 16, 2005
Drexel
Opening Round
W 81–76 OT 23–9
 Alumni Arena 
 Amherst, NY
March 19, 2005
at Saint Joseph's
First Round
L 50–55  23–10
 Hagan Arena 
 Philadelphia, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Buffalo Bulls Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  2. ^ Johnson, James (August 21, 2005). "Betts says UB is his choice". Democrat and Chronicle. p. 55. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  3. ^ McKissic, Rodney (March 2005). "OHIO STUNS UB IN OVERTIME LAST-SECOND TIP-IN LEAVES BULLS ON NCAA BUBBLE". Buffalo News. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  4. ^ Withers, Tom (November 18, 2005). "Ohio opens as class of MAC". Livingston County Daily Press & Argus. Associated Press. p. 23. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  5. ^ "2014 Mid-American Conference Record Book" (PDF). getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  6. ^ "2003-04 Buffalo Bulls Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  7. ^ "2003-04 Buffalo Bulls Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  8. ^ "2004-05 Buffalo Bulls Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  9. ^ "B.J. Walker - 2005-06 - Men's Basketball". University of Nebraska. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  10. ^ "Buffalo swingman Walcott dismissed from team". ESPN.com. ESPN. Associated Press. January 13, 2004. Retrieved March 20, 2022.