2004–05 Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team

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

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]

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

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

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

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

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

  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.