Bracket Buster: Buffalo

Sitting at 54th currently in KenPom, the Bulls of Buffalo coached by Bobby Hurley earned their first trip to the NCAA Tournament tonight. Buffalo will probably end up on the 13 line but shouldn't be overlooked.

They're not a great shooting team, though they dropped 86 tonight. They push the ball, though as they're 21st in tempo. They have an effective fg% of 48.3%, sona half court game doesn't suit them. They do a good job protecting the ball with a turnover % of 16.5%, 40th best. They're also efficient on the offensive glass and do a decent job getting to the line. They're only 202nd in shooting from 3. If they're hitting their 3's, you better match them.

They're weaker on defense, 88th in KenPom. Teams have an effective fg% of 48.2%. That's mediocre but they do a good job keeping teams from going off from 3. They're pretty good at not fouling but are average on rebounding and forcing turnovers.

Jr. F Justin Moss gives them 17.9ppg and 9.2rpg. Soph. G Shannon Evans adds 15.5 and 4.7 dimes a game. Also, for our local folk, they have Germantown grad, Lamonte Bearden playing for them. He gets quality minutes as a frosh.

Buffalo doesn't have any great wins in the resume. They played Wisconsin and Kentucky and lost.  Obviously. Their only tournament team win is Bob Morris. That said, they're the opposite of Harvard. If they catch a poor defensive team, they can steal a W. Hurley has done a great job at Buffalo and will be a hot commodity (no, it won't be DePaul).