Why you’re going to be rooting for Buffalo in the NCAA tournament
It has been a tough year for the Buffalo basketball team and first-year coach Nate Oats, but the Bulls fought through it all and put together a feel-good story by making the NCAA tournament on Saturday.
Blake Hamilton knocked down a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the Mid-American Conference title game breaking a tie with Akron and ultimately winning the game 64-61 over the favored Zips. The Bulls are going dancing for a second consecutive season but getting there this time was much more difficult and unlikely.
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Last year the Bulls were a trendy pick to pull off the famous 12-5 upset with a different cast of characters and coach Bobby Hurley leading the way. Hurley was hired by Arizona State and the school promoted Oats, which now looks like a stroke of genius.
Prior to being promoted to head coach at Buffalo this season, Nate Oats’ only other head-coaching experience was at Romulus (MI) High School
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) March 13, 2016
Oats rebuilt the roster with only three regular contributors returning from last season’s team. he molded the group throughout the season while also doing his best to support his wife, Crystal, as she battles against lymphoma. The Buffalo News reported that Crystal Oats’ doctors are optimistic about her fight and she was healthy enough to travel to Cleveland for the title game, making the victory all the more sweet for her husband and his players.
[Wayne Selden’s dunk on Baylor was the best of 2016 postseason]
The Bulls cut down the nets after their win and they saved the last piece for Crystal Oats.
Nate Oats wife Crystal battling cancer. Jim Whitesell loses brother to cancer. Nikola Rakicevic’s mom passed away. This is a special title
— Howard WGR (@hsimon62) March 13, 2016
Familiar fantastic scene in Cleveland – no one deserves it more than @nate_oats and company!
— Bobby Hurley (@BobbyHurley11) March 13, 2016
Buffalo is once again likely to be a No. 12 seed and will face a team from a larger conferrence and more name recognition. But that isn’t likely to phase this group considering how far it has come in four months and some of the obstacles it has had to battle.
The Bulls also faced some very good teams in the nonconference portion of the schedule but lost to Duke, Iowa State and VCU. It’s best victory this season is the one it earned Saturday against an Akron team with a 29 RPI and a superior resume.
Akron will now sweat out the selection show Sunday afternoon and hope it somehow beats the odds and gets an at-large bid despite a crowded field of programs seeking them.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
