Giving The Nate Oats and the Basketbulls their due

UB’s past three seasons have been the most successful in program history but they have all come with a measure of chaos between seasons.

In 2015, after winning the MAC, Bobby Hurley moved on to coach Arizona State. Shortly after twitter and media drama surrounded UB’s star guards desire to follow Hurley.

UB promoted Hurley’s assistant and things seemed ok. Then they lost their best big man after he was caught stealing money from dorm rooms.

Still they won the MAC again in 2016.

Now this season, once again, UB loses a big piece of the puzzle to a scandal.

Through it all Nate Oats and company have held the ship together well enough to draw in some fanatic talent and maintain what’s here.

Things at Akron have fallen apart and Ohio was really beaten up by graduation. Along with Attrition at Kent all of the sudden UB looks like a power in the East.

Buffalo received 24 of the 30 first-place votes to win the MAC East in the coaches poll and nine votes to win the conference (WMU got ten votes).

Elsewhere in the east Kent received two, Ohio University three and Akron one.

If the Bulls are going to win the East they will need big contributions from their two preseason all MAC players, CJ Massinburg and Nick Persons.