Balanced No. 6 seed Buffalo advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year with a convincing 91-74 win over No. 11 seed Arizona State in a first-round matchup in Tulsa on Friday
Facing Bobby Hurley, their former head coach before he left for the Sun Devils four years ago, the Bulls knocked out a Pac-12 opponent in the first round for the second straight year. This time feels much different than last season’s upset win over No. 4 seed Arizona and Deandre Ayton.
Buffalo (32-3) had four double-figure scorers during a dominant win on Friday as they continue to look like the top-25 team they’ve been for most of the season. Jeremy Harris (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Nick Perkins (21 points, 10 rebounds) both finished with double-doubles for the Bulls while C.J. Massinburg (18 points) and Jayvon Graves (13 points) also finished in double-figures. The Bulls dominated on the glass as they won 39-25 on the boards as they had 11 offensive rebounds. Bench production was also important for Buffalo as they had 33 bench points on Friday.
Arizona State (23-11) knocked out St. John’s in a First Four game on Wednesday night as they shot the ball poorly from the perimeter on Friday. The Sun Devils didn’t knock down a three-pointer until the second half as they finished a dismal 3-for-22 shooting from distance. Zylan Cheatham was one of the few bright spots for the Sun Devils as he finished with 22 points while big man Romello White chipped in 12 points. After scoring 21 points in the win on Wednesday, freshman and leading scorer Luguentz Dort struggled to get going as he had 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting.
Buffalo advances to face No. 3 seed Texas Tech on Sunday in Tulsa as the Bulls will try to maintain their great offense against the No. 1 defense in the country. Besides for being a fun matchup of mid-major against Big 12 champion, Buffalo will also have its hands full trying to stop Big 12 Player of the Year Jarrett Culver, as he came up with a huge game on Friday as Texas Tech knocked out Northern Kentucky.