The Buffalo Bulls upset and also blew out the Arizona Wildcats, 89-68, on Thursday, March 15 in the first round of March Madness. Buffalo covered the spread as 8.5-point underdogs while the game went half a point under the total of 157.5.
The Bulls, who were the No. 13 seed and shoved aside the fourth-seeded Pac-12 champions from Tucson, will play another set of Wildcats – Kentucky — in the Round of 32. Odds for that matchup will be released soon, but it seems reasonable to think that Buffalo will be a 10- or 11-point underdog against the brand-name power and March reputation of Kentucky, led by coach John Calipari.
Three Buffalo players scored at least 19 points, led by Wes Clark with 25 and Jeremy Harris with 23. C.J. Massinburg chipped in 19 to power the Bulls to a runaway win. Buffalo led 55-52 with just under 14 minutes left. The Bulls got on a roll on offense while Arizona panicked and took quick shots without feeding future No. 1 NBA Draft pick DeAndre Ayton. A Buffalo steal led to a three-pointer and a 65-55 lead. Arizona never recovered. Buffalo built the lead to 72-58 a few moments later and steadily continued to build its lead. Buffalo hit 15 of 30 threes in the game, burying Arizona with white-hot shooting complemented by a strong and active defense which frustrated Ayton near the basket and never allowed Arizona’s elite big man to feel comfortable. One other thing Buffalo did in the process of pulling away from Arizona was getting offensive rebounds against a good rebounding opponent. Arizona never managed to dominate on the boards, and Buffalo made good use of its extra possessions.
Buffalo’s odds to win March Madness were enormous, with BetDSI Sportsbook tabbing the Bulls at +100000 to win a game on Monday, April 2. Buffalo might now move down to +95000. The Bulls’ next opponent, Kentucky, carried +2300 odds into the tournament and will probably be around +1700 heading into tip-off on Saturday.
