Arizona Basketball is set to play Buffalo in Boise in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Buffalo earned an automatic bid to the tournament by defeating Toledo in the Mid-American Conference Tournament title game on Saturday in Cleveland. This is the Bulls' third trip to the NCAA Tournament in the past four years and second under head coach Nate Oats. Buffalo sports a 26-8 record, enters tournament play on a six-game winning streak dating back to Feb. 20.
"They play a style that is difficult to defend," said head coach Sean Miller. "They strike in transition. They know to win. We are playing a confident team, a team that can beat anyone on their schedule, including us, and we have to be ready to go."
"We're a team of many traits, fast paced, we can run and we hard-nosed," Buffalo forward Nick Perkins said after the MAC championship game Saturday. "This is blue collar, that's our thing. We tough. Got a lot of guys that can score, so all around just a really good team 1 through 15."
Arizona is a number four seed in the south region with a tough draw. Should the Wildcats get by Buffalo, they are looking at a potential second round matchup with Kentucky. Potentially awaiting them in the Sweet 16 is Virginia, the number one overall seed in the tournament.
"The teams that we can possibly face, we were probably going to face them either way, said Rawle Alkins. "They made the NCAA Tournament for a reason. It's just basketball."
