Buffalo names Oats as Hurley's replacement

Apr 11, 2015 - 4:56 PM Buffalo, NY (Sports Network) - Buffalo named top assistant Nate Oats as its new head men's basketball coach on Saturday.

Oats was an assistant for the past two seasons under Bobby Hurley, who left Buffalo on Thursday to become the head coach at Arizona State.

The Bulls made the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever this past season, falling to West Virginia in the opener.

"After hours of conversations with Nate, it became very clear to me that the best candidate to lead our men's basketball team was already on campus," Buffalo athletic director Danny White said in a statement.

"Nate has tremendous experience as one of the finest coaches in America at both the collegiate and high school levels, and played an absolutely critical role in elevating our program to the NCAA Tournament, for the first time ever, in just two years."

Prior to his hiring at Buffalo, Oats spent 11 seasons as the head coach at Romulus High School in Michigan, winning the school's first state title in 27 years in 2012-13.

He will be formally introduced as the head coach on Monday afternoon.