TULSA, Okla. — Buffalo coach Nate Oats beat his former boss when the sixth-seeded Bulls topped Bobby Hurley and 11th-seeded Arizona State 91-74 in the West Region.
Hurley was Buffalo's head coach during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons with Oats as an assistant before leaving to turn the Sun Devils around. The two shook hands and spoke briefly near the scorer's table as time expired. Both coaches had said they weren't thrilled about having to play each other.
The teams were tied at 14 in the first half before the Bulls went on a 17-5 run to take control.
Nick Perkins and Jeremy Harris each scored 21 points for Buffalo, which will play No. 3 seed Texas Tech on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Zylan Cheatham scored 22 points for Arizona State.
