CU Buffs
Brooks: Young Buffs Bring Home Charleston Championship
Nov 19th
CHARLESTON, S.C. – If some of the Colorado Buffaloes are still wet behind the ears, they are also gritty beyond their years. The young Buffs capped a rugged three-game run with an 81-74 win against Murray State here Sunday night to win the Charleston Classic, giving CU its first in-season tournament title since the 2002-03 team won the Pepsi Classic in Charlotte, N.C.
It was a good week for CU in the dank, drizzly Old South for a number of reasons, starting with:
- Sophomore Askia Booker compiled 58 points in three games – a 19.3 average and a career-high 23 in the championship game – and was named the tournament’s MVP. No other Buffs were chosen to the all-tournament team, more of a testament to the strong and individually talented field than a CU slight.
- After successfully defending three premier point guards – Dayton’s Kevin Dillard, Baylor’s Pierre Jackson, Murray State’s Isaiah Canaan – CU sophomore Spencer Dinwiddie might return to Boulder with a lock-down rep. He was into them like a virus. “He did a great job . . . he took on the responsibility of their guards,” Booker said. “I give all the praise to him. He took all the pressure off of me.” But Dinwiddie also found time to score: He finished the championship game with 13 points.
- Freshmen post Josh Scott and Xavier Johnson and freshmen guards Eli Stalzer and Xavier Talton did what was asked of them in their roles. Scott scored nine of his 13 points in Sunday night’s decisive second half, when CU wanted to take the battle to Murray State in the low block. He also snagged six rebounds. Stalzer and Talton spelled Booker and Dinwiddie. Johnson, said coach Tad Boyle, let a couple of fouls diminish his aggression.
- Junior Andre Roberson scored for the first time in double figures (16) this season and finished one rebound short (nine) of his first double-double this year. Even though it was waved off because of an alleged charge, he had a thunderous dunk in the second half that Boyle called an energy boost for his team.
- The Buffs discovered that, yes, they can shoot free throws when a game is on the line. After clanking and clunking them in the first two games – including missing 14 of 18 against Baylor – they sank 27 of 36 Sunday night. In the game’s final 7:58, CU hit 18 of 20. Dinwiddie stuck 11 of 12.
- And Boyle went to 4-0 for the first time in his three seasons as CU’s head coach and now must find room for the Charleston Classic trophy along the Pac-12 Conference tournament hardware his team claimed last March. Boyle also got a congratulatory handshake Sunday night from Bill Murray – no relation to Murray State – and promised he “didn’t throw any Caddy Shack lines at him. He probably gets that all the time. It was good to meet him and he said he liked our team.”
What wasn’t to like about the Buffs in their three games here, particularly Sunday night? CU advanced to the championship game with a 67-57 win against Dayton, then by edging No. 16 Baylor 60-58. Murray State started four seniors and a junior from a team that went 32-2 last season.
Booker called winning the tournament “a confidence booster for everybody. We played three good teams . . . we can play with anybody. There’s nobody in the country we can’t compete against and win. We play team ball and it comes down to defense and rebounding at the end of the day. Coach tells that to us every day.”
Shooting 45.2 percent from the field, the Racers are the only team this season the Buffs haven’t held below their goal of 40 percent. But CU outrebounded Murray State 35-30 and won the board battle in two of the three games here.
Boyle was particularly proud of his team’s ball screen defense against the high-profile three point guard the Buffs faced. “It was a team victory, offensively and defensively, and I couldn’t be more proud of our team and players,” he said.
But Boyle, of course, believes there can/will be improvement through November. The Buffs don’t play during Thanksgiving week, returning to the Coors Events Center on Sunday, Nov. 25 to face Air Force (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network). Boyle is looking at this week as quality practice time.
CU led 33-31 at halftime Sunday night, rallying from a pair of six-point deficits. Boyle had cautioned his team about Canaan’s long-range shooting, and it didn’t take long for the CU coach’s words to ring true. The 6-1 senior took six of Murray State’s 14 first-half three-point attempts and hit half of them – the last two appearing a couple of steps beyond NBA range.
Dinwiddie rolled his eyes in disbelief. “People just don’t do that,” he said. “Not that people can’t, but it’s just the coach never says please go and shoot a 35-footer. So I wasn’t expecting it. He’s a great player, very difficult to guard.”
Canaan finished with a team-best 21 points, but didn’t hit a trey in the second half.
The Buffs hurt themselves with a season-worst 11 first-half turnovers, exceeding their first two game totals here by two. But they continued to compensate with defense and rebounding, holding the Racers to 35.7 percent from the field (10-of-28) and outboarding them 19-14. And in the second half, CU cut its turnovers to six.
The Buffs opened the second half with a 6-2 run, getting baskets from Johnson, Sabatino Chen and Roberson to go up 39-33, with that six-point advantage CU’s largest of the game. But Boyle also had warned his players to keep 6-7 Ed Daniel off the glass, and the next two Racers possessions showed why. A put-back stuff cut the Buffs lead to 39-35 and a layup on the next trip made it 39-37.
Then Murray State’s three-point shooters switched on. Stacy Wilson hit one, giving the Racers a 40-39 lead, Dinwiddie banked in a trey to push the Buffs back in front 42-40, then Dexter Fields answered with a triple to give Murray State a 43-42 edge.
A back-and-forth half appeared to be underway until CU unleashed a 6-0 run highlighted by back-to-back stuffs by Scott on a baseline move and Booker on a breakaway. That surge opened a 48-45 Buffs lead with just under 12 minutes remaining.
Seconds later, after Murray State coach Steve Prohm was whistled for a technical, a pair of Dinwiddie free throws sent CU’s advantage to 50-45. Things were heating up. Roberson picked up his third foul when he was called for a charge on his he-man jam over Daniel.
At the 10 minute mark, a sweet baseline move by Scott resulted in a layup and capped a 10-0 run that had opened a 52-45 CU lead. Murray State was far from done, answering with a 7-0 run capped by another trey by Fields to tie the score at 52-52 with 8 minutes left.
The next 3 minutes were all Buffs; they went on an 11-1 run highlighted by free throws from Scott, Adams and Chen; another Scott field goal from the low post and a Booker trey from the left wing.
With 5:02 to play, CU led 63-53. Murray State closed to 63-58 on a conventional three-point play by Daniel – and Roberson also picked up his fourth foul on that play.
At 1:51, another trey by Fields brought the Racers to 68-65 and prompted a timeout by Prohm. CU answered with a free throw line jumper by Booker, two free throws by Chen. Wilson hit a long trey with a minute remaining (72-68), but Scott negated that with a layup and a free throw to restore CU’s seven-point lead (75-68).
Roberson fouled out with 13.4 seconds left, sending Daniel to the free throw line for a potential three-point play. But he missed and the Buffs’ lead was 77-72. Dinwiddie hit another four free throws in the final 10 seconds and this one was done.
Winning the tournament, he said, “means a lot; it gets our players used to winning. We don’t want our team ever to get used to losing. It kind of builds that pride and sense of urgency, that will to say we don’t lose. Period. That’s just what it is.”
Should the Buffs be included in this week’s Top 25? Booker said it “doesn’t matter,” Dinwiddie said, “Yes . . . keep it conservative and go like (No.) 17.”
The Buffs did their parts in Charleston, the polls are best left to others. It’s very early in a long season, but you can’t help but feel a buzz from how it’s started.
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Colorado Women’s B-ball Team’s Front Court Dominates In 78-55 Win At UMKC
Nov 18th
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – One freshman forward started, one finished. No matter the order of appearance the recipe provided a winning combination for Colorado.
Arielle Roberson and Jamee Swan combined for 37 points on 71 percent shooting as Colorado defeated Missouri-Kansas City, 78-55, Sunday afternoon at the Swinney Recreation Center on the UMKC campus.
Colorado improved to 2-0, claiming its 15th straight win over nonconference regular season opponents dating back to 2010. UMKC drops to 2-2.
Swan, making her first career start, scored 10 of her 14 points in the first half to give the Buffaloes a good start. After picking up her third foul early in the second half, Roberson stepped in scoring 19 of her game-high 23 points in the last 20 minutes.
Roberson was 9-of-12 from the field, hit all five free throw attempts and grabbed six rebounds. Swan was 6-of-9 from the floor had three rebounds and an assist.
The freshman front court duo helped the Buffaloes dominate in the paint, outscoring the Kangaroos 42-14 inside.
“I give all the credit to my teammates,” Roberson said. “We knew coming out of the locker room we needed to push the ball and run more, really turn it up in the second half.
“I knew I had to bring defensive intensity and that led to offensive intensity for everybody.”
Roberson and Swan were the beneficiaries of a Colorado offense that picked apart the UMKC zone; putting on a passing clinic from all five positions. The Buffaloes had 17 assists on 32 made shots and overall shot 47 percent for the game.
That offense ran through forward Jen Reese and center Rachel Hargis. Playing in the high post, Reese and Hargis continually made the right pass, either finding Roberson and Swan on the low block or dishing out to continue through the guards.
Officially the two combined for six assists, but their initial reads led to plenty of good looks for the Buffaloes all afternoon.
Reese also had 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting with eight rebounds. Hargis made 3-of-4 field goals finishing with eight points.
“Our four post players, Arielle, Rachel, Jamee and Jen really dominated the game,” CU head coach Linda Lappe said. “They really understood what we were trying to do in our zone offense. I thought they did a fantastic job of being a presence on the inside.”
After Lauren Dudding put UMKC up with a 3-pointer on its initial possession, Colorado scored nine straight including two buckets from Swan.
UMKC briefly retook the lead with a 7-0 run of its own for a 10-9 advantage six minutes in. Roberson and Swan had back-to-back scores to put CU up for good.
The Kangaroos kept CU close early. Eilise O’Connor scored eight of her 10 points in the first half as UMKC pulled to within two at 18-16, but then the Buffaloes went to work. Colorado scored on five of its next six possessions during an 11-0 run to take a 29-16 lead. Hargis had a three point play and Roberson and Reese each scored on put-backs off CU misses.
“The start was important, we really needed that to kick-start our momentum,” Swan said. “Starting off great helps us finish great.”
Offensive rebounding was key for the Buffaloes, grabbing 19 which led to 22 second chance points. Overall Colorado enjoyed a 44-29 advantage on the boards.
“Offensive rebounding was a huge improvement (from the season opener),” Lappe said. “We crashed the glass against the zone and got a lot of put-backs. The effort on the offensive glass was fantastic.
Colorado led by nine at the half (36-27). UMKC’s Kim Nezianya quickly converted conventional 3-point play to cut the CU lead to six, and also gave Swan her third foul. From there Roberson shined.
The San Antonio native scored 14 points in the first six minutes of the half as the Buffaloes began to pull away. She scored six in a row as CU rebuilt a double-digit lead at 46-35. After a pair of Hailey Houser free throws, CU put the game away with a 13-0 run. Following a Reese jumper and a transition layup from Lexy Kresl, Roberson scored the next seven as the Buffaloes won their fifth straight nonconference regular season game away from Boulder.
Nezianya led UMKC with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Colorado returns home to host the 26th annual Omni Hotels Classic Nov. 23-24 at the Coors Events Center. The tournament starts with Auburn vs. San Diego State on Friday, Nov. 23, at 5 p.m. followed by Colorado and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday the consolation game will be played at 5 p.m. followed by the championship at 7:30 p.m.
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CU men get sweet revenge on No. 16 Baylor to advance into tourney championship
Nov 16th
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Revenge is sweet. Is payback sweeter? Doesn’t matter. The Colorado Buffaloes got both Friday afternoon in the Charleston Classic, holding off No. 16 Baylor 60-58 to advance to the tournament’s championship game.
The tournament takes a day off Saturday, with play resuming Sunday. The opponent is to be determined, but the Buffs will play for the championship at 6:30 p.m. MST (ESPN2) in the TD Arena.
CU reeled in a rare signature win in November, with its last defeat of a ranked team in non-conference play dating to 1973. Buffs coach Tad Boyle understood the magnitude of that as well as what it meant to defeat Baylor.
“In our first year (at CU), we’re up 10 at the half down there; we let one slip away,” a joyous Boyle said. “Last year in the NCAA Tournament we had another chance . . . it was a tie game with four or five minutes to go and we didn’t finish it off.
“That’s why I was so excited after the game – and that we had fans down here to support this team and program. I want them to know how much we appreciate it and all the people back home who couldn’t make the trip.”
CU’s last win against a ranked opponent came last March in the NCAA Tournament, when the Buffs defeated No. 23 UNLV. In the next game in Albuquerque, N.M, Baylor ousted the Buffs 80-63.
After Thursday’s 67-57 win against Dayton here, CU players were pointing at Baylor. They got their wish Friday – but making it come true wasn’t easy. On the game’s final play, Baylor’s 7-1 freshman, Isaiah Austin, caught a three-quarter length of the court rainbow pass, but missed at the buzzer.
“I held my breath,” said CU junior Andre Roberson. “I thought he was going to hit the shot. But he missed it luckily and we came out with the win.”
Added Buffs sophomore Askia Booker: “All kinds of things are running through your brain, but you try to stay positive with your teammates,” We’ve been here before, we’ve been in close games. We just had to fight through it and stay together and be positive.”
Booker led the Buffs with a career-high 19 points – 16 in the first half. Spencer Dinwiddie (11) was the only other CU player in double figures. Baylor (3-1) was led by Cory Jefferson’s 17, with Pierre Jackson adding 12.
CU made only four of 18 free throw attempts, including missing five of six in the final 1:01. The four makes were the fewest in a Buffs win since the 1980 team sank only two against Oklahoma in a 60-59 win. Fortunately on Friday, Booker hit one of two with 11.6 seconds to play, giving CU its narrow margin.
The Buffs (3-0) led four times in the first half, three of the advantages coming in the first 5 minutes and the first coming on a Dinwiddie trey (5-2). From there, CU’s challenge seemed to be staying close – and it was a challenge.
But Booker and the Buffs were up for it.
The long and athletic Bears twice led by five points in the first 20 minutes, with their second advantage coming on the heels of a controversial blocking call against Josh Scott. One official – the trio was from the Big 12 – whistled a charging foul on Pierre Jackson, but an outside official overruled it.
The officials huddled, the Buffs bench objected, but the call stood. Jackson hit one of two free throws, then added a three-pointer on the next Baylor possession, sending the Bears up 22-17.
CU – especially Booker – had loads of fight left. He tied the score at 22-22 with a trey at the about the 5 minute mark. After Baylor had crept ahead by three, Andre Roberson stepped back and drained a three-pointer to tie it again at 30-30.
Then it was “Ski Season” in South Carolina – at least for the first half’s final minute. With the shot clock ticking toward zero on CU’s next-to-last possession, Booker drained his second trey of the half to send the Buffs up 33-30.
When Baylor gave up the ball on the ensuing possession, the Buffs left the final 17 seconds wind down – with the ball in Booker’s hands. With two seconds showing, he pulled up just inside the three-point arc at the top of the key. His soft jumper nestled into the net and CU left the court with a 35-30 halftime lead.
Booker finished the half with a game-best 16 points on a career-high seven field goals and was the only player on either team in double figures. He called it “absolutely” the best half of his college career: “At this level, with this intensity, yeah it was.”
The Buffs outrebounded the Bears 22-17 – a Tad Boyle mandate – in the first and 41-40 for the game. Boyle called that “no easy task because they have some length and good athletes out there who are a little bit longer than ours and little more athletic at some positions. But our guys found a way and we overcame.”
CU gave up only three three-pointers to Baylor – a huge upgrade from their last meeting in March in the NCAA Tournament when the Bears’ Brady Heslip gunned down nine of 12 from beyond the arc for 27 points. In Friday’s first half, Heslip had two points and 0-for-3 from three-point range. He finished with seven points – and one trey.
Boyle’s biggest concern might have been his team’s first-half free throw shooting. After going only 14-of-24 from the line against Dayton, CU ended Friday’s first half one-for-six and finished the afternoon with 14 misses.
But the Buffs had other issues to open the second half, turning the ball over on two of their first four possessions and leaving Heslip open in transition. His first trey of the afternoon – and his only one of the game — brought the Bears to 37-35 in the first 3 minutes.
Baylor tied the score at 37-37 on a baby hook by Cory Jefferson, but Boyle and his bench believed Jefferson’s toss didn’t beat the shot clock. Whatever, the game was tied with 151/2 minutes to play and CU couldn’t allow Baylor to muster any more momentum.
At the 10-minute mark, the Bears took a 45-44 lead – their first since 30-27 – on a twisting drive and layup by Deuce Bello. The Buffs answered with a key trey from the left wing by Eli Stalzer and a goal tending call on a steal/layup by Sabatino Chen.
That four-point CU advantage (49-45) wilted fast. Baylor went inside and got immediate results from the 7-1 Austin and 6-8 Rico Gathers, who pulled the Bears within 50-49 with 7:30 remaining. But the Buffs stayed focused.
After Josh Scott scored on a goal tending call on Austin, Dinwiddie buried a three-pointer, sending the Buffs up 55-51. They hawked the ball on the Bears’ next possession, forcing a tie up that went to CU. Dinwiddie hit again, this time a two-pointer to give the Buffs their biggest lead at 57-51 with 3:40 to play.
But could they hold it? Yes, but with difficulty.
At the 3:00 mark, Baylor – trailing 57-52 – began pressing and extended its halfcourt defense. With 1:55 left, Jefferson hit a follow shot (57-54), Dinwiddie answered with a floating layup (59-54), Jackson countered with a jumper (59-56) and then added two free throws (59-58) with 19.8 seconds to play.
Dinwiddie missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Shane Harris-Tunks controlled the rebound. Booker was fouled with 11.6 seconds showing, hit the front end of his one-and-one (60-58) then missed the second.
Baylor rebounded, A.J. Walton drove the length of the court but couldn’t hit a difficult running shot from the right side. Roberson got the last of his 12 rebounds, was fouled and went to the free throw line. With 3.1 seconds left, he missed both attempts but in the scramble for the second miss, time nearly expired.
Baylor got possession with 0.2 remaining. Austin caught a lob pass just above the free throw line, turned, shot . . . and missed.
The Buffs had one sweet ‘W.’
“It’s revenge, it means a lot,” Booker said. “It burned last year in our hearts. Just knowing we could have this chance and we finally got it. We took full advantage of it. I loved it.”
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