Posts tagged basketball
Dinwiddie Shows No Brotherly Love In CU Win
Dec 6th
By B.G. Brooks, Contributing Editor, CUBuffs.com
BOULDER – Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle and sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie are due for a conversation on in-state basketball etiquette, specifically what not to say before a rivalry game.
But their talk can wait – at least for a year.
After he had scored a career-high 29 points on Wednesday night in leading CU to a grind-it-out 70-61 victory against archrival Colorado State, Dinwiddie said his “little brother” analogy of CSU was, ah, misinterpreted.
“I think they took it as disrespect; I didn’t mean it in a disrespectful way,” a grinning Dinwiddie said. “I have a lot of respect for their team . . . but being able to back up the comment with a win is great; they were on my Twitter a lot.”
He was on the Rams just as fiercely as the Buffs started strong, finished stronger and finally put away the visitors before a record crowd of 11,708 at the Coors Events Center.
“What an atmosphere for college basketball,” Boyle said. “It’s a testament to our fans and how they’ve stepped up and supported us.”
The Buffs got better than average road support last weekend at Wyoming, but their effort wasn’t in synch with their backing. The Cowboys won 76-69, and aside from his team’s first loss, Boyle said “the most disappointing thing was all the people who went up there and we let them down . . . we told our guys that we’re representing more than just ourselves.”
That message, as well as one forcibly delivered in Monday’s smash-mouth practice, surfaced in what Boyle likened to “an NCAA-type game” against CU’s rival from up the road.
In dealing CSU (6-1) its first defeat, CU (7-1) went up by 20 points at halftime, but saw that lead dwindle to three (54-51) in the final 6:45 after a 19-5 Rams run. But a 5-0 Buffs spurt and a recommitment to defense kept the Rams at bay; from the 6:45 mark to the final buzzer, CSU hit only one of its last shots (and that was a trey at the buzzer) and never pulled closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Dinwiddie was 8-of-10 from the field (5-of-7 from beyond the arc) and had an “all-Pac-12 kind of game,” said Boyle. Dinwiddie said he was “just hitting my shots . . . it was more about us playing defense.”
As for Dinwiddie’s idle Tuesday chatter about CSU, Boyle laughed and said, “I’ve got to talk to Spencer about that (but) he backed it up . . . we have to be a little smarter. He just believes in himself and his teammates.”
Junior forward Andre Roberson was the only other CU player in double figures. He picked up his fourth consecutive double-double and the 29th of his career, getting 15 points and 14 rebounds.
CSU got 19 points and 14 rebounds from Colton Iverson and 18 points from Dorian Green. The 6-10, 260-pound Iverson might have been Boyle’s biggest nightmare in the run-up to the Rams, but Boyle wisely rotated 6-10 freshman Josh Scott and 6-11 junior Shane Harris-Tunks on Iverson and made him toil for his totals.
Of Scott, Boyle said, “He grew up tonight as a post defender . . . he was totally different from the Wyoming game.” And Roberson said Harris-Tunks “did a great job of being physical against him.”
The Buffs wanted a solid start – and they might have exceeded their expectations. Before the Rams could blink a couple of times, they trailed 9-0.
Roberson opened the scoring by hitting a soft foul-line jumper (2-0), then followed with an angry stuff after a steal/lob pass by Dinwiddie (4-0). If you thought things were going CU’s way, a banked-in trey by Askia Booker – his only points of the first half – made it 7-0. Then a sweet spin by Sabatino Chen sent the Buffs up 9-0.
And this was their warm-up act.
When CSU blinked again, CU had strung together a 20-5 run and was up 20 (35-15). Before the half was over, the Buffs would lead by 25 (42-17). Dinwiddie jump-started and finished that push, burying three three-pointers and hitting a pair of free throws following a technical foul called on Iverson with 5:18 before halftime.
After the weekend loss at Wyoming, Boyle had challenged his team to be tougher defensively and to rebound with authority. The Rams – the NCAA’s rebound margin leader at plus-17.3 – had a 42-30 advantage for the game, including 18 offensively.
Still, the Buffs’ ‘D’ was exemplary; CSU wound up shooting 35.6 percent from the field (21-for-59) and Boyle said he’d take that statistic over a rebounding edge.
“But I want both,” he added.
CU’s second-half challenge was to keep the pedal down, but CSU had other plans. With Iverson powering for four of his team’s first six points, the Rams opened the last half with a 6-0 run and pulled to within 42-28.
Dinwiddie’s turn . . . his free throw followed by back-to-back treys restored a 17-point (49-32) CU advantage. But rolling over wasn’t for the Rams; a 7-0 run pulled them within 10 points (49-39) with ample time – 13:25 – remaining.
After Boyle called time out, Dinwiddie delivered with a spinning layup (51-39) – and a frantic final 12 minutes began for both teams. The Rams closed their deficit to single digits (54-45) on a banker from the left side by Wes Eikmeier.
It was the closest they had been since 22-13, and they would get to 54-47 on a pair of Green free throws, 54-49 on an Iverson layup, then 54-51 on an Eikmeier layup with 6:45 left. That basket capped a 10-0 CSU run, and Boyle called time out.
Said Roberson: “We were focusing on continuing to get stops. We knew they would come back with a run, that they weren’t going to go away . . . we called a timeout and got everybody to calm down, keep our composure and get back to our defensive rebounding.”
A Dinwiddie free throw at the 6:21 mark finally got CU a point, a twisting lay-in by Booker got the Buffs two more, and a put-back by Scott pushed CU’s advantage to 59-51. They went back up by double digits (63-52) on a drive by Chen with just over 3 minutes remaining.
The Rams never got closer than seven points the rest of the night, and Boyle’s record against CSU went to 4-3 – 2-1 at CU. The word of the day to his team, he said, was “dictate . . . that was on our board in the locker room. Dictate tempo and pressure; let them know they were in for 40 minutes of in-your-face basketball . . . they did cut it to three but we didn’t lose our composure.”
Now, said Boyle, his team must do as it did Wednesday on a more consistent basis. “It feels good because we beat a good team; we knew how good CSU was,” he said. “It’s huge, but we’ve got a big game on Saturday.”
That would be at Boyle’s alma mater, No. 9 Kansas (noon MST, ESPN2). Boyle is 0-3 against the Jayhawks, with all three losses coming in his first season at CU.
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Buffs Defeat Aztecs, Win Omni Classic
Nov 25th
by B.G. Brooks. CU associate editor
BOULDER – What started as a struggle ended in a stroll Saturday night for the University of Colorado women’s basketball team.
The Buffaloes found their groove midway through the first half and stayed with it the rest of the way, overrunning San Diego State 67-53 to win the Omni Classic at the Coors Events Center.
Freshman Arielle Roberson was voted tournament MVPCU has won 16 of its 26 in-season tournaments, which for 22 years was called the Coors Classic.
Three CU players reached double figures as the Buffs stayed unbeaten (4-0). Redshirt freshman Arielle Roberson scored 17 points, sophomore Jen Reese 14 and senior Chucky Jeffery 12. Reese also grabbed a game-best nine rebounds.
Roberson was named the tournament’s MVP, an award Jeffery had claimed the past two years. Joining both on the all-tournament team were Auburn’s Tyrese Tanner, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Janae Blount and San Diego State’s Courtney Clements.
The Buffs led 28-23 at halftime, but getting that five-point lead was difficult. When the Aztecs raced ahead 6-0, it doubled the largest deficit the Buffs had faced in their three previous games. And San Diego State (3-2) wasn’t content with that.
Over the next 5 minutes, the Aztecs built a 14-5 advantage and were limiting the Buffs’ looks at the basket. But at the 13:19 mark, CU began to click – mainly because it thumbed up its defensive intensity.
At about the 6 minute mark, the Aztecs were 5-of-17 from the field – and that made field goal number included San Diego State hitting its first two baskets of the game.
On the offensive end and from the free throw line, CU’s efficiency left much to be desired. Still, the Buffs began creeping back into it and fashioned a 13-2 run.
They finally caught the Aztecs at 16-16 on a Roberson follow of her own miss, then passed the visitors at 18-16 on a short Reese jumper.
In the half’s final 2:15, CU outscored San Diego State 7-1 to take its five-point lead to the locker room. During that span, CU got its only two treys of the first 20 minutes, courtesy of Roberson and Meagan Malcolm-Peck.
The Buffs hit only eight of 15 first-half free throw attempts and didn’t get their first offensive rebound until about 6 minutes in. But they finished with 17 boards, seven of them offensive, to match the Aztecs in that department. CU shot 42.9 percent from the field (12-of-28) to San Diego State’s 30.8 (8-of-26) before intermission.
A 5-0 run to open the second half gave the Buffs their largest lead of the game (33-23) – and they kept the pedal down. After the Aztecs closed to within six, a 7-2 CU run opened an 11-point advantage (42-31) with 13:02 to play. Reese was responsible for four of those points, with Jeffery converting a conventional three-point play for the others.
In the final 7 minutes, the Buffs led by as many as 15 – 67-52 with 25.8 to play – and the Aztecs never got closer than eight points.
CU hosts Wyoming Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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Buff women host b’ball tournament this weekend
Nov 22nd
BENCH PRODUCTION: Colorado scored 42 bench points in the win over UMKC. The bulk of those came from freshman forward Arielle Roberson who scored 23 points in 19 minutes off the bench on 9-of-12 from the field. Her 23 bench points are tied for the second most in the past 10 years and her nine field goals are the most. Only Bianca Smith, with 25 points off the bench against San Jose State on Dec. 22, 1999, had a bigger bench game in the last 10 years.
ROBERSON EARNS FIRST HONOR: Forward Arielle Roberson was named the inaugural Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Week for the week of Nov. 5-12. The Pac-12 has added Freshman of the Week to its weekly honors for the first time this season, joining the standard Player of the Week honor which this week went to Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike. Roberson, a 6-1 forward from San Antonio, had a sparkling collegiate debut, scoring 16 points on 7-of-13 from the field as Colorado defeated Idaho 70-65 in its season opener on Nov. 11. She grabbed six rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end, while collecting five steals, two assists and two blocked shots. Her five steals were the most by a freshman in her CU debut since all-time leading scorer Brittany Spears had five in her initial game at San Francisco in 2007. Her final steal was critical as it came with under one minute left with the Buffaloes hanging on to a five-point lead. Roberson’s honor is CU’s second weekly award in the Pac-12 since the Buffaloes joined the conference in 2011.
Chucky Jeffery earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors last December, ironically following a stellar performance (30 points, 10 rebounds) against this same Idaho squad. Jeffery and fellow senior Meagan Malcolm-Peck both earned Freshman of the Week honors in the Big 12 Conference, during the 2009-10 season.
ARIELLE & ANDRE: The Roberson’s are the only brother/sister tandem on the 2012-13 basketball rosters from the same school in the Pac-12 Conference. They’re one of five brother/sister tandems on 2012-13 basketball rosters in Division I. The Big Ten has two tandems, followed by
one each in the ACC, Mountain West and the Pac-12 Conferences. CU has another brother/sister pair on the ski team with freshmen Maria and Gustav Nordstrom from Sweden. Colorado (Pac-12): Arielle (Fr.) and Andre Roberson (Jr.) Air Force (Mountain West): Alicia (Sr.) and Marshall Leipprandt (Fr.) Indiana (Big Ten): Kaila (Fr.) and Jordan Hulls (Sr.) Ohio State (Big Ten): Caite (Fr.) and Aaron Craft (Jr.) Virginia (ACC): Sarah Beth (So.) and Tayor Barnette (Fr.)
SEEING DOUBLE: Colorado is used to getting double takes from fans and opponents, as the Buffaloes once again sport two pairs of identical twins on its roster. Brenna and Meagan Malcolm-Peck are senior wing players while Ashley and Brittany Wilson are junior guards. Brenna is the older of the two Malcolm-Pecks by 27 minutes. Ashley is the older of the Wilson twins, by only five minutes.
BUFFS SIGN FOUR TO NLI’s: Zoe Beard-Fails, Desiree Harris, Haley Smith and Briana Watts have signed National Letters of Intent to play basketball and continue their education at the University of Colorado in 2013-14 head coach Linda Lappe announced on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period. Beard-Fails is a 6-2 forward from Herndon, Va., and attends Georgetown Day School in Washington D.C. She missed all but five games of her junior year with an ACL and meniscus tear, but is nearing full strength as her senior season commences. The 51st rated forward in the nation according to ESPN.com’s HoopGurlz, Beard-Fails averaged 27 points and nearly 18 rebounds as a sophomore for Georgetown Day in 2010-11, earning fourth team All-Met honors from the Washington Post.
Harris is a 5-8 guard from Oakland, Calif., who attends St. Joseph Notre Dame High school in Alameda. She averaged 23.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.7 assists as a junior, helping the Pilots to the North Coast Section championship. Harris was a CIF All-State Division V second team selection as well as a Bay Shore Athletic League second team pick. Smith, a 6-0 wing from Sammamish, Wash., is getting ready for her senior season at Skyline High School. A do-it-all player for the Spartans, she averaged around seven points, five rebounds and just under two assists and steals per game as a junior. Smith is in her fourth varsity season with the Spartans and also has had a successful club career playing with the Tree of Hope program. ESPN.com’s HoopGurlz has her as the top prospect in the state of Washington and the 20th ranked wing in the nation. Watts, a 6-4 center from Fresno, Calif., will make her debut with Clovis West High School this winter after playing her first three years at rival Buchanan. She was the first commit of the 2013 class. Watts averaged nearly six points and just over six rebounds per game for Buchanan as a junior, contributing to the Bears’ 18-9 record and a spot in the CIF Central Section Division I semifinals. BUFFS IN
OPENERS: With its win over Idaho, Colorado improved to 34-5 (.872) all-time in season openers and 37-2 (.949) in all-time home openers. The Buffs opened the season with a home game for the 27th time in 39 seasons, and moved to a perfect 27-0 in those instances.
BUFFS IN EXHIBITION: Colorado improved to a perfect 23-0 in exhibition games with its 87-38 win over Western State University Colorado. The Buffaloes have outscored their exhibition opponents by just over 31 points per game (86.0 to 54.7). Colorado’s 38 points allowed against WSCU were its fewest in an exhibition since the Buffaloes beat Colorado Mines 58-31 in 2007. The 49-point margin was the most in an exhibition since the Buffaloes defeated Spartak Moscow 115-55 in 2002. The Buffaloes have played at least one exhibition game in all but one year (2009) since 1997. CU’s exhibition games have featured a mix of NCAA II schools, foreign teams and traveling all-star teams.
BUFFS PICKED NINTH: Coming off its first 20-win season in eight years, Colorado was picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12 in 2013, according to the league’s annual Preseason Coaches Poll and Media Poll. In the Coaches Poll, 2012 NCAA Women’s Final Four participant Stanford was picked to win the Pac-12, compiling the maximum amount of points (121) and first place votes (11) possible. 2012 Pac-12 runner-up and NCAA participant California claimed the other first place vote and was second in the poll (109). UCLA was third with 100 points followed by USC (91), Arizona State and Oregon State (67), Utah (56), Washington (54), Colorado (49), Washington State (40), Oregon (20) and Arizona (18). Colorado’s ninth place preseason rating is its highest in the last nine years since Buffaloes were picked to finish seventh in the 2004-05 Big 12 Coaches Poll. The Media Poll was nearly identical in order. Stanford was picked to win with 12 first place votes and 166 total. California was second with 155 points and two first place votes. UCLA was third (136) followed by USC (123), Oregon State (106), Arizona State (100), Washington (80), Utah (72), Colorado (57), Washington State (47), Oregon (25) and Arizona (22).
MEDIA TABS JEFFERY: Along with picking the order of Pac-12 finish, the media selected a preseason All-Pac-12 team. Senior guard Chucky Jeffery was one of six individuals selected, along with California’s Layshia Clarendon, Washington’s Jazmine Davis, Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike, UCLA’s Markel Walker and Arizona’s Davellyn Whyte. BUFFS EXPERIENCED
FROM DEEP: While Colorado looks to achieve balance on its 2012-13 squad, there is no questioning its experience from shooting from the perimeter. The Buffaloes have four players with at least 50 career 3-point field goals, and all four rank among CU’s career Top 20. Senior Meagan Malcolm-Peck tops current Buffs with 81 and ranks 12th on CU’s all-time list. Junior Brittany Wilson is 14th all-time with 73. Lexy Kresl, who set CU’s freshman record in 2011-12 is 15th with 66. Senior Chucky Jeffery rounds out the current Buffs at 18th with 53.
JEFFERY MOVING UP CAREER LADDERS: Junior guard Chucky Jeffery ranks among Colorado’s all-time leaders in several categories. She is sixth in assists (362), ninth in steals (217), 12th in rebounds (669), 16th in blocks (57), 17th in field-goals made (458), 18th in scoring (1,223), 3-point field goals made (53) and free-throws made (254). Colorado is 10-7 in its last 17 true road games, including postseason, dating back to the end of the 2010-11 season.
CU will make its first television appearance on Dec. 11 at Denver on ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain. The Buffaloes make their Pac-12 Network debut on Friday, Jan. 4 against defending league champion Stanford; their first of four straight televised games on the network. Colorado will have fi ve straight road games televised beginning with Utah on Jan. 13, through a Super Bowl Sunday match-up at USC on Feb. 3. CU’s final regular season televised game will be Feb. 8 at home against Oregon State. Entering the 2012-13 season, CU has appeared on 99 regional or national telecasts over the previous 11 seasons.
