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#20 CU Buffs send the #10 Duck Nation packing
Jan 6th
BOULDER – Duck Dynasty might play well elsewhere, but not in Askia Booker’s and Spencer Dinwiddie’s house.
Colorado’s pair of junior guards took control Sunday afternoon, alternately pushing and pulling the No. 20 Buffs to a 100-91 Pac-12 Conference win over No. 10 Oregon at the raucous Coors Events Center. CU’s 13-2 record (2-0 Pac-12) matches the program’s best start since 1968-69 season.
Booker (career-high 27) and Dinwiddie (23) combined for 50 points as the Buffs overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and disposed of the previously unbeaten Ducks (13-1, 1-1). CU’s prized back-court duo was golden in nearly everything they touched: Booker hit 10-of-12 free throws, Dinwiddie sank 10-of-11 and they combined for 11 of CU’s 14 assists. Between them, they were four-of-seven from beyond the arc, with Dinwiddie going three-for-four.
“It’s pretty simple,” Dinwiddie said. “When ‘Ski ‘plays really well, we play really well. We kind of go as he goes . . . when he’s up, we are one good team.”
Booker called his and Dinwiddie’s combined productivity “wonderful” and said of his backcourt mate: “I think he’s probably the best point guard I’ve played with . . . it’s nice to have somebody like that on my side and know I can trust him.”
Their coach, Tad Boyle, said when his starting guards are dialed in on the same afternoon, the Buffs are not only hard to handle but fun to observe – especially when an opponent enters the CEC with up-and-down intentions: “I wish every team that came into Coors wanted to run . . . that’s the way we want to play. It’s fun to watch, it’s fun to play, it’s fun to coach. Yeah, it was fun today . . .
“That was a high-level basketball game, a treat for anybody in the building . . . it’s a special win because of the respect we have for (coach) Dana Altman and the Oregon program.”
The Buffs have now won five of six meetings and four straight against the Ducks since joining the Pac-12 and are unbeaten (5-0 all time, 3-0 Pac-12) against Oregon at the CEC, where Boyle is now an imposing 55-7.
Boyle said his team is marked “toughness, resiliency . . . and they obviously believe in each other” – and that was never more apparent than in the second half when the Buffs rallied from a 10-point deficit.
CU also got double-figure scoring from Josh Scott and Xavier Johnson, who contributed 15 points each. Scott also collected 12 of the Buffs’ 39 rebounds (Oregon had 33) for his fifth consecutive double-double and seventh this season.
The Buffs shot 56.4 percent from the field, a dramatic upgrade from their 38.2 percent on Thursday night against Oregon State. The Ducks came in as the nation’s highest scoring team (89.2 ppg) and shooting 50 percent from the field. They got their scoring average, but the Buffs held them to 42.3 percent shooting.
CU was perfect from the foul line (13-for-13) in the first half and finished 33-of-39.
Ironically, the first missed free throw was by Booker, who hit one of three after being fouled on a 3-point attempt with just under 6 minutes left. The Buffs committed 16 turnovers – costing them 20 points – to the Ducks’ nine, but outscored the visitors’ 40-34 in the paint and got 17 second-chance points to Oregon’s nine.
“Obviously, they shoot 56 percent and out-rebounded us,” Altman said. “We just didn’t ourselves a chance.”
That wasn’t entirely true. With 14:22 to play, the Ducks were up 10 points (58-48), forcing a timeout by Boyle. Following that, the Buffs ratcheted up their defensive intensity and went on a 16-4 run that produced a 64-62 CU advantage. Oregon never led again.
“Luckily, we had same situation when it was 21-12,” Dinwiddie said. “We fought back and took the lead. You never want to start (a second half) in a hole . . . but we knew we could come back.”
Added Altman: “It turned there and we just didn’t get any stops. They are a good defensive team. They play with tremendous confidence here.”
The Buffs led 44-42 at the break, but only 3:15 earlier they had enjoyed their largest advantage of the half – 39-31 – courtesy of a 9-0 run. It appeared that CU would carry at least a five-point lead to the locker room, but Oregon’s Jason Calliste, left open for a 3-pointer, drained it with a second showing on the clock.
After an 11-2 spurt that wiped out CU’s first lead (10-8), Oregon took its largest first-half margin – nine points at 21-12 – before the Buffs calmed themselves and rallied. They would have to do it again.
Only 7 seconds into the second half, Oregon pressured CU into a timeout, then got possession on a jump ball and tied the score at 44-44 on a layup by Richard Amardi. A minute later, Mike Moser (24 points) hit a baseline jumper and the Ducks retook the lead, 46-44.
A Scott put-back produced a 46-46 tie – and a back-and-forth second half appeared to be unfolding. Wrong. Getting eight points from Moser, Oregon outscored CU 10-0 and took its first double-digit – 58-48 – lead with 14:22 remaining.
But the Buffs weren’t rattled. Over the next 5 minutes, they outscored the Ducks 16-4 to go up 64-62 on a 3-pointer by freshman Jaron Hopkins.
Then, it was Dinwiddie do-it time, with Booker’s magic to follow.
After hitting back-to-back treys, the junior guard sank two free throws to push CU up 72-66 with 7:58 to play. Oregon pulled within two points twice (72-70) on a pair of Dominic Artis free throws and a layup by Elgin Cook, but CU opened an eight-point (80-72) advantage with 5:03 left.
Booker then scored seven of the Buffs’ next 11 points as they went ahead 91-80 with 2:23 left. Oregon capitalized on two CU turnovers to creep to within 92-86, then got to within five (94-89) on a Joseph Young 3-pointer from the right wing at the 1:22 mark.
After a Duck timeout, Oregon got the ball back when Dinwiddie was whistled for a pushing foul on the inbounds play. But the Ducks couldn’t score on that possession, and Xavier Talton hit one of two free throws when fouled at the other end (95-89).
The conclusion was fitting: When Dinwiddie and Booker sank five of six free throws in the last 40.4 seconds to get the Buffs to 100 for the first time in Pac-12 play, the CEC crowd began chanting “over-rated, over-rated.”
Asked what kind of statement Sunday’s win made to the Pac-12 and the nation, Dinwiddie said, “We thought we kind of made a statement against Kansas (a 75-72 win over the then-No. 6 Jayhawks). We go on the board. It shows we ain’t going to lose at home (but) like coach says, now it’s time to take our show on the road.”
The Buffs play Washington State on Wednesday in Spokane, then play at Washington on Sunday, Jan. 12.
GAME NOTES
TEAM
• CU improves to 8-3 all-time and 5-0 at home against Oregon.
• The Buffaloes have won four straight against Oregon, and five of the last six in the series since 2011-12 season.
• CU is now 13-2 to start the season matching the 1968-69 team after 15 games (that team with All-American Cliff Meely started 14-2 & won the Big Eight Championship).
• An 11-0 home record matches Coach Boyle’s first season (2010-11) for consecutive wins after the first 11 home games.
• CU is now an impressive 55-7 (.887) at home under the Boyle coaching staff.
• Today was the first time since Jan. 26, 1997 that CU was ranked at home against another ranked opponent (17 years). CU was No. 18 in the AP Poll vs. No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (77-68).
• Second time in four years, the Buffs have defeated a pair of nationally ranked Top-10 opponents in same season (defeated No. 6 Kansas, Dec. 7). Back in 2010-11, Buffs defeated No. 9/8 Missouri, 89-76 (Jan. 8) and No. 5/5 Texas in the second greatest comeback in school history (trailed by 22 pts.), 91-89 (Feb. 26), both games played at the Coors Events Center.
• CU improves to 2-2 this season against nationally ranked opponents and under Boyle is now 11-11 against the nation’s Top-25 teams (5-6 vs. Top 10).
• Marks the 2nd time this season CU has been perfect from the line at the half, hitting 13-of-13 (12-of-12 vs Georgia Dec. 28 2013).
• First time this season both teams have been perfect from the line at the half (18-of-18 combined).
• 3rd highest FG percentage in the first half this season (55%).
• CU’s four blocks in the first half are the most this season.
• Oregon becomes the first opponent to score 80+ points this season (last time was at Arizona Jan. 13, 2013 92-83).
• The last time CU had two players score 20 points in a game (Askia Booker: 27, Spencer Dinwiddie: 23) was against Cal on March 18, 2011 (Alec Burks: 25, Cory Higgins: 22).
• Four Buffs scored 15+ points (Josh Scott: 15, Xavier Johnson: 15, Spencer Dinwiddie: 23, Askia Booker: 27).
• Fourth time this season the Buffs have scored 90+ points.
• 1st time the Buffs have reached the century mark this season (last time was Dec. 19, 2010 against Longwood: 104).
• Most free throws made in a game with 33 since Oklahoma State Jan. 15, 2011 (34).
• CU’s 100 point total is the most in a PAC-12 game (scored 87 in a win against Washington Jan. 5, 2012).
Askia Booker
• Marks the 3rd time this season he has reached double figures in the first half this season.
• Moves up three spots on CU’s all-time scoring list to 34th with 931 points.
• Marks the 1st time this season he has scored 20+ points, 3rd in his career.
• Sets his career high in points with 27.
• Passes his season-high in rebounds with seven.
• 5th time he has led the team in scoring, 20th in his career.
Spencer Dinwiddie
• Moves to 24th on CU’s all-time scoring list with 1,102 points.
• Moves to 20th all-time on CU’s assist list with 224.
• 3rd time scoring 20+ points in a game this season, 11th in his career.
• Ties his career high in assists with 7, his 2nd time doing so this season.
• Led CU in assists for the 10th time this season, 37th in his career.
Josh Scott
• Ties his career-high in blocked shots with three in the first half alone.
• Ties his first half high of seven rebounds.
• Now has five consecutive double-double games, his 8th of the season and 10th in his career.
• Surpasses his career-high in blocks with 4.
• 11th time leading the team in rebounds this season, 16th in his career.
• 6th time this season he has led the team in blocks, 14th in his career.
Xavier Johnson
• 8th game this season scoring double-figures, 20th in his career.
• Tops his season high in points scored with 15.
• 1st time reaching 15 points this season, 7th in his career.
CU MBB team–Close but no cigar
Dec 23rd
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
LAS VEGAS – Colorado cut a 12-point Oklahoma State lead to four in the final minute here Saturday night, but that’s where the Buffaloes’ rally and their 10-game winning streak would stop. The No. 7 Cowboys held on for a 78-73 win in the second game of the MGM Grand Showcase.
No. 20 CU (10-2) struggled to get timely stops and had just as much trouble finding an offensive rhythm, and when Phil Forte III drained a long trey just under the 3-minute mark Okie State (11-1) had a 73-61 lead. The Buffs were running out of chances and time, but a 10-2 flurry brought them to within 75-71 on a put-back by Josh Scott with 26 seconds to play.
OSU’s Marcus Smart hit a pair of free throws (77-71) with 23.4 seconds remaining but Scott answered with two (77-73) at the 16-second mark. Two seconds later, Forte hit one of two foul shots for the Cowboys’ final margin.
“I take the blame for this loss,” said CU coach Tad Boyle. “As a coach I didn’t do a good job on the sideline. I didn’t have our team ready to play tonight for whatever reason. I’ve got to look myself in the mirror.”
In hindsight, Boyle questioned whether he had the Buffs practice as much as necessary during semester finals week which preceded Saturday’s game. “That’s where I take responsibility as a coach, coming off of finals and we had two practices as a team,” he said. “I thought that at this time of the season we could carry over without those lengthy practices through finals; I want to respect our guys as students. So, as a basketball coach it’s really hard to take that time and back off, and maybe that hurt us tonight. It’s not an excuse, it’s just the fact that we weren’t as sharp and we need to become sharper and the only way you can do that is by practicing.”
Nonetheless, Boyle added, “We have so much room for improvement, we still haven’t put a (complete) game together, and yet we played the No. 7 team in the country to a five-point game on a neutral court and we don’t feel like we played well, at all.”
CU junior guard
disagreed with Boyle shouldering the loss. “I don’t think the blame goes on coach Boyle,” he said. “He’s just tough on himself – just like I am on myself . . . the only thing we maybe could have done better was a have a couple more days of practice.”
The Cowboys’ 78 points were the most the Buffs have allowed this season. OSU shot 61.9 percent from the field (13-of-21) in the second half and finished at 52.1 percent (25-of-48). CU shot only 40.6 percent from the field (26-of-64). The Buffs outrebounded the Cowboys 41-30 and got 21 second-chance points to the Cowboys’ four.
CU junior guard Spencer Dinwiddie called OSU’s second-half shooting percentage “very disappointing . . . we just dug ourselves a hole.” But the self-burial started in the first half.
Among Boyle’s pre-game goals was to limit the Cowboys’ layups, targeting six as a minimum to give the Buffs the best chance of winning. That was six for the game – not the first half.
But that’s what CU allowed in the first 20 minutes, which helped Okie State roll to a 32-26 lead at intermission. Also contributing were nine of the Buffs’ 14 total turnovers, which resulted in 11 Cowboys points (20 for the game off). Smart, who finished with 18 points, and Markel Brown, who scored a game-best 23, got to the rim unimpeded twice each in the opening half, with the other two layups scored by Kamari Murphy and Michael Cobbins.
The Buffs tightened their interior defense by a couple of clicks, allowing five second-half layups. But the Cowboys’ presented other offensive problems – namely a pair of late, long treys by Forte, who scored 16 points off the bench on four-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc and four-of-seven free throws.
Dinwiddie, who finished with 19 points, called Forte’s treys “timely” and said the Buffs’ first-half turnovers and their porous second-half defense are “never good enough against a good team. Those are probably the three (biggest) things.”
CU got a double-double from Scott – 20 points, tying a season high, and 12 rebounds. Scott hit 10-of-13 free throws and scored 18 of his total in the second half, when Boyle said the Buffs began to focus more on getting the ball inside: “We had 17 paint touches in the first half; we want 50 for the game.”
“If we could get that first half back and play like we did in the second, I think it would be a different outcome,” Scott said, referring more to his team’s nine turnovers and yielding six layups than him not getting more touches.
The Buffs’ largest lead was three points (7-4) following a five-point burst by Booker. That also was CU’s last lead, with four ties following before intermission.
But permitting the six layups undoubtedly wasn’t Boyle’s only beef with his Buffs in the first half. In addition to their nine turnovers, they made a season-low (for a first half) three assists and got to the free throw line just once (Xavier Johnson hit one of two). CU finished the night making 15-of-20 free throws – not close to an average night’s work for the Buffs – while OSU made 23-of-35.
“Coming into this game, we’re eighth in the country in free throw attempts,” Boyle said. “We’re eighth in the country for free throws made; we didn’t get to the free throw line tonight, for whatever reason. Obviously we have to figure out how to score when we’re not getting to the free throw line, but that’s frustrating when you know over an 11 game schedule how many free throws you shoot and that’s a big part of your offensive identity and then you don’t get to the free throw line – for whatever reason – frustration sets in a little bit. We’ve got to get better in that regard, so we have to become a better half court execution team.”
Boyle also said the Cowboys’ zone defense in the second half “got us standing, which is exactly what they want, but we didn’t handle that well at times.”
Also, getting forward Wesley Gordon back after a two-game absence didn’t help CU that much in the opening half. At the 16:06 mark, Gordon was whistled for his second foul and went to the bench with two rebounds and a steal.
He didn’t return (or score) until the second half opened, hitting a foul line jumper – his only points for the night – that brought the Buffs to 34-30. A Booker layup off a steal by Scott cut the deficit to 34-32 half a minute later. But the Cowboys widened their lead to five points (37-32) on one of three free throws by Smart and a jumper by Brown with just over 161/2 minutes remaining.
Okie State’s advantage ballooned to eight (44-36) before Dinwiddie hit a trey from the left corner and one of two free by Scott cut the Buffs’ deficit in half (44-40). The Cowboys went another layup spree, getting three – including a dunk and free throw by Smart – and a pair of treys by Forte to take their first double-figure lead of the night (63-53) with 7:32 to play. At that point, Boyle tried to regroup his troops with a timeout. It didn’t help immediately, but the Buffs kept grinding.
“I love the toughness, and the grit, and the fight in our team, and I have a lot of respect for Oklahoma State and their players,” Boyle said. “t’s just disappointing because we will never have this opportunity again unless were fortunate enough to get them in the (NCAA) tournament.”
The Buffs don’t play again until Saturday, Dec. 28 when they host Georgia at the Coors Events Center. Their first post-Christmas practice is scheduled for Thursday.
It wasn’t pretty but #11 CU women stay undefeated
Dec 8th
And a strange afternoon of hoops in Boulder, but strange was good. The No. 11 Colorado women remained unbeaten with a 79-56 win over Illinois, but it was anything but business as usual in the Coors Events Center.
For starters, the Buffs (8-0) and Illini (5-5) had their pregame warm-up time shortened due to the aftermath of the CU’s men’s last-second upset of No. 6 Kansas. That game started at 1:20 p.m., with the women’s contest scheduled to begin just after 5 p.m. But it took longer than anticipated to clear the CEC court after it was stormed by CU students and fans following the electrifying 75-72 win.
Then, with 8:30 left in the first half of the women’s contest and the Buffs up 27-20, alarms sounded in the CEC. Play continued, but after a couple of possessions, the court and stands were cleared. A sprinkler head had burst in the loading dock area of the Events Center, triggering the alarms and stopping play for 20 minutes. Players went to their locker rooms, fans went to the building’s upper concourses.
Meanwhile, second-year Illinois coach Matt Bollant might not have known what he was missing. He was ill and remained at his Boulder hotel, which made associate head coach Mike Divilbiss the head man for the afternoon.
“There’s not much you can say in that situation,” Divilbiss said of the delay. “We’re a young team and it’s just one of those things – you just have to learn to get past the environment.”
Once back on the court, Illinois guard Amber Moore got a quick score but the Buffaloes quickly went up by double-digits for the first time on a three-pointer by Jen Reese (16 points) and a jumper byRachel Hargis (12) for a 32-22 lead.
Forward Jacqui Grant (game-high 20) helped keep Illinois close. When the Illini cooled off from the outside, they started going in and the 6-3 freshman scored four of her 15-first half points on a run that cut Colorado’s lead to 40-35.
But Lauren Huggins hit another 3-pointer and Hargis matched an Illinois score with a layup of her own to give the Buffaloes a 45-37 halftime advantage.
Reese hit her first three field goals of the second half as the Buffs built their lead to 20. A Jasmine Sborov trey and a soft Hargis layup pushed CU in front 62-42. But Illinois increased its press, contributing to the Buffs’ 20 turnovers, and crept to within 14 (62-48).
CU finally settled down as Sborov (10) hit a three-pointer at the 7:56 mark to push the lead back to 17 and the Illini were done.
“I thought it was a great win for our team,” CU coach Linda Lappe said, acknowledging Illinois’ athleticism, quickness and different defensive looks. “There were a lot of different obstacles and adversities through the game – not having the normal warm up time, having a fire alarm . . . I liked how we came out of being in the locker room for 15 minutes and got back into it. So, there were a lot of positives to take out of it.”
Once again, the Buffs’ balance was apparent. Four players, topped by Arielle Roberson’s 17, reached double figures and 10 of the players used by coach Linda Lappe scored. The Buffs outrebounded the Illini 51-30 and held the visitors to 30.8 percent shooting from the field (20-of-65).
In addition to her seven points, senior guard Brittany Wilson set career highs in assists (eight) and rebounds (13) and tied a career-best with three blocked shots.
“The ball just kept falling in my hands I guess and I just jumped up for rebounds and pushed the ball down the floor,” Wilson said. “I found open teammates – one being Jen Reese.”
CU committed 21 turnovers to Illinois’ 14, but Wilson said given the Illini’s average of forcing 26, the Buffs will take their 21 and move on. “You don’t want to have 21 turnovers a game,” she said, “but we won, so hey.”
Reese, who sat out the Wyoming game on Wednesday night with concussion symptoms a broken nose, said her fast start “was good to get the confidence up. Even if I did miss it, it’s short memory. But it was good to come back and it felt good.”
The Buffs are off until Thursday, when they host the University of Denver (7 p.m.).