The Town Crier

[PointGuard]

Game #8: Auburn Tigers (3-2) at #16 Colorado Buffaloes (6-1)

Auburn likes a slow pace of play. They have a win against Iowa (which was ranked #19 at that time and is unranked now) and a loss to Arizona (which was ranked #18 at that time and is now ranked #6 in the country). Points for the Tigers are dispersed amongst not only their starting 5 but also 6 reserves with no player averaging in double figures.

Auburn’s SF Harold Avery hit two 3-pointers from nearly identical spots on the floor to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead in less than a minute of play. Fortunately he picked up his 2nd personal foul with 16:19 left in the first half. But by them we were down 8-0. We finally scored 7 seconds later. Matt Conley found Kenton Dunn open outside and he hit the 3 to tie the game at 13-13 with 9:45 left in the half. Charles Maors hit a running baseline jumper 30 seconds later to give us our first lead at 15-13. 3 minutes later we completed a 14-0 run that left us ahead by 9 points. Our dominance continued and by the end of the half we were ahead 33-18. We outshot Auburn 46% to 20%. SG Kenton Dunn scored 12 points and SF Rick Coffey had 6 points and 9 rebounds.

Both teams had mini runs in the 2nd half. Midway through the half we opened a 20 point lead but then let the Tigers chip away and with 2:42 remaining, Auburn trailed by just 6 points. We then shut the Tigers down and came away with a 73-62 victory.

PG Matt Conley topped our scoring with 17 points and also handed out 7 assists. SG Kenton Dunn scored 17 plus had 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. SF Rick Coffee had a double-double (12 points and 13 rebounds). SG Steve Jackson hit for 11 points.

Our ranking edged up to 15th in the polls and our RPI is now 9th highest in the country. We’re averaging 79.5 ppg while our opponents have averaged 67.6 ppg.

[PointGuard]

Steve Porter: Boosting Coach Durst

For a guy who never lived outside Youngstown, getting used to a new city hasn’t been entirely easy even though Boulder isn’t all that big. But I’ve been here a little over a month now and the area is beginning to feel more like home all the time. I did cross-country skiing in Ohio, but have now tried downhill skiing and it’s a rush!

I’m very grateful to Coach Durst for helping me get this job with the athletic department. I’ve been working on developing the basis for a national story that might be picked up by Sports Illustrated about how Coach Durst is a turn-around guru. Their record thus far is providing a good basis for the piece, particularly since their only loss was by a single point to Virginia, which is now ranked #6 in the polls. I’m still putting it all together but want to hold back trying to get it picked up to see how things go for the Buffaloes early in conference play.

[PointGuard]

Game #9: Florida State Seminoles (6-1) at #15-ranked Colorado Buffaloes (7-1)

Florida State comes into this game as a slight favorite. Their only loss was to #5-ranked Arizona, but the Seminoles beat #22-ranked Temple.

Sloppy play early caused a bunch of turnovers by both teams. Neither team could pull away, but when Chris Smith drove down the key between defenders and scored on an underhanded layup that eluded the arms of two defenders putting us ahead 11-10, our home crowd went crazy forcing Florida State to call a time out with 12:38 remaining in the first half. While offensive continued to falter, our defense sizzled. With 5 minutes left in the half we led 21-12. When the half ends, our lead is 27-19. Both teams hit less than 30% of their shots. PF/SF Charles Maors and SF Rick Coffey both scored 6 points.

With 16:57 on the clock in the 2nd half and us leading 30-23, Steve Jones, Florida State’s head coach, got tagged with a technical. But we only hit 1 of 2 shots so didn’t gain much from it. But fortunately it didn’t light a fire under the Seminoles. We subsequently opened a 12 point lead. By the mid point of the hall, we led 49-27. Steve Jones got called for a 2nd T at the 3:41 mark which sent him to the locker room with the Seminoles trailing 59-38. His action spurred his team to cut our lead to 13 before we stopped their comeback. We finished with a 68-50 thrashing of Florida State. Our biggest advantage was our 43-32 control of the boards.

C Ryan Erickson scored 13 and grabbed 9 rebounds. SF Rick Coffey finished with 12 points and 8 boards.

INJURY: SG Kenton Dunn sustained a strained knee and is likely to be out of action for a week.

Two big games for Pac-12 teams today:

#5 ranked Arizona journeyed to take on #3 ranked North Carolina and came away with an impressive 69-59 victory over the Tar Heels.
Unranked Arizona State was on the road to take on #6 ranked Virginia and after trailing by as much as 12 points, pulled close at the end of the game. The Sun Devils dropped in a 15 foot jumper just before the buzzer sounded ending the game, thus scoring a surprising 78-77 upset.

We only played one game this week, but that win didn’t keep us from dropping one spot in the polls to #16. I think it’s still probably higher than we should be ranked. Other ranked Pac-12 teams are: Oregon-#2, Arizona-#3, California-#9, UCLA-#14, and Utah-#18.

[PointGuard]

Game #10: Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-1) @ #16-ranked Colorado Buffaloes (8-1)

Steve Jackson will start at SG in place of injured Kenton Dunn.

We started well and our crowd got into it early. That forced Minnesota to call a time out after just 5 minutes of play when we had an 11-5 lead. We maintained our lead and with 6 minutes remaining in the half we were on top by 11 at 30-19. When the half ended we led 40-30 even though we only hit 35% of our FG attempts. Leading our scoring were SG Chris Smith with 11 points and PF/SF Charles Maors with 10 points. Minnesota’s C Rasheed Goulsby scored 10 points.

Minnesota hit 3’s on their first 3 possessions of the 2nd half to cut our lead to 42-39. With 9 minutes remaining our lead was a single point. With a 2 point lead with 3 minutes remaining, we went on an 8-0 run in the next 90 seconds that gave us some breathing room. We came away with a 75-68 victory. The Golden Gophers outshot us 44% to 36%, but we held an 18-8 turnover advantage. But an unimpressive as it was, a win is a win.

SF Rick Coffey bailed us out in the 2nd half and finished with 21 points. PG/SG Matt Conley hit for 17, PG Chris Smith scored 13, and PF/SF Charles Maors dropped in 12.

SG Chris Smith’s back was sore after the game. He’s going to sit out practices but we expect him to be ready for our next game. SG Kenton Dunn should be available to play as well, but the play time for both players may be limited.

We continued to win, but for a second straight week, DESCEND in the polls, dropping to #19.

[PointGuard]

Game #11: Missouri Tigers (5-2) at #19 Colorado Buffaloes (9-1)

The Tigers are the 3rd highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 83.4 ppg and outscoring their opponents by an average of nearly 15 ppg. Four of their starters are averaging in double figures. They also are averaging just 10.2 turnovers a game, which is the 2nd fewest by any team in Division I play and have forced their opponents to turn the ball over 17.9 a game.

Kenton Dunn and Chris Smith are healthy once again and will both start at the guard positions for us.

Missouri’s C Russell Horan scores their first 9 points while our C Ryan Erickson scores our first 6 points and the Tigers lead us 9-6 after just 3 minutes of play. An 8-0 run puts us on top 28-17 with 6:40 remaining in the first half. Hot shooting allows us to quickly expand our lead to 40-23 with 3-1/2 minutes left to the break. We continue to shred the silk and finish the half with a commanding 52-27 lead. We outshot the Tigers 56% to 30% and out-rebounded them 22-12. C Ryan Erickson and SG Steve Jackson both score 15 for us.

The tide turns in the 2nd half as Missouri catches fire to reduce our lead to just 5 at 62-57 with 9-1/2 minutes to play. With 4-1/2 minutes remaining we’re up by just 3 points. Missouri takes a 75-74 lead with 2:25 on the clock. Then they cash in on a 3 with 2 minutes left to go ahead 78-74. We call a timeout and get the ball inside to Ryan Erickson for a reverse layup that cuts the Tigers lead to 2. On our next possession Erickson is fouled but can only make 1 of 2 so we trail 78-77 with 1:22 on the clock. After both teams miss shots, Erickson partially blocks a shot and we recover the ball and call a time out with 15 seconds to play. Our designed play is broken up but Chris Smith gets the ball inside to Erickson who again puts the ball in the hoop to put us ahead 79-78 with 11 seconds to go. The Tigers call a time out and we put our best defenders on the court. Missouri brings the ball up court quickly and puts up a jumper from the free throw line, but Charles Maors tips the shot away and Vefa Kurtbek recovers the ball as time expires. In a game we seemed to have sewn up at the half, we are totally outplayed in the 2nd half and barely escape with a 79-78 win. We turn the ball over 20 times while Missouri has 14 turnovers. Making up for our turnover problems, we have a 40-34 rebounding advantage and a 47% to 41% shooting advantage.

Topping our scoring is SG Steve Smith with 21 points while C Ryan Erickson has 20 and PG Chris Smith adds 12 points and 7 assists. Even though, like the rest of our team, Ryan Erickson didn’t play well throughout most of the 2nd half, he came up big and saved our bacon in the final two minutes, scoring all 5 points for us and blocking a shot.

We’re going to have a team meeting tomorrow to impress upon our guys that even when they have a big lead, they can’t just call it in during the 2nd half and have a total let-down like happened tonight. With the momentum the Tigers built up, we were lucky to be able to pull this one out. After letting Missouri score 51 points in the first 18 minutes of the 2nd half, we finally woke up defensively to hold them scoreless in the final 2 minutes.

In other games for Pac-12 teams, Arizona took their #3 ranking to Syracuse to take on the #7 ranked Orange. The Wildcats came out on the short end of a 87-79 score when they let Syracuse hit 50% of their FG attempts including 55% of their 3’s. All 5 Syracuse starters scored in double figures. #6 ranked UCLA hosted #21 ranked Ohio State and crushed the Buckeyes 81-53. UCLA’s C Jamal Magloire scored 39 and had 16 rebounds. #17 ranked Utah dropped a 74-63 decision when they journeyed to take on unranked Purdue. Cal which is 14th ranked hosted and clobbered San Jose State 84-52. #2 ranked Oregon traveled to take on Kentucky and maintained their unbeaten record with a slim 70-69 victory.

Later in the week, Arizona and Utah reversed their fortunes with Arizona stomping Gonzaga 80-48 and Utah blasting Alabama A&M 87-62. #24 ranked and previously unbeaten Washington won 2 games this week but then picked up their first loss when then traveled to take on Temple and lost 84-74.

[Wayne23]

Can't believe this! How do you like playing while not wearing the hair shirt? Go Buffaloes!

[PointGuard]

Can't believe this! How do you like playing while not wearing the hair shirt? Go Buffaloes!

Kind of missing the itch.

[PointGuard]

Conference Play Begins

We finish pre-conference play with a 10-1 record. We’re ranked #20 in the Media Poll and #22 in the Coaches Poll and have a totally unrealistic #2 RPI ranking. Other Pac-12 teams ranked in the Media Poll are: Oregon which is #1, UCLA ranked #4, Arizona at #5, California which is #14, Utah which is in the #17 position, and Washington ranked #24. The brutal Pac-12 schedule will likely drop some of these teama out of the top 25. While we’re #2 in the RPI rankings, UCLA is #1, Oregon is #3 , Arizona is #5, and California is #7.

Here are Pac-12 team records thus far:



Our conference schedule has more home games early and more away games late, so we have to get off to a good start if we are to hope we can finish in the top half of the standings.

Colorado Buffaloes player stats thus far:

[PointGuard]

Game #12: Oregon State Beavers (5-4, 0-0) @ #20 Colorado Buffaloes (10-1, 0-0)

The Beavers have a plodding offense and have been most successful when they can control the tempo and slow down their opponent. We will try to speed things up to keep them off-balance.

Oregon State took a 10-8 lead with their SG Jamaal Darden scoring 8 of those points, but he then got tagged with his 2nd personal foul. We then went on a 12-2 run. We shot well (59%) and cruised to a 46-32 halftime advantage. SG Kenton Dunn scored 11 and C Ryan Erickson had 10 for us.

The Beavers quickly trimmed our lead to 9 points early in the 2nd half and then with 6-1/2 minutes to play got within 5 at 62-57. We responded with a scoring outburst that put us ahead 74-59 with 3:43 to play. We then closed out with an 80-68 triumph. We hit 54% of our FG’s while Oregon State shot 41%. We also held a 14-8 turnover advantage. So while overall we played well, our play was inconsistent against one of the weaker teams in the conference.

PG Chris Smith and C Ryan Erickson both scored 14. SG Steve Jackson continued to be the sparkplug we need coming off the bench as he scored 12 points. SG Kenton Dunn and SF Rick Coffey both hit for 11 points with Coffey grabbing 9 rebounds and Dunn getting 6 boards and 4 assists as well as 2 steals and a block. PF/SF Charles Maors added 10 points. Four Beavers scored 11 points each and another scored 10.

Results of other Pac-12 games:

#5 Arizona (89) @ Washington St. (49)
#4 UCLA (90) @ Arizona St. (82) (OT)
#14 California (82) @ #1 Oregon (68)—whoa! huge upset by Cal on the road to pin first loss on the Ducks!
USC (69) @ Stanford (83)
#24 Washington (93) @ #17 Utah (69)—big upset by the Huskies on the road

[PointGuard]

Game #13: #14 California Golden Bears (10-2, 1-0) @ #20 Colorado Buffaloes (11-1, 1-0)

A second straight home game, but the level of the competition increased exponentially. So much so that we are rated as distinct underdogs against the Golden Bears. Cal is very strong defensively. They’re opponents are averaging just 61.1 ppg while the Golden Bears have been scoring 72.9 ppg thus far this season. After being on probation for recruiting violations, Cal is still on probation and can not participate in post-season tournaments for 2 more seasons and can not recruit for 3 more seasons. So doing well in Pac-12 play is their entire focus. Their only losses this year have been on the road to #15 ranked North Carolina and #2 ranked Kansas. They’ve defeated #1 ranked Oregon (a road game for Cal earlier this week which they won 82-68), #12 ranked Pittsburgh, #13 ranked Florida, and #22 ranked Oklahoma State. SG Mario Burleston is concluding his outstanding collegiate career by averaging 17.0 ppg. SF Jesse Hebert has been a mainstay for the team the past 3 seasons and is averaging 12.7 ppg and 5.8 rpg. The Coors Events Center will be filled to the rafters for this game including a sizeable contingent of Cal fans.

SG Kenton Dunn scored our first 7 points and we sprinted out to a 12-3 lead in the first 4 minutes of play. But with 8:44 left in the half, Cal had overtaken us by a 19-13 score. We tied the game at 19-19 with 2 minutes later. Cal’s quickness gave us fits and we slipped behind again. We rallied late in the half to trail by just a 36-34 score at the end of the half. Our starting guards, Chris Smith and Kenton Dunn both scored 7 points. SG Mario Burleston scored 11 and SF Jesse Herbert added 10 for the Golden Bears. We only hit 33% of our shots, so needed to improve on that in the 2nd half.

Burleston and Hebert spurred Cal to a 12 point lead after 4 minutes of play in the 2nd half. Then Vefa Kurtbek and Kenton Dunn got us back in the game. With 13:08 to go we were within 3 at 49-46. The Golden Bears moved ahead by 8 but we reeled them back in and Chris Smith hit a 12 foot baseline jumper and the subsequent free throw to make the score 58-57 in favor of Cal with 8:49 remaining. Kenton Dunn then rattled down a shot with 8 minutes left to lift us into a 59-58 lead. The Golden Bears took a small lead. But SF Rick Coffey and SG Steve Jackson hit consecutive 3’s and PF Charles Maors dropped in a contested baseline shot and was fouled and made the shot as we surged to a 78-69 lead with 1:21 to go. The rattled Golden Bears then threw the ball away and we hit 3 of 4 free throws to expand our lead to 12 with just a minute left. We went on to upset California 84-71. We hit 60% of our shots in the 2nd half and ended up dominating the boards 41-29.

PG Chris Smith popped in 19 points, PF/SF Charles Maors hit for 15 with Maors and also grabbed 10 rebounds, SG Kenton Dunn finished with 13 points, PF Vefa Kurtbek and SG Steve Jackson both scored 11, C Ryan Erickson had 7 points and 11 rebouinds, and SF Rick Coffey scored 8 and pulled down 10 boards. SG Mario Burleston led all scorers with 20 points for California and he also had 3 steals and 5 blocks.

The way we out-played California in the final 10 minutes of the game was impressive. Our guys were just not to be denied.

Results of other Pac-12 games:

#5 ranked Arizona-95, #17 ranked Utah-76
Arizona State-67, USC-57
#4 ranked UCLA-76, Washington State-37
#1 ranked Oregon-73, #24 ranked Washington-59
Stanford-86, Oregon State-56

Following the first week of conference play in the Media Poll Oregon is #2, UCLA is #4, Arizona is #6, Cal is #13, Colorado is #19, Utah is #22, Washington is #23, and Stanford is #25.