(Levi and the scorching-hot CU Buffaloes want you at the CEC Saturday morning!)
This also marks my first Big XII farewell of the basketball season. There is no return game in Stillwater, so this is buh-bye to the OSU Cowboys. I've been through Stillwater, OK a few times and I can safely say... well, it's not Boulder, that's for sure. The fans are mostly nice (and stunned that Boone Pickens has lavished them with so much cash), and I guess Eskimo Joe's is a cool sportsbar if you've never been anywhere else. My only regret is that I never made it to a game at Gallagher-Iba. Oh well, on with the preview.
Click Below for the Preview
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Opponents Season - Picked to finish 8th in the conference in the preseason, the Cowboys don't do a whole lot expertly, but are largely above average overall. 70 points per game isn't much to write home about (The Buffs drop 84/game), but they do possess an decently efficient offense (kenpom's got them at 64). Interestingly, they don't share the ball much, and are 302nd in assists. Similar to their offensive standing, they are decently efficient on defense (59th) and hold opponents under 63 points a night. To round things off, they're near the middle of the national pack when it comes to rebounding (142nd) and actually grab slightly fewer boards per game than CU (36.6 to 36.2).
So far this year, they've been what they appear to be: kind of good, but far from great, and they enter the contest with a 13-3 (1-1) record. CU may be catching them at just the right time; 2 of their 3 loses this season have come on the road within the last few weeks, and Wednesday night, while CU was beating the Wildcats, the Pokes were getting whupped by 23 at Texas A&M. To be sure they're better than that, and I expect them to play better Saturday.
Coaching - Cowboy head coach Travis Ford is well known as an up-and-comer in the coaching ranks. It's been a tough job keeping the Cowboys afloat after the neoptistically awesome Sean Sutton damn near broke the storied Cowboys program. Ford quickly got the ship righted, and took the Pokes to the Tourney in 2008 for the first time in 3 years. Riding in his 3rd year with the Pokes, Coach Ford holds identical 22-11 records in the previous 2 seasons, and last year they even clipped the #1 KU Jayhawks at home. He's a good coach, and the Pokes are in a good spot with him rebuilding the program.
(I expect big things from the feisty Ford in the future, just hopefully not Saturday morning)
Key Players - Once again the Buffs will take the court against a slightly undersized Big XII team as only one player on the Cowboys roster is listed over 6-8, and he (Sophomore center Jarred Shaw) only averages 5 minutes a game.
The scoring leader on the team is 6-7 senior forward Marshall Moses. He fills up the stat sheet on a nightly basis, averaging 16.6 points and a large 8.4 boards/game. He's an experienced Big XII forward, and I expect him to succeed where other skilled interior players have against CU this season. Fellow forward, the 6-8 junior Darrell Williams, also grabs a fair number of boards (7.3/game) but doesn't contribute much offensively.
(Moses may look goofy here, but he's the best and most consistent player OSU's got)
Also along for the ride in Stillwater this season is "fucking asshole" Keiton Page. This punk always seems to be in the right place at the right time when we play these guys. The 5-10 Oklahoma native is a big 3-point threat and otherwise nuisance.
(I can't stand Keiton Page)
Jean-Paul Olukemi, a 6-5 swing forward, in his first year seeing playing time has had some big games (22/11 against K-State 5 days ago), but completely disappeared against Texas A&M, scoring only a single point in 14 minutes of play.
Prediciton - I'm hesitant here. I'm big on not messing with a good situation, and my past two predictions of Buff losses have turned out awesomely incorrect. However, there is no way that I can pick against this Buffs team for Saturday. Not only is CU home, and playing a shaken Okie St team off a shellacking at the hands A&M, but they're also playing the best basketball the program has featured in 14 years. On paper CU's got better talent than the Pokes, better stats than the Pokes, and good mojo to boot. Unless CU completely forgets that whole "play good defense and rebound" thing, then CU should win this thing. Also, there should be a good crowd in the building to welcome the surging Buffs home, and that certainly should help things.
Don't get me wrong: the Buffs will still have to work hard to win; I certainly don't expect to see Okie St exposed as bad as they were in College Station. However, I do expect CU to win semi-comfortably. CU 87 - OSU 74.
GO BUFFS!
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