Monday Grab Bag: On a roll

It's been a complete turnaround for the Buffs post-Seattle.  The team, once seemingly stuck in neutral, has found it's offensive mojo, and is deservedly back in the top-half of the Pac-12 standings.  The question now is: can they build on it?

Home cooking did the trick.  Can the Buffs carry the good feelings out onto the road? From: the BDC

The trick will be to translate the momentum gained over the last two home victories, including the relative offensive explosion, into road victories.  The Buffs now embark on their longest true road trip of the season, playing three games in Utah and Oregon over the next two weeks.  Two of those games, against Utah and Oregon State, are seemingly strong pick-up opportunities.  If CU can go 2-1 on this trip, putting them at 16-7 (6-5) overall with a great RPI, their path to the NCAA Tournament becomes a lot more clear.

Today in the bag, I'm talking the big win over Cal, Xavier Johnson's breakout weekend, and the Pro Bowl.

Click below for the bag...


Buffs complete NorCal sweep -

It was the Xavier Johnson and Askia Booker show Sunday.  The pair combined for 38 points, and kept the team afloat through some early foul trouble.  Buoyed by their efforts, and a near perfect shooting performance from the team as a whole, CU eased past Cal for a 81-71 win Sunday afternoon.  The victory completes a three game counter-punch that has gotten the team back to .500 in Pac-12 play.

Johnson had his best day as a Buff, notching career highs for both points scored and rebounds grabbed.  The performance also marked his first career double-double.  Booker, if anything, was even more impressive.  The notoriously streaky-shooting guard dropped 20 points on 67% shooting to lead the team.  CU remains undefeated in games where Ski shoots over 40% from the field.

Ski was on fire.  From: the BDC

Despite interior stars Andre Roberson and Josh Scott each getting booked for two quick fouls, CU rolled to a 34-18 lead in the first half, mostly relying on stellar defense to keep the Bears at bay.  Cal shot 20.6% in the opening frame, a season low for any CU opponent in a single half of play.

The 16-point halftime lead, however, appeared shaky at the start of the second half as Cal began to heat up their offense.  Surprisingly enough, with Roberson, CU's defensive dynamo, back on the court, the team began to struggle without the ball.  Cal shot 61% in the second half, mostly on the back of 33 combined points scored by the sensational backcourt duo of Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs.  The Buffs had no answer for either player, despite multiple adjustments on defensive rotations.

Luckily, CU responded with a superb offensive performance of their own. The Buffs hit over 71% of their second half shots, and knocked down 14 of 15 free throws.  Against that, even while red hot themselves, Cal never had a chance.

With the Bears making a desperate charge down the stretch, it was up to CU to consistently hit late-game free throws. Spencer Dinwiddie answered the call, hitting a perfect 8-8 in the games final two minutes to seal the win.

Spencer killed the game off like a new-age Cory Higgins.  From: the BDC

Not that I ever thought the result was ever in too much doubt, but it seemed that the Bears were too readily resigned to their fate. CU struggles with inbounding; Cal didn't challenge late-game inbounds plays.  Players other than Dinwiddie struggle with pressure-packed free throw situations; Cal kept putting Spencer on the line.  The Golden Bears just didn't appear interested in putting in the effort required to steal the win.

On the flip-side, I can't shake the feeling that CU should've beaten that Cal team by 30.  Without 20 ugly turnovers and Crabbe and Cobbs going off for those 33 second half points, it would've/could've/should've been a blowout.  Beggars can't be choosers, however, and I'll happily take the ugly win.


Xavier Johnson's breakout weekend -

As a top-100 recruit, Xavier Johnson came to CU carrying plenty of lofty expectations.  As is often the case, those expectations far out-paced his ability to deliver during his first months in college.  Not that he was awful, or anything, you could just see that he was feeling for his role.

Lately, however, he's been putting together some fantastic performances, giving BuffNation a glimpse of what he'll be able to provide in future years.  Beginning with his first start in CU's Pac-12 opener against Arizona, he's been a reliable force in the CU rotation, and appears far more comfortable now then compared to his first few collegiate games.  He's no longer the bull-in-a-china-shop, Xavier has turned into a composed swing forward.

Xavier's big weekend has to make Coach Boyle happy. From: the BDC

Through eight games in Pac-12 play, he's averaging 10.5 points on 51% shooting, and has only been getting better in recent weeks.  Case-in-point, he has reeled of three-straight double-digit point efforts leading up to his 18/12 game against Cal.

This weekend against the NorCal teams, he seemed to take the next step.  Dropping 29/15 over the two games, he was integral to the CU attack, and was the best Colorado performer for two of the four halves played.  With Xavier on the court, Stanford could no-longer out-physical CU, and his thunderous dunks gave the team an energy boost in Thursday's first half.  With Roberson and Scott sitting with foul trouble in the first half on Sunday, Xavier was the only Buff capable of grabbing rebounds and scoring in the paint.  Without him, both of those games would've turned out differently.

I like the look of horror on Josh's face. From: the BDC

His development as a reliable second-tier force on both ends of the court will have big implications in the season's final two months.


Pro Bowl -

This happened.  Some points were scored, one of the "teams" "won," and a shit-ton of people watched.  If you were one of the people who wasted their Sunday evening watching that crap, let me kindly ask you to re-assess your life.  There is help available, you only need to seek it out.

All football is not created equal.

I was at a bar after the Buffs game, minding my own business and getting my drink on.  The Lakers/Thunder game, which had been on the TV, ended, necessitating a channel change.  The guy next to me pipes up: "Change it to Channel 9, the pre-game coverage for the Pro Bowl should be on."  I took that as my cue to leave.  No one who's interested in pre-game coverage of the damn Pro Bowl is suitable company when I'm sipping whiskey.

... pre-game coverage of the damn Pro Bowl *smh*, you must be out your damn mind...


Happy Monday!