2013 Oregon State Basketball Preview #1

Coach Boyle's scorched earth road game policy worked to a 'T' yesterday.  Actually, more like a 'W,' as the Buffs grinded out a vital 48-47 win in Eugene last night.

It was deja vu all over again.  Much like the win over Oregon in last season's Pac-12 tournament, the Buffs found themselves down one with under a minute to go.  Once again, Andre Roberson found a key offensive rebound, and managed to put back a heavily contested layup to take a lead.  And, once again, CU's point guard locked down Oregon's best scorer, forcing an ugly miss to seal the win (2012: Nate Tomlinson on Devoe Joseph, 2013: Spencer Dinwiddie on E.J. Singler).

Dinwiddie's block left Singler crying into his coffee about an uncalled foul.  Damn, that program loves to whine.  From: the Oregonian.

While the end was a symphony of perfection on both sides of the ball, for much of the game it was only perfectly ugly.  The whole affair looked like something out of the pre-jump shot era.  With the Buffs only notching a paltry .72 ppp .873 ppp on offense while allowing Oregon to grab 14 offensive boards, it took an incredible defensive effort to even keep the win within reach.  CU packed in the D, forcing the slashing Ducks outside into uncomfortable jump shots.  All told, the Ducks shot 36% from the field (29.6% in the second half), and failed to score over the game's final four minutes, enabling the Buffs to overcome their anemic offensive performance.

It's no surprise that, in a game defined by defense, the big star was Roberson.  Not only did he score the winning bucket, but that hoop boosted him over the double-digit scoring plateau for the evening, giving the lanky Texan his 35th career double-double (10/13).  He was a monster late in the game, taking away Oregon's offense, and grabbing the last three rebounds that mattered.  After the game 'Dre said "I didn't want to lose," and it showed.

Despite trailing for more than 35 minutes, CU gets the much-needed road win over the #19 team in the land. The win boosts what had been a softening Tournament resume, getting the team back off the bubble in the wake of the defeat at Utah.

"Oh, but Oregon was missing their point guard, it's not all that impressive."  Shut your mouth.  When you beat a top-25 team on the road, you don't care how or why it came to be.  I'll take that ugly-ass win without a second thought.

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Turning my attention to Sunday's game against Oregon State, the Buffs now have a chance to sweep the Beaver State road swing.  The win would also give them a 6-5 conference record headed into the home-heavy portion of the schedule (seven of the last five five of the last seven games are at the CEC).  To earn that sweep, they'll need to topple one of the Pac-12's worst squads in their own gym.  Considering the embarrassment in SLC last Saturday, I'm not taking anything for granted.

Tip-off from Gill Coliseum in Corvallis is set for 7pm Sunday evening.  Coverage can be found on Pac-12 Networks.  Those with DirecTV can find Mark Johnson on 850 KOA.

As a side note, this is my final full preview of the regular season, as everything from here til after the Pac-12 Tournament will be a repeat matchup.  I'll still be previewing the games, just in a slightly abbreviated fashion.

Click below for the preview...

Quick Post: 2018 - Hate is Coming

Imagine where you'll be in five years...

Tom Osbourn will be dead... CSU will have finally gone full-time online, selling off their dump of a campus for quick cash to pay off debt incurred by their failure of a new stadium... Tad Boyle will have just won his second national title in three years... This kid will have weeping children of his own...

The world sits in peace. 

Suddenly, a rumble from the West perks up for the first time in nearly a decade.  Long forgotten after years of silence, it pours eastward through the plains, blanketing desolate, water-starved fields as it goes. 

Hate has returned.

Prepare yourselves accordingly.

--

Coach MikeMac, all kidding aside, I don't care if you're still here in five years.  Run off to the SEC as soon as you can, wouldn't bother me in the slightest.  The only thing I ask... nope, not ask... FUCKING REQUIRE, yes, the one thing that I fucking require is that you help get this program into a position to win in five years.

No excuses, get it done.

Fuck Nebraska.

2013 Oregon Basketball Preview #1

I'm really excited about this one.  All three matchups with Oregon last season were fun in their own way, and these two seem to bring the best out of each other.  Further, both squads need to rebound from painful losses last week.  While the Buffs were flailing for buckets in SLC, the Ducks were getting humbled in NorCal.  

Oregon needs this win to recapture momentum in the conference title race once thought to be a mortal lock.  CU needs this win to rebound after the embarrassing defeat to the lowly Utes, and re-state their claim to a spot in the Tournament.  Like two wild animals backed into a corner of their own making, I expect both the Buffs and Ducks to come out swinging.  As a result, I expect a good game from wire to wire.

The Buffs just lost a game we didn't expect, let's see if they can win a game we don't expect.  Tip-off from Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, OR is scheduled for 8pm MT this evening.  Coverage can be found on ESPNU, or with Mark Johnson on 850 KOA.

Click below for the preview...

Quick Post: Dustin Thomas Video

... blah, blah, football...

Wait a second, Dustin Thomas finally has high school highlights available for all to see?  It's time to break out the breaking news bell!

Thomas, one of three signees in the 2013 basketball recruiting class, had been mostly an unknown quantity to this point.  As far as I know, no one outside of the coaching staff had seen film on him.  It just didn't exist.  (insert Manti Te'o joke here)

When I asked rivals.com basketball guru Will Whelan about getting some film on the kid, he suggested I fly to Thomas' home town of Texarkana myself.  Heaven help me, that's never going to happen.  (I have an explicit "mess with Texas" policy, and am probably no longer welcome in that state.) Thankfully, the internet enables laziness, and has provided BuffNation with it's first true glimpse of the 6'8" forward.

A big hat-tip to @TZiskBuff for bringing this to the world's attention.  I doubt he flew to Texarkana for this, but if he did, someone needs to buy him a beer or 20.

On Signing Day 2013

It's National Signing Day.  All across the country, college football fans are collectively drooling at the meat-market parade of new talent lining up to join their favorite programs.  In Boulder, however, the reception is, well, rather muted.

Not once since the rise of the recruiting age has the first Wednesday in February landed with such a thud in Chief Niwot's valley.  There will be no televised signing extravaganzas featuring Ralphie this afternoon, no Black and Gold hats being plucked off of tables on ESPNU.  A product of the program's declining fortunes, a harried transition class, and a lack of nationally ranked recruits, Signing Day has been reduced in the eyes of many in BuffNation to mild distraction worthy of only a shoulder shrug.

Coach Mike MacIntyre is expected to put the finishing touches on a class considered by most to be the worst in the Pac-12 by signing 17 or 18 kids today.  Of that group, none are rated higher than 3-stars by Rivals, and only three are nationally ranked amongst their position. The Buffs famously failed to even get a visit from a four or five star recruit this cycle, with even in-state talent taking a pass.  This underscores not only who was (or, more importantly, wasn't) listening, but who the coaching staff was targeting.

Coach MikeMac had precious few slots to fill, and few impact players would take his call.  From: the Post

Sure, recruiting services are in the business of selling an image circle-jerk, but image has an unhealthy habit of influencing reality over a large sample size.  If recruiting were fishing, this would be a haul of minnows and guppies.

That's not to say these bait fish can't eventually grow up to be whoppers.  Plenty of unheralded recruits have come to Boulder and done well in recent years - Scotty McKnight, Jordan Dizon, Rodney Stewart, Jalil Brown, David Bakhtiari to name a few.  I'd rather not have to depend on a diamond-in-the-rough crapshoot, but it is what it is.

Despite the lack of national attention, there are a few commits who catch my eye.  WR Devin Ross, QB Sefo Liufau, WR Bryce Bobo, DE Markeis Reed and OL Gunnar Graham all look promising on paper.   Local (Denver South) RB product Phillip Lindsay also intrigues me, and comes to CU after a record-setting high school career.  Unfortunately, an ACL tear has set his growth back.

Lindsay is a rare local star who will sign with CU.  From: Maxpreps

Additionally, Coach Mike MacIntyre lured former San Jose State commits/targets ATH Kenneth Olugbode, ATH Ryan Severson, and RB Michael Adkins to Boulder, beefing up the class over the last month.  Another, DB Chidobe Awuzie, made for a nice Signing Day surprise.  (Another SD surprise was the signing of safety Tedric Thompson.  Nice get for the staff)

I'm sure they're all great kids, and I'm proud that they've chosen to attend my alma mater, but I can't help but look at the group as gap-fillers, rather than impact players.  I wouldn't expect too many of them to contribute as freshmen, even with playing time available up-and-down the depth chart (Wideout and defensive backs are notable exceptions).

Outside of a few players, like QB Sefo Liufau, I'm unimpressed by this class.  From: TRR

Regardless of the success or failure of this group, both in the immediacy, and the long-term, I'm not going to hold it against MikeMac.  Transition classes are usually shaky, and, unlike Embree's transition, MacIntyre has had relatively few available scholarships to play with (He chose to honor the previous staff's commitments, eating many possible spots).  This class was, and is, mostly an Embree production.  I'll give him the credit/blame accordingly.

Next year will be far more telling in terms of Mac 2.0's recruiting skill, or lack thereof.

Monday Grab Bag: I need some Advil

I'm suffering from a massive hangover today, and it has nothing to do with what went on at my Super Bowl party.  Nope it's all about the Buffs, and their ugly loss in Salt Lake City.  My body is rejecting the losing toxins, and, as a result, my head is pounding.

Today in the bag, I'm recapping the SLC hiccup, the women's rebounding victory in LA, and, of course, the Super Bowl.

Click below for the bag...

UPDATED: 2013 Utah Basketball Preview #1

Wednesday night was rough for both CU and the Pac-12.

For the Buffs, RPI boosters Baylor and Wyoming both lost home games.  That Baylor loss especially hurts, as their season is about to hit a brick wall in the form of a difficult road trip to ISU and OSU.  (At least I got to see Sr. McDoucherton miss a wide-open look at the buzzer, costing his team the game.  Suck it, Heslip.) Wyo? Well, they're hoping to hold onto a spot in the NIT as their season quickly spirals out of control.  The two loses don't cripple CU's still sterling RPI, but it does seem a little softer than it did a few weeks ago.

For the Pac-12, chaos reigns again as the conference's #1 and #2 squads each took it on the chin, losing to #7 and #9, respectively.  Holy hell Oregon, many thought you'd lose at Stanford, but did you have to twitch around like a heroin addict for 40 minutes?  Go home, Oregon, you're drunk.  Oh and UCLA?  No biggie, they just lost at home to a bogus USC squad run by an interim head coach.  On Reggie Miller night, no less. It's a good thing Bruins Nation is able to maintain composure in trying times such as these.

Just generally a no-good night of fail.  At least Arizona held on Thursday night at Washington, maintaining some semblance of normalcy, but those are bye week concerns.  Tomorrow holds actual CU basketball to consume.  What could possibly go wrong?

Tip-off from the Huntsman Center in beautiful Salt Lake City is set for 12:30 MT on Saturday.  Prior to the game, Utah will be honoring the legacy of Rick Majeras by retiring his famous sweater into the rafters.  Those with DirecTV are in luck, as ROOT will have the broadcast.  If you can't find ROOT, Mark Johnson has you covered on 850 KOA.

Click below for the preview...