2016-17 CU vs Cal Basketball Preview #1

New coach, same result for the Stanford Cardinal against the Colorado Buffaloes: loss.  As has happened every time these two programs have met since February of 2012, the Buffs looked comfortable and composed against their red and white clad foes Thursday evening in Palo Alto. They controlled the glass, shared the basketball, and hit open jumpers, racing out ahead of the hosts at a pace the offensively challenged Cardinal couldn't hope to match.  By the end of the game, Stanford just looked out of gas, giving the Buffs an easy-ish ride to the finish of a solid 81-74 win.

Some weirdness aside, the Buffs were able to deftly slip past Stanford.  From: the AP

This was a different narrative from the Oregon game last weekend.  Colorado didn't show the same defensive intensity they had displayed against the Ducks at home, and were much looser with the basketball (23 turnovers, which... I don't know, man).  From a shot-making perspective, though, they were on their game.  CU was hitting 53% from the field, helped by 19 assists on 26 baskets.  It wasn't perfect offense, but it was effective.

The primary fuel for the performance, on both ends of the court, was provided in the form of Derrick White.  The D-II transfer was at his all-around best Thursday night, putting up 19 points on just eight shots, to go along with eight boards, eight assists, four blocks, and a pair of steals.  He was clearly a step ahead of any Cardinal who dared try to keep him in check, blanketing the game with his skill, particularly in the second half.  Please excuse me, but I couldn't help but think back to the days when the great Spencer Dinwiddie used to do the same at the head of the Colorado attack -- White was that good on Thursday, and the key difference between winning and losing.

But, I can't talk about Derrick's ability to make stat-stuffing look so easy all day.  I also have to  talk about the turnovers. Nearly a third of all Colorado possessions ended in one.  All 11 of the Buffs who saw action against the Cardinal committed at least one. Forwards Tory Miller and Wesley Gordon, the primary culprits, each had four to tie for the team lead.  The turnovers came in every imaginable shape: travels, wayward passes, offensive fouls, poor focus on the dribble; you name it.  Sloppy basketball to a 'T.'  Luckily, Stanford was incapable of making Colorado pay, as the Buffs kept canning shots whenever they managed to complete a possession.  I guess the basketball gods were asleep at the switch, with the game ending past 11pm, otherwise they would've dropped the hammer on CU for their malfeasance with the rock.

Good rebounding numbers made up for the turnovers.  From: the AP

Overall, though, a weird game, which is what I've come to expect in this series.  Beyond the turnovers, and the Cardinal's inability to turn them into meaningful offense at home, there was:

• George King going all 21 of his minutes without scoring a point.
• The first 10 minutes of the game going by largely unnoticed as the Pac-12 Network stuck with the double-OT Cal/Utah game
• A foul being called on Deleon Brown for getting shoved in the back
• The anemic-shooting Cardinal self-inflicting 19 three-point attempts
• A kicked ball whistle late in the action when the ball touched no feet.  

Just some weird, wacky, wild stuff.  I'll assume peyote was involved.

Anyway, attention now turns to Sunday's trip to Cal.  Whereas the Buffs have done well against Stanford over the years, they have struggled to do the same against the Bears, particularly in Berkeley.  This will be a good test, then, to see how much mojo CU really has ginned up for themselves over their recent three-game win streak.  'Cause, if they can steal a win in this one, the schedule opens up a bit for them...

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Hype Music for the Afternoon: "Telegraph Avenue ('Oakland' by Lloyd)" by Childish Gambino

From the edges of Silicon Valley, the Buffs now head up to East Bay.  And, forgive me Berkeley, but if you're talking East Bay, first comes Oakland.  Gambino, with an assist from Lloyd, has us here. Stick with the video til the end... it takes a turn.  Enjoy!

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Tip-off from Haas Pavilion in Berkeley is set for 2:30pm MT on Sunday.  Your Super Bowl party can wait, so give the Buffs their due, and flip over to ESPNU to catch the action.  The radio call will be 850 KOA.

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2016-17 CU vs Stanford Basketball Preview #1

Remember February 23rd, 2012?  That was the night Stanford walked into the Coors Events Center, and destroyed Colorado on their home floor, 74-50.  The Cardinal shot near-50% from the field that night, and was allowed to out-rebound CU 50-26. Let me say that again, FIFTY TO FUCKING TWENTY-SIX. It was a loss was so disheartening, so nausea-inducing, that my recap consisted of an Alf re-run and nothing else. I still feel justified.

The most interesting storyline to come out of that game, however, was not the rebounding margin (though those numbers still inflame).  Instead, it's the fact that Colorado hasn't lost to Stanford since. Go ahead, look it up.  6-0; three wins in Boulder, three wins on the Farm.  I'll call it divine retribution for the wanton pillaging that occurred five years ago.

The Buffs will certainly be eager to keep that streak alive this evening.  Coming off a homestand that served as a reset button for a season gone sour, any opportunity to extend the run of good feelings is welcome.  A trip to Maples Pavilion - a place where CU has had success - against a Stanford team that has proven to be inconsistent this season, is just such an opportunity.  Here's to hoping that CU can keep the mojo running, and steal out of Palo Alto with the win.

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Hype Music for the Evening: "Fake Tales of San Francisco" by the Arctic Monkeys

We refer to Palo Alto as Bay Area, essentially San Francisco, but it's a relative world away from The City.  Somewhat like Fort Collins Kids claiming the cow-town up north is Denver-area. What a fitting song to tab for the evening, then; a story of people slinging lies about gigs they've never played, associations they should never be able to make, to play up an image.  Enjoy!

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The late shift again; tip-off from Maples Pavilion is set for 9pm MT on Thursday. If you can afford to stay awake that late, coverage can be found on Pac-12 Networks.  The Radio call will be on 760AM.

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Tuesday Grab Bag: "... the water for Oregon was just the tears of sadness"

As you might recall, I correctly predicted the upset over Oregon in last week's grab bag:

"What I'm saying is, as helpless as this feels right now, weird things happen all the time. The current squad could pop out of their slumber this week, and shock the Ducks on Saturday. You laugh, but I've seen dumber."

Of course, some jackass would later #hack both my blog and my twitter account, leading to these blatant reversals of my true opinion:

"As such, the Ducks are going to come in here and rip Colorado; no doubt in my mind. No amount of Tad's black magic witchery is going to save CU this evening. Give me Oregon by a boat-load."

... and...

@Matt_Wiens @CUGoose @pachoopsab LOL, we're getting ripped up and you know it.

— Benjamin Burrows (@Rumblinbuffalo) January 28, 2017

So, I come before you today to talk about the importance of account security, and the necessity of routinely changing your passwords.  Otherwise you too could see your accounts #hacked and have some idiot run around claiming your favorite team will get crushed the day of a top-10 upset.

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Today in the bag, I'm talking the win over Oregon that I totally predicted (and totally did not lose a bottle of scotch over), how the rest of the Pac-12 fared, and a brief blerb on signing day.

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2016-17 CU vs Oregon Basketball Preview #1

Ladies and gentlemen, the streak is over!  After their first seven tries against Pac-12 competition this season ended in failure, the Colorado Buffaloes finally entered a notch in the left-hand column with a 85-78 win over the Oregon State.  Never mind that the performance itself was far from perfect, never mind that the Beavers are one of the worst, most talent-starved teams in the nation, any win at this point looks sweet.  I'll take my sundae with three cherries on top, if you don't mind.

Plenty of new faces in the starting lineup on Saturday.  From: the BDC

The biggest story to come out of this game, beyond the simple fact of the schneid-busting first league victory, was the starting lineup.  In an effort to send a message to his charges, Coach Boyle went with five new starters, all of them underclassmen who had previously been averaging fewer than 15 minutes per game.  When the names were first read out - Thomas Akyazili, Deleon Brown, Tory Miller, Bryce Peters, ad Lucas Siewert - most fans, myself included, thought it was error or awkward joke. None but Brown had started a game this season, how could this be?  But, no, Tad was serious:

"That move was more a way to honor and to reward the guys who come to practice every day and who don’t get the minutes or haven’t gotten the starts.[...]  Other guys have had their opportunities and I thought it was time for those guys who hadn’t to get their chance. [...] It’s not anything against the guys who have been starting but it was more because the guys who haven’t been starting deserved a chance, and I thought that they handled it well." -link

I'm not sure the unorthodox starting five paid huge dividends, with the Beavers sticking with Colorado, both off the opening tip and at the start of the second half, but the idea of a fresh look makes a certain bit of sense right now.  The deck has cried out for a re-shuffling since the start of 2017, and this dramatic lurch, with five fresh faces getting their names called to start the game, was a quick way to accomplish that.

Nothing is ever easy with this bunch.  From: the BDC

Bryce Peters certainly seemed to answer the call.  In his first collegiate start, the spunky freshman combo guard went for 15/4/2 on 5-6 shooting.  While not the most effusive player in Colorado colors Thursday evening, he was the most efficient, and really seemed to lead the charge with the reserves on the floor.  Since he will head the next generation, it was good to see him step up when called.

CU was led on the evening, however, by an otherwise normal starter: George King.  The junior scoring guard lit up the board with 24 points, most of it in the first half, fueling the Buffalo attack that boasted 52 points off the bench. His performance was highlighted by this thunderous tomahawk jam off a steal, which was one of the most exciting plays of the entire campaign. He would cool off in the final stretch into the halftime break, and some hasty shots darkened an otherwise brilliant evening. Still, this is just the latest in a string of games where we've seen King return to the form of last season in a way Colorado has been desperate for.  In conference play, he's been the 16th-most efficient offensive performer in the Pac-12, with an ORtg near 120, an eFG over 61%, and a three-point rate of about 46%.  A few more weeks like this, and he could wind up earning some conference honors when all is said and done.

George King, y'all.  From: the BDC

But, of course, what we saw on the court from CU against the Beavers was far from perfect.  OSU is a terrible basketball team, remember, adrift without their full compliment of stars, and seemingly destined for worst-in-Power-5 status.  Yet, their offense, which struggles to walk and chew gum at the same time, was allowed to put up 1.15 points per possession, and their largest overall point total since a 93-90 home overtime loss to frickin' Savannah State. Drew Eubanks (27 points) and Stephen Thompson (26) were able to rip up the Buffs, with little to no defensive answer from those in white. Hell, the Beavs even out-rebounded CU.  If not for some head-scratchingly bad turnovers in the second half, they could've won this game!  Yes, a win is a win, but the faults we've seen all season are still there, and Colorado is still a fatally-flawed basketball team.  I hope for the best, but the victory here does little to instill any new-found confidence.

So, attention now turns to... *sigh* the 10th-ranked Oregon Ducks.  Raise the shields, because this one is going to be rough.

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Hype Music for the Evening: "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" by Elton John

I turn today to British rock-and-roll.  Sir Elton went in an interesting direction with this track from his '73 album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," kicking in a roaring American-style hard rock anthem about getting lit at the local bars.  Enjoy!

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Tip-off from the CEC is set for 7:30pm MT this evening.  Televised coverage can be found Pac-12 Networks, with the radio call on 850AM

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2016-17 CU vs Oregon State Basketball Preview #1

Growing up, I used to play a lot of RBI Baseball on the OG NES.  It was a simple baseball simulation, yet still completely engrossing.  To that end, I'll be very honest and say that it ate up far too much of my youthful summertime hours, at least those not otherwise spent at the sandlot or at the pool.

Probably the most empowering aspect of the game, and one which I am at pains to admit, was the reset button.  Sure, the system itself boasted the feature, and it was far from exclusive to RBI, but I distinctly remember leaning on it as a crutch when playing this game.  If I chucked a fat one over the plate, and the computer crushed it to the endless void beyond the fence, I could always mash that button, and start over.  Nowadays, we'd call that 'rage quitting,' and it's a massive gamer faux paux, but, when I was seven, it was the easiest path I knew to controlling my own destiny.

Oh, for those days of the reset button. The last few months, particularly this loathsome January, have not gone according to plan, and a fresh start would be a welcome sight.  But, of course, life doesn't come with any easy outs.  The Buffs are just going to have to grit their teeth and gut out the final 11 games of the regular season.

While a real-life reset button is a fantasy, the practical application of a terrible opponent could be just what the doctor ordered here.  And, believe me, more than Washington, Washington State, or Arizona State before them, these Oregon State Beavers are a terrible basketball team.  Tonight, then, offers Colorado, a talented if fatally flawed bunch, the opportunity to reset from their past shortfalls, focus on beating a vulnerable opponent at home, and halt the losing streak at seven.  No excuses, earn that 'W.'

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Hype Music for the Day: "All I Do Is Win" by DJ Khaled feat. Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain and Snoop Dogg

What other song could I pick for a pair of teams who enter the evening a combined 0-14 in league play?  Well, really anything else, but there's nothing I like more than gallows humor, and this is just about the perfect tongue-in-cheek pick for the situation.  Khaled, you really are the best, man. If you can't bust out in a smile at the start of this song, there's something wrong with you.  Enjoy!

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Tip-off from the CEC is set for 6:30pm MT on Thursday.  Televised coverage can be found on FS1 national (how'd they get the short pull on that one?), with the radio call on 760 AM.

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Tuesday Grab Bag: In which the downward spiral continues

Still swamped at work, so straight to the action...

Today in the bag, I'm talking a 7th-straight loss to open up conference play, how the rest of the Pac-12 is faring, and a quick look at the new defensive coordinator up at Folsom.

2016-17 CU vs Washington State Basketball Preview #1

It is what it is.  What else can you really say after watching the Buffs blow a 17-point second half lead to eventually lose 85-83 in overtime to a dreadful Washington side?  If you were wondering, by chance, if things could get worse after an 0-5 start to conference play, the answer is an emphatic 'YES!'  It's 0-6 now, Colorado's worst start to conference play since I was in third grade.  It is what it is.

XJ's heroics were not enough in Seattle.  From: SeattlePI.com

I know I couldn't have been the only one at the half confident that the team in Black and Gold would find a way to spike their massive 15-point halftime lead.  Sure, others allowed themselves to get a little cocky, but there was nothing in me that felt that we were watching the exclamatory rout that the men on TV were describing.  Both teams were sloppy.  Both teams were showing their faults. Colorado was just scoring more points, that's all.  The missed three pointers that were knifing Washington (1-12 over the opening 20 minutes) weren't necessarily the result of perfect Colorado defense, just misses from the home team against a zone. Block out the score, and I saw an otherwise even, chaotic affair headed into the break.

So, of course, after halftime, that lead began to shrink in the most familiar of ways.  Defense slumped, shots were taken hastily, rebounding suffered.  Those threes that were missed in the first half suddenly started going in (7-13 after the break).  Us veterans in the crowd have seen it before, a carbon copy of those lost leads from a year ago.  I'll grant that the team showed good heart to fight off the demons and force overtime in the final minute, but the end of the game was simply boneheaded -- getting beaten back down the court for an open corner three.  The straw that broke the Buffalo's back, as it were.  Enough to make you wretch.

Fultz is an incredible talent.  From: KING5.com

Sure, there are some bright spots here.  Xavier Johnson had the kind of game that will get mention by me in his senior profile, going for 24/11, and really pushing the Buffs in the final minutes of regulation and in overtime.  Derrick White also added a nice 23 points and eight assists to his totals, despite not getting a single call from the refs all night.  A hat-tip to Wes Gordon, as well, who provided five blocks, to go along with his 11 rebounds.  For those who like watching opponents get theirs, you also got to see 37 points of brilliance from Markelle Fultz.  Sloppiness aside, it was a fun game to watch, had I not been emotionally invested.

The problem, of course, is that I am emotionally invested, and that loss will sting quite a bit for some time.  In context, it's a result that means relatively little -- the season was in free-fall long before this trip to Seattle.  Out of context, though, this is one that will linger in the back of my mind for some time.  Again, enough to make you wretch.

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Hype Music for the Day: "State of the Union" by Rise Against

Rise Against!  I've long been a fan of this band.  They check most of my boxes: punk, fast, their lyrics are there for more than just window dressing... oh, and they're from Chicago.  This track, which is pretty hardcore, kicked off their third studio album (and my personal favorite) "Siren Song of the Counter Culture."

As a side note, lead singer Tim McIlrath performed the national anthem at Sox opening day a few years back.  One of the more interesting renditions of the tune I've ever heard -- he's got a really unique voice to show off when he's not screaming.  Anyways, enjoy!

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Tip-off from Beasley Coliseum in Pullman is set for 2pm this afternoon.  Coverage can be found on Pac-12 Networks, with the radio call on 850 KOA.

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