If anything, Saturday's loss at UCLA confirmed what I already knew: the Buffs aren't yet capable of competing for the Pac-12 title. Still, the team is on track for a top-table finish, skirting a second-consecutive 20-win season, and a solid spot in the NIT. All good accomplishments for the season.
Today in the bag, I'll be taking a deeper look at the UCLA result, checking in with the CU women, and teasing signing day action.
Click below for the bag...
Monday, January 30, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
UCLA Basketball Preview
While I wasn't able to watch the game last night, it sure did sound like a good time. The Buffs cruised to victory, pasting USC by 24, and notched their first road Pac-12 win in the process.
That win leaves the Buffs with an opportunity to sweep in LA, as tomorrow's game with UCLA is, at the very least, "winnable." Teams with serious plans on contending in the Pac-12 will earn the LA sweep this season, so this game will tell us exactly how serious the Buffs championship fantasy is.
A win, and Buff Nation can start seriously talking title contention. A loss, and CU still has work to do to separate themselves from the rest of the contenders.
Tip off is set for 2pm tomorrow, with the action televised through Prime Ticket (channel 694 on DirecTV). Alternatively, if you didn't get enough Mark Johnson action on the radio call last night, you can tune to the expanded 850AM coverage to get your fix.
Click below for the preview...
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| Well, that was easy... |
A win, and Buff Nation can start seriously talking title contention. A loss, and CU still has work to do to separate themselves from the rest of the contenders.
Tip off is set for 2pm tomorrow, with the action televised through Prime Ticket (channel 694 on DirecTV). Alternatively, if you didn't get enough Mark Johnson action on the radio call last night, you can tune to the expanded 850AM coverage to get your fix.
Click below for the preview...
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Quick-Post: Domination over USC
The Buffs started fast, and never looked back. USC played as advertised, that is to say poorly, and the win was never really in doubt. Coach Boyle was even able to start emptying the bench early in the 2nd half.
The 74-50 victory was the biggest in-conference road win for the Buffs since 1969. CU posted a +26 rebound advantage, five Buffs finished in double-figures, and traveling Buff fans even out-shouted the docile USC contingent. It was CU domination all throughout the arena.
The performance was headlined by yet another Andre Roberson double-double. In addition, the SoCal Trio (Carlon Brown, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Askia Booker) combined for 34 points and 27 rebounds.
First conference road win secured, it's now on to UCLA.
The 74-50 victory was the biggest in-conference road win for the Buffs since 1969. CU posted a +26 rebound advantage, five Buffs finished in double-figures, and traveling Buff fans even out-shouted the docile USC contingent. It was CU domination all throughout the arena.
The performance was headlined by yet another Andre Roberson double-double. In addition, the SoCal Trio (Carlon Brown, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Askia Booker) combined for 34 points and 27 rebounds.
First conference road win secured, it's now on to UCLA.
USC Basketball Preview: On the road again
USC, by all rights, is a team the Buffs should beat. They are winless in conference play, and truly one of the worst teams in the West. In spite of that, Vegas is still picking the lowly Trojans to upset the Buffs. This doesn't surprise me in the least.
It's a matter of common knowledge that CU just doesn't play well away from home, away from their mile-high altitude advantage. That knowledge, that expectation, needs to change. The entirety of Buff Nation needs to look upon a road trip, particularly one like this against struggling opponents, as an opportunity rather than a road block. The Buffs need to take their cue from good ole' Willie Nelson:
Home field advantage is of paramount importance in sports. Pro teams fight all season for the right to have it in the playoffs. In collegiate athletics, teams are paid handsomely to forfeit it. There's no statistical doubt that it affects games in one way or another. We may argue about why home court advantage means so much, with recent thoughts turning to subconsciously biased officiating, but that it is important in indisputable. CU even enjoys the added benefit of high altitude acclimation when playing in the CEC. It's just plain good to hit the court at home.
Unfortunately, the schedule cannot always keep the Buffs on the Front Range. At some point, this team, really the entire athletic department, needs to figure out what it takes to win away from home if they ever hope to be truly successful. Regardless of altitude, biased officiating, or crowd noise, the Buffs need to prove that the road holds no horrors.
This weekend, including the "winnable" matchup with UCLA, is a perfect opportunity to set a new level of expectations and finally begin to enjoy getting "on the road again."
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The weekend romp through the City of Angels starts with the USC Trojans. Tip off from the beautifully appointed, and sparsely populated, Galen Center is set for 8:30 MT. If you've got an extra $5 bucks lying around, you can give it to the USC athletic department for the privilege of watching a webcast of the proceedings. If you'd rather not give those money grubbing Trojans your hard-earned money, then tune to 760AM for their, always free, broadcast.
Click below for the preview...
It's a matter of common knowledge that CU just doesn't play well away from home, away from their mile-high altitude advantage. That knowledge, that expectation, needs to change. The entirety of Buff Nation needs to look upon a road trip, particularly one like this against struggling opponents, as an opportunity rather than a road block. The Buffs need to take their cue from good ole' Willie Nelson:
Home field advantage is of paramount importance in sports. Pro teams fight all season for the right to have it in the playoffs. In collegiate athletics, teams are paid handsomely to forfeit it. There's no statistical doubt that it affects games in one way or another. We may argue about why home court advantage means so much, with recent thoughts turning to subconsciously biased officiating, but that it is important in indisputable. CU even enjoys the added benefit of high altitude acclimation when playing in the CEC. It's just plain good to hit the court at home.
Unfortunately, the schedule cannot always keep the Buffs on the Front Range. At some point, this team, really the entire athletic department, needs to figure out what it takes to win away from home if they ever hope to be truly successful. Regardless of altitude, biased officiating, or crowd noise, the Buffs need to prove that the road holds no horrors.
This weekend, including the "winnable" matchup with UCLA, is a perfect opportunity to set a new level of expectations and finally begin to enjoy getting "on the road again."
--
The weekend romp through the City of Angels starts with the USC Trojans. Tip off from the beautifully appointed, and sparsely populated, Galen Center is set for 8:30 MT. If you've got an extra $5 bucks lying around, you can give it to the USC athletic department for the privilege of watching a webcast of the proceedings. If you'd rather not give those money grubbing Trojans your hard-earned money, then tune to 760AM for their, always free, broadcast.
Click below for the preview...
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Quick Post: Mid-Week Grab Bag
It's pretty quiet in Buffland as I pensively await the road-trip to SoCal. The Buffs have to prove they can beat somebody on the road to be taken seriously, and this upcoming trip is their best chance to sweep a road weekend in conference play.
While I hold my breath waiting for Thursday night to arrive, here's a few Buff-related items that have been kicking around the inter-tubes this week.
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- I was completely drawn in by the post-Arizona game presser featuring Carlon Brown, Austin Dufault, and Spencer Dinwiddie. They're a bunch of open, affable guys, who seem very comfortable with each other. From the anecdote about young Spencer's U of A debit card, to the description of Askia Booker as the "Scrat" from the Ice Age film series, this video is well worth your time.
- A few of the Arizona writers were more than impressed with the sold-out CEC last Saturday. The Arizona Daily Star's Greg Hansen likened it to a "miniature version of The Pit at New Mexico," while the Daily Wildcat's Mike Schmitz sees great things in the program's future. Boulder is quickly getting a reputation as the toughest road venue in the conference.
- Almighty Kenpom touched on the altitude factor for his blog yesterday. Using the Buffs as a primary example, he tosses out a 6.5 points per game figure as a possible nitty gritty effect of altitude on a scoreboard. He then goes off the rail by postulating that the problem isn't that low-elevation teams struggling at altitude, it's that higher elevation teams are hard-pressed to compete at sea-level. That just defies both logic and science.
Conclusion aside, I'm kind of shocked he didn't turn to Utah for his examples, because I'm sure their storied history would be much kinder to them outside of SLC. They also never had to come off the mountain-top to get throttled by blue-blood programs like Kansas and Missouri.
I'm still unconvinced that altitude plays that big of a factor, as home court advantage is dramatic at all levels of collegiate basketball. Besides, I think it's all about how you use the altitude to your advantage; Coach Bzdelik's slow-paced Princeton teams would be easier to play at altitude than Coach Patton's all-run squads from the middle-decade, for example. However, it is nice to see someone try and put a figure on it, even if their concluding logic is a little off-base.
-Finally, Tom Kensler of the Denver Post did a nice feature on Askia Booker. "The Scrat" gets some well deserved acclaim. He certainly did come up big in the Arizona game, knocking down well-timed jumpers like a veteran.
Kensler touches on his "moxie" and "fearless" playing style, along with the rather large chip he carries on his shoulder at all times. Rush the Court used this article, and Booker's success, to once again poke at the talent evaluation skills of UCLA's Ben Howland. Nice to see the Buffs can be used to help pile onto the struggling Bruin program.
While I hold my breath waiting for Thursday night to arrive, here's a few Buff-related items that have been kicking around the inter-tubes this week.
--
- I was completely drawn in by the post-Arizona game presser featuring Carlon Brown, Austin Dufault, and Spencer Dinwiddie. They're a bunch of open, affable guys, who seem very comfortable with each other. From the anecdote about young Spencer's U of A debit card, to the description of Askia Booker as the "Scrat" from the Ice Age film series, this video is well worth your time.
- A few of the Arizona writers were more than impressed with the sold-out CEC last Saturday. The Arizona Daily Star's Greg Hansen likened it to a "miniature version of The Pit at New Mexico," while the Daily Wildcat's Mike Schmitz sees great things in the program's future. Boulder is quickly getting a reputation as the toughest road venue in the conference.
- Almighty Kenpom touched on the altitude factor for his blog yesterday. Using the Buffs as a primary example, he tosses out a 6.5 points per game figure as a possible nitty gritty effect of altitude on a scoreboard. He then goes off the rail by postulating that the problem isn't that low-elevation teams struggling at altitude, it's that higher elevation teams are hard-pressed to compete at sea-level. That just defies both logic and science.
Conclusion aside, I'm kind of shocked he didn't turn to Utah for his examples, because I'm sure their storied history would be much kinder to them outside of SLC. They also never had to come off the mountain-top to get throttled by blue-blood programs like Kansas and Missouri.
I'm still unconvinced that altitude plays that big of a factor, as home court advantage is dramatic at all levels of collegiate basketball. Besides, I think it's all about how you use the altitude to your advantage; Coach Bzdelik's slow-paced Princeton teams would be easier to play at altitude than Coach Patton's all-run squads from the middle-decade, for example. However, it is nice to see someone try and put a figure on it, even if their concluding logic is a little off-base.
-Finally, Tom Kensler of the Denver Post did a nice feature on Askia Booker. "The Scrat" gets some well deserved acclaim. He certainly did come up big in the Arizona game, knocking down well-timed jumpers like a veteran.
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| This needs to be the next cut-out in the student section. |
Kensler touches on his "moxie" and "fearless" playing style, along with the rather large chip he carries on his shoulder at all times. Rush the Court used this article, and Booker's success, to once again poke at the talent evaluation skills of UCLA's Ben Howland. Nice to see the Buffs can be used to help pile onto the struggling Bruin program.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
UPDATED: Football recruiting's final stretch
To take a brief breather from my Basketball Jones...
Including today, there are only eight recruiting days left for Coach Embree and company to form the foundation of the CU football program. February 1st is National Signing Day, and, while kids don't have to sign on the line that morning, most will, making that the single most important day in recruiting. That sound you hear is the buttons on Adam Munsterteiger's cell phone fracturing from over-use.
I usually downplay recruiting. I'd just rather not follow the waffling proclivities of 17 year old kids. Recruiting news in October and November is often worthless, and contradictory when compared to the final result.
However, once these kids sign next Wednesday, they are Buffs, members of the family, and the life-blood of the football team. At this point in the recruiting cycle, I begin to care... a lot.
With one of the largest senior classes in Colorado history (27 kids) having ended their playing careers last November, there's plenty of room for fresh blood and new talent. With just over a week to go, CU already has most of the class put together. 23 graduating high school seniors are known to have verbally committed to don the Black and Gold, leaving few spots for last minute pick-ups (NCAA rules limit you to 25 signees in a given year).
So far, the class is headlined by recent signee Kenneth Crawley from DC. A listed 4-star recruit, according to Rivals, he's one of the top-25 cornerback recruits in the country, and he's expected to immediately compete for playing time in the shaky Buffs secondary. He was originally committed to Tennessee, but opened up the process before deciding to join a growing list of high school teammates in Boulder.
Besides Crawley, there are some other highly regarded players amongst the 23 currently committed to Colorado. Shane Dillon, once a 4-star prospect himself before his ranking was downgraded, is an intriguing QB prospect out of California, and could compete for playing time at the open QB job. Kisima Jagne, out of Arizona, is a very important defensive end prospect, who could also play immediately.
Defensive linemen like Jagne have been a primary focus of Coach Embree's first full class. Well over a 3rd of the class are being signed on the D-line. With a skeleton crew remaining on the line this winter, it's imperative that not only are these players signed, but they pan out quickly.
There still a few high-profile targets remaining on the board this late in the game. Probably the biggest name, Yuri Wright, out of New Jersey, is a gem of a cornerback recruit who could form a devastating backfield tandem with Crawley. A top-5 DB recruit, he made national headlines this week as he was expelled from his high school (NJ power Don Bosco) for some pretty inappropriate tweets. A few schools, like Michigan decided to drop their pursuit of his services as a result. Despite the scandal, he remains a CU target. Since he hasn't even attended prom yet, I don't feel a little inappropriate tweeting is a disqualifying factor.
(UPDATE: Between the time I wrote this article before work, ran to a meeting, and came back to post, Yuri committed to CU. That's the lesson of this time of year, recruiting moves fast.)
Regardless of how Wright's story works out (good for the Buffs), the final days from the world of recruiting should be interesting. As we know from the epic tale of Darrell Scott, nothing is guaranteed. However, there is no denying that the future success of the program rests on the shoulders of the young men who sign a National Letter of Intent next Wednesday. No pressure, or anything...
Including today, there are only eight recruiting days left for Coach Embree and company to form the foundation of the CU football program. February 1st is National Signing Day, and, while kids don't have to sign on the line that morning, most will, making that the single most important day in recruiting. That sound you hear is the buttons on Adam Munsterteiger's cell phone fracturing from over-use.
I usually downplay recruiting. I'd just rather not follow the waffling proclivities of 17 year old kids. Recruiting news in October and November is often worthless, and contradictory when compared to the final result.
However, once these kids sign next Wednesday, they are Buffs, members of the family, and the life-blood of the football team. At this point in the recruiting cycle, I begin to care... a lot.
With one of the largest senior classes in Colorado history (27 kids) having ended their playing careers last November, there's plenty of room for fresh blood and new talent. With just over a week to go, CU already has most of the class put together. 23 graduating high school seniors are known to have verbally committed to don the Black and Gold, leaving few spots for last minute pick-ups (NCAA rules limit you to 25 signees in a given year).
So far, the class is headlined by recent signee Kenneth Crawley from DC. A listed 4-star recruit, according to Rivals, he's one of the top-25 cornerback recruits in the country, and he's expected to immediately compete for playing time in the shaky Buffs secondary. He was originally committed to Tennessee, but opened up the process before deciding to join a growing list of high school teammates in Boulder.
 |
| Crawley projects to be in the defensive backfield this fall. |
Defensive linemen like Jagne have been a primary focus of Coach Embree's first full class. Well over a 3rd of the class are being signed on the D-line. With a skeleton crew remaining on the line this winter, it's imperative that not only are these players signed, but they pan out quickly.
There still a few high-profile targets remaining on the board this late in the game. Probably the biggest name, Yuri Wright, out of New Jersey, is a gem of a cornerback recruit who could form a devastating backfield tandem with Crawley. A top-5 DB recruit, he made national headlines this week as he was expelled from his high school (NJ power Don Bosco) for some pretty inappropriate tweets. A few schools, like Michigan decided to drop their pursuit of his services as a result. Despite the scandal, he remains a CU target. Since he hasn't even attended prom yet, I don't feel a little inappropriate tweeting is a disqualifying factor.
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| The newest Buff. |
Regardless of how Wright's story works out (good for the Buffs), the final days from the world of recruiting should be interesting. As we know from the epic tale of Darrell Scott, nothing is guaranteed. However, there is no denying that the future success of the program rests on the shoulders of the young men who sign a National Letter of Intent next Wednesday. No pressure, or anything...
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday Grab Bag: Keeping pace
It's ironic that the notation over the visitor's score Saturday afternoon was "Wildcats." The most competitive contests, on an biannual basis, down the stretch of CU's time in the Big XII were against the Kansas State Wildcats. New conference, new Wildcats, same result; ferociously competitive basketball, and a Buffs victory.
That exhibition of basketball I bore witness to Saturday was one of the most competitive, enjoyable events I've ever seen. Both teams played their hearts out, both teams deserved to win. In the end, it was the Buffs, with a defensive stop, that prevailed, staying near the top of their new conference, and protecting the best home court advantage in the west.
To quote my drunken roommates: "We won the fuck out of basketball."
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Today in the bag, I'm recapping the win over Arizona, looking at a season-saving win by the women in Tucson, surveying Championship Sunday in the NFL, and quickly running through an awesome weekend in the world of college hoops.
Click below for the bag...
That exhibition of basketball I bore witness to Saturday was one of the most competitive, enjoyable events I've ever seen. Both teams played their hearts out, both teams deserved to win. In the end, it was the Buffs, with a defensive stop, that prevailed, staying near the top of their new conference, and protecting the best home court advantage in the west.
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| Fuck. Yes. From: the BDC |
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Today in the bag, I'm recapping the win over Arizona, looking at a season-saving win by the women in Tucson, surveying Championship Sunday in the NFL, and quickly running through an awesome weekend in the world of college hoops.
Click below for the bag...
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