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Colorado Basketball – November, 2021
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November 28th – Game Day!
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs use a 7-0 run late to overcome Stanford, 80-76, to open Pac-12 play
… Cardinal open game with a 7-0 run; then the second half with a 9-0 run, but Buffs find a way to win, anyway …
From ESPN … Colorado’s Evan Battey scored a career-high 22 points and the Buffaloes recovered from a slow start Sunday evening to collect an 80-76 win over Stanford at the CU Events Center.
The Buffs improved to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in Pac-12 play while Stanford dropped to 4-3, 0-1.
Battey, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career, was 4-for-4 from 3-point range as part of his 22-point night. Jabari Walker had his third straight double-double for CU with 12 points and 13 rebounds, Tristan da Silva added 13 points, K.J. Simpson had 12 and Keeshawn Barthelemy added 10 to give the Buffs five players in double figures.
Spencer Jones led Stanford with 15 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado led by five at intermission, 37-32, but the Cardinal scored the first nine points of the second half to regain the lead, 41-37.
CU, though, slowly regained control with a 7-0 run that saw Battey hit a bank shot off the glass and a 3-pointer, sandwiched around a Simpson layup, to give CU a 51-44 lead.
But the Cardinal stayed within striking range and with 3:58 to play tied the game at 66-66 on a Spencer Jones 3-pointer.
The Buffs didn’t blink. Following a timeout, Colorado reeled off seven straight points, getting an Elijah Parquet layup, a Walker putback and a Tristan da Silva 3-pointer off a beautiful drive and dish from Battey. The run gave Colorado a 73-66 lead with 1:49 to play.
Stanford managed to cut CU’s lead to two, 75-73, with 36 seconds to play before Keeshawn Barthelemy hit two free throws to bump the cushion back to four.
The Buffs then held on for the win in the final seconds, hitting five free throws in the final 36 seconds.
… Continue reading story here …
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Buffs open Pac-12 play with a home game v. Stanford (Sunday, 5:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks)
From CUBuffs.com …
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 5-1 overall after a fourth place finish at the 2021 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Buffaloes dropped their first game, 67-63, to Southern Illinois before rebounding to win their last two, 84-76 in overtime against Duquesne and 54-52 against Brown.
Colorado is averaging 78.7 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the field. While the Buffaloes scored at least 80 points in their first three games, and for the first time since 2009-10, the scoring ÒchilledÓ in the Caribbean. Colorado averaged 67.0 points over the three-game Paradise Jam, shooting just 43 percent.
Defensively, the Buffaloes have allowed 67.8 points per game while opponents have shot 40 percent. The Buffaloes have outrebounded their six opponents by an average of 11.0 per game. Colorado held Brown to 30.2 percent shooting (16-53) and held a plus-9 advantage on the boards (39-30). Colorado is 74-5 in the Tad Boyle era when holding teams under 40 percent from the field and at least a plus-8 rebound advantage.
ABOUT THE CARDINAL: Stanford is 4-2 overall, coming off a 79-65 home win over North Carolina A&T on Nov. 23. The Cardinal and their opponents are even on the scoreboard through six games, each with 411 points (68.5 ppg). Stanford is shooting 44 percent from the field while allowing its opponents to shoot 46 percent. Stanford has a sizeable rebounding advantage at plus-10.2 on the season. The Cardinal lead the Pac-12 in holding their opponents to just 28.3 rebounds per game.
Freshman forward Harrison Ingram leads Stanford at 12.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Senior forward Jaiden Delaire averages 10.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Michael O’Connell averages 5.8 points and leads the Cardinal in assists at 3.3 per outing.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 27th meeting between Colorado and Stanford with the Buffaloes holding a 15-11 series edge. The Buffaloes have won 12 of the last 14 over the Cardinal. Colorado is 10-3 all-time at home against Stanford and has won the last seven.
CONFERENCE OPENERS: Colorado is 4-6 in Pac-12 openers and 48-61 all-time in conference openers. The Buffaloes have won their last four home conference openers.
Sunday’s game with Stanford will mark the earliest conference game, by calendar date, in team history, surpassing Colorado’s 1986-87 Big Eight Conference opener played at Kansas on Dec. 13, 1986. Kansas won that game 59-56 and a whole month would go by before Colorado’s second Big Eight game at Iowa State on Jan. 14, 1987.
That game at Kansas will remain as the earliest conference contest played by game number in the post World War II era. The Kansas game was Colorado’s fifth of the season in 1986-87, while Sunday’s game against Stanford will be the seventh.
… Continue reading story here …
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November 22nd – Game Day!
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs escape again, defeating Brown 54-52 to claim fourth place in Paradise Jam
From the ESPN … Evan Battey scored 16 points, Jabari Walker had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Colorado beat Brown 54-52 on Monday for fourth place at the Paradise Jam.
Battey, off a nice assist from Keeshawn Barthelemy, made an open shot in the lane with 1:05 left for a 51-50 lead. After a Walker steal, Barthelemy added a basket for a three-point lead.
Paxson Wojcik made two free throws with three seconds left to pull Brown within 53-52, but Colorado was able to get the ball to Barthelemy, who hit 1 of 2 free throws.
Nique Clifford added nine rebounds for Colorado (5-1), which hosts Stanford on Sunday. Walker secured his third double-double of the season. The Buffaloes made 40% of their shots, including just 1 of 9 from distance.
Colorado trailed 30-24 at halftime.
Wojcik scored nine of his 14 points in the first half for Brown (4-3). Dan Friday added 13 points. The Bears were 4 of 22 from 3-point range and 16 of 23 at the free-throw line.
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November 20th – Game Day!
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs avoid a second straight embarrassing defeat with an 84-76 overtime win over Duquesne
From CUBuffs.com … Sophomore Tristan da Silva hit a game-tying 3-point shot with two seconds left in regulation and Colorado outscored Duquesne by eight in the extra session to take an 84-76 decision over the Dukes in a consolation bracket game at the Paradise Jam Saturday night at the U.S. Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center.
Colorado, which never led in regulation, scored the first five points of overtime to pull away from the Dukes. The Buffaloes, 4-1 overall, will battle Brown in the fourth place game Monday, Nov. 22, at 1:15 p.m. MT.
Evan Battey led Colorado in scoring with 18 points along with five rebounds and three steals. Jabari Walker had his second double-double of the season with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. K.J. Simpson scored 11 points off the bench and dished out a team-best four assists.
Duquesne’s Kevin Easley led all scorers with 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. The Dukes (1-4) will face Bradley in the seventh place game on Monday.
Similar to the season-opening overtime win over Montana State, Colorado had to overcome a double-digit second half deficit and rely on a clutch shot as time was running out to extend the contest.
“This is a team, and I feel it now five games in, that we’re going to have a lot of games like this,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. “I just don’t know if we have the consistency to put teams away. Maine we did, but Montana State we didn’t, New Mexico we didn’t, Southern Illinois we didn’t and we didn’t tonight – and we were fortunate to get to overtime in two of those games.”
The Buffaloes trailed by 60-49, with 7:45 remaining in the game before an 11-0 CU run over the next 2:40 evened the game.
… Continue reading story here …
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November 19th – Game Day!
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs fall to Southern Illinois in Paradise Jam, 67-63
From CUBuffs.com … Colorado couldn’t contain Southern Illinois’ 3-point shooters Friday and the Buffaloes dropped a 67-63 decision in the first round of the Paradise Jam.
The Buffs, who fell to 3-1 with the loss, will face Duquesne in a 3:45 p.m. game Saturday. Duquesne lost to Northeastern, 71-55, in its opener. The Salukis improved to 2-1 and will face Northeastern on Sunday.
Jabari Walker led CU with 16 points. Tristan da Silva added 15 points and 7 rebounds while Evan Battey and Keeshawn Barthelemy each had 12 points.
Marcus Domask led the Salukis with 17 points, as SIU drained 12 3-pointers.
Colorado jumped out to a 12-1 early lead but saw the Salukis come back to take an eight-point lead, 27-19, by halftime. CU managed to narrow the gap to three at several junctures in the second half and had it down to two with 1:33 to play, but could never completely get over the hump.
HOW IT HAPPENED: After watching an early 11-point lead turn into a 27-19 deficit at the half, the Buffaloes managed to narrow SIU’s lead to three midway through the second half.
Battey, who played just six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, scored seven straight for CU to help the Buffs shave a 41-32 deficit down to 43-30 with 11 minutes to play.
SIU rebuilt its cushion to eight before Colorado again pulled back to within three, 57-54, on five points from Walker and a da Silva dunk.
But the Salukis answered with their 12th 3-pointer of the game to bump their lead back to six, 60-54, with just 3:42 remaining.
CU, though, managed to cut the deficit to two, 60-58, with 1:33 on the clock. Walker cashed in a putback and da Silva hit one of two free throws to pull the Buffs within just two.
But that was as close as the Buffs could get. SIU came up with a free throw and dunk on its next two possessions, sandwiched around a CU turnover, for a 63-58 lead with 42 seconds to play. The Salukis then added four more free throws down the stretch for a 67-58 lead before da Silva scored five points in the final seconds to round out the scoring.
Colorado started fast, jumping out to a 12-1 lead barely four minutes into the game. The Buffs hit their first five field goal attempts while collecting six straight defensive stops and they looked ready to turn the game into a rout.
Barthelemy had seven points in the run, with da Silva and Walker also scoring.
But the Salukis didn’t go away. Instead, they began chipping away at CU’s lead while the Buffs went ice-cold on the offensive end. SIU finally took a 15-14 lead with 7:17 left in the half as CU endured a 1-for-12 stretch from the field.
The Buffs did momentarily regain the lead, but SIU went back ahead, 21-19, on a Steven Verplancken bucket with just under 3 minutes left in the half, then built the margin to 27-19 by intermission.
Colorado finished the half shooting 8-for-25 from the field — 3-for-20 after the 5-for-5 start — and the Salukis had an 18-16 rebound edge, including five offensive boards. One of those offensive rebounds opened the door for a Verplancken 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining in the half.
The Buffs were also plagued by foul trouble in the first half, with big man Battey playing just five minutes in the opening period after drawing his second foul midway through the half and Walker playing only seven because of two fouls.
NEXT UP: The Buffs play Duquesne in a consolation bracket game Saturday at 3:45 p.m.
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Lawson Lovering’s early struggles not a concern for Tad Boyle: “He’s just trying to go too fast”
From the Daily Camera … CU head coach Tad Boyle has stated on several occasions during the preseason and into the early stages of the regular season that Lawson Lovering is attempting to overcome a common hurdle for young big men — getting into too big of a hurry when he catches the ball on the block.
“Nobody is harder on himself than Lawson,” Boyle said. “He and I have talked about it. That’s something that can become a negative thing, and we can’t let it become a negative. Because he’s going to be a good player.
“I think the biggest thing with young post guys — Evan went through it, Josh Scott went through it, Wes Gordon went through it — is young big guys get in a hurry. And right now, he’s in too much of a hurry when he catches the ball. He had one (against Maine) if he just takes his time, comes to a two-footed stop, and pulls up and dunks it, it’s not an issue. But he’s just trying to go too fast. And yeah, he is getting frustrated. He’s just got to let that go, learn, and continue to get better. Lawson is going to be fine.”
… Continue reading story here …
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November 18th
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs square off against Southern Illinois in St. Thomas (Friday, 6:00 p.m., MT, ESPN3)
From CUBuffs.com … Colorado is off to a 3-0 start for the second time in three seasons after defeating Maine, 90-46, on Nov. 15.
Colorado’s offense is off to a good start as the Buffaloes are averaging 90.3 points over its first three games while shooting 51.5 percent from the field.
Colorado has scored at least 80 points in the first three games of the season since 2009-10, when the Buffaloes defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff (88-72), Coppin State (82-58) and Texas Southern (88-77).
Defensively, the Buffaloes have allowed 70.7 points per game while opponents have shot 42 percent. The Buffaloes have outrebounded their three opponents by an average of 17 per game. Colorado held Maine to 32.7 percent shooting (16-49) and held a plus-22 advantage on the boards (45-23). Colorado is 73-5 in the Tad Boyle era when holding teams under 40 percent from the field and at least a plus-8 rebound advantage.
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Colorado’s 100 free throw attempts are its most in a three-game stretch since Jan. 2-8, 2014 when the Buffaloes had 104 in home games against Oregon State (27) and Oregon (39) and a road game at Washington State (38). The 72 free throws made are the most in a three-game stretch since making 72, Nov. 14-21, in home games against Seattle (26), Louisiana-Monroe (28) and against Notre Dame (18) in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Freshman guard Keeshawn Barthelemy is averaging 20.3 points and 3.3 assists. He had a career-high 22 points in the win over Maine. It was his third-straight, double-figure scoring game to start the season – he had two in 30 games last year. He made his first two 3-pointers against UNM, giving him five straight to begin the season before his first miss (midway through the first half) and is 7 of 10 from downtown in three games.
PRESEASON TOURNAMENTS: Colorado has won eight preseason tournaments – also called MTE’s or multi-team events – most recently the 2019 MGM Resorts Main Event in Las Vegas by defeating Wyoming (56-41) and Clemson (71-67). One of those championships came the last time the Buffaloes were in this tournament, the Paradise Jam, in 2017, played in Lynchburg, Va., due to Hurricane Irma. Four of Colorado’s preseason tournament titles have been won on a neutral court.
ABOUT THE SALUKIS: Southern Illinois is 1-1 on the season, coming off a 73-55 home win over Austin Peay on Nov. 12. The Salukis are averaging 69.5 points while shooting 51 percent from the field. SIU has outrebounded its opponents by 11 per game. Defensively, the Salukis allow 62 points per game while opponents are shooting 43 percent. SIU was picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference.
SIU returns 97 percent of its scoring from last year’s team and seven players who started 10 or more games a year ago. Junior guard Lance Jones leads the Salukis averaging 21.5 points while shooting 63 percent from the field. Junior forward Marcus Domask is averaging 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and a team-best 3.5 assists. Junior guard Steven Verplancken averages 12.5 points while shooting 60 percent.
… Continue reading story here …
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November 16th
… CU in the Arena …
Keeshawn Barthelmy opens season strong as McKinley Wright’s replacement: “My teammates really trust me”
From the Daily Camera … At this rate, Keeshawn Barthelemy is going to post a career-best scoring effort that tops 50 points by the end of the 2021-22 college basketball season.
Obviously Barthelemy will be challenged to continue the torrid, high-scoring performances he has compiled through the season’s first three games once Pac-12 Conference play begins. Yet on Monday, Barthelemy posted a career-high scoring effort for the third time in as many games, recording a game-high 22 points as Colorado routed Maine 90-46 at the CU Events Center.
“My teammates really trust me. It’s really them, it’s not me,” Barthelemy said. “Kudos to them.”
Taking over for all-time CU great McKinley Wright IV at the point guard spot, Barthelemy opened the season with a 19-point outing in a win against Montana State. He scored 20 points against New Mexico on Saturday and topped that by two points on Monday against the Black Bears.
Barthelemy’s 1-for-3 mark on 3-pointers actually was off the pace of the 6-for-7 total from long range he produced during the first two games, but his overall mark of 9-for-12 pushed his three-game shooting percentage to .606 (20-for-33).
More encouragingly for the Buffs, after having his performance at New Mexico dimmed by seven turnovers, Barthelemy would have gotten through the entire game on Monday without a single turnover if not for a traveling violation just before he exited the game late in the second half.
“Keeshawn, he wants to be a good player and he wants to do the right things,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “Pretty conscientious. Keeshawn has got a scoring mentality, and he’s going to find out as we go deeper, people are going to start scouting him and they’re going to be maybe helping on drives more. Maybe they’re going to be double-teaming him on ball screens. So he’s going to have to learn to become a distributor as defenses kind of key on him. And that’s the beauty of this team. We have guys that can step up and do that.”
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November 15th – Game Day!
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs overcome sluggish start to dominate Maine, 90-46
From CUBuffs.com … Colorado’s Keeshawn Barthelemy scored a career-high 22 points and the Buffaloes recovered from a slow start Monday night to roll to a 90-46 win over Maine at the CU Events Center.
The Buffs improved to 3-0 while the Black Bears dropped to 1-2.
Barthelemy scored his 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting in 23 minutes on the floor. Jabari Walker had 15 points and six rebounds for CU and Nique Clifford added 10 points. Evan Battey and Lawson Lovering shared CU’s rebounding lead with seven each.
Vukasin Masic led Maine with 11 points.
After falling behind early, the Buffs built a 46-29 lead at the half, then outscored Maine 44-17 in the second half. The Buffs had a 45-23 edge on the boards and finished with just 10 turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs were a bit sluggish out of the gate and the Black Bears took a 13-12 lead seven minutes in.
But Colorado finally turned up the defensive pressure with some full-court pressure, and that ignited the offense. A Barthelemy dunk with 8:39 left in the half broke a 15-15 tie and the Buffs never trailed again.
Colorado pushed its lead to 25-17 before Maine cut the margin to 25-22, but CU responded with an 8-0 run to take control for good.
Nique Clifford started the surge with a 3-pointer and Barthelemy followed with anothery trey. Tristan da Silva then rolled in a layup to give CU its first double-digit lead of the game, a 33-22 edge with 3:33 to play.
The Buffs continued to build their cushion, finally taking a 46-29 lead into intermission after outscoring the Black Bears 31-14 over the last nine minutes of the half.
The second half was all Colorado. After Maine opened the period with a 3-pointer, the Buffs put together a 14-0 run that saw CU record eight consecutive stops on the defensive end. Barthelemy had six points in the run, including the first four, and Elijah Parquet, Jabari Walker, Lawson Lovering and K.J. Simpson also scored as Colorado surged to a 60-32 lead.
Maine finally halted the run with a bucket at the 13:42 mark but the Buffs quickly answered again, and a Simpson layup with 12:51 to play pushed Colorado’s margin to 30 points, 64-34.
The Buffs continued to build their lead down the stretch, expanding the cushion to as much as 45 in the final minutes.
… Continue reading story here …
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Buffs look to make quick work of the Maine Black Bears (Mon., 6:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Mountain)
From CUBuffs.com … Colorado is off to a 2-0 start for the sixth-straight season after defeating New Mexico 87-76 on Nov. 13.
Colorado’s offense is off to a good start as the Buffaloes are averaging 90.5 points over its first two games while shooting 50 percent from the field.
Colorado’s 181 total points are its most in the first two games of the season since the Buffaloes scored 204 Nov. 22 & 24, 2002 in wins over Cal-Poly (97-69) and Stetson (107-74).
Defensively, the Buffaloes have allowed 83.0 points per game while opponents have shot 45 percent. The 166 points given up by the Colorado defense in the first two games is the most since 168 allowed in back-to-back games to Arizona State (W 97-85) and Arizona (L, 67-83) at the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament (March 7-8).
Colorado is 51 of 70 from the line over the first two games (.729). It’s the most free throws made in attempted in a two game span since Nov. 14 & 17, 2016 when the Buffaloes were 54 of 76 in games against Seattle U. and ULM.
Freshman guard Keeshawn Barthelemy is averaging 19.5 points and 4.0 assists. He had a career-high 20 points in the win over New Mexico. It was his second-straight, double-figure scoring game – he had two in 30 games last year. He made his first two 3-pointers against UNM, giving him five straight to begin the season before his first miss (midway through the first half) and is 6 of 7 from downtown in two games.
Senior forward Evan Battey is averaging 16.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting a Pac-12 best 81.3 percent from the field (13 of 16).
NONCONFERENCE NUMBERS: Colorado is 104-32 (.765) in nonconference regular season games under head coach Tad Boyle including a 57-15 mark (.792) since the beginning of the 2014-15 season.
Colorado is 78-5 (.940) in nonconference home games under Boyle, a record which includes a perfect 6-0 mark in postseason action.
ABOUT THE BLACK BEARS: Maine is 1-1 on the young season, coming off a 71-52 home win over NCAA Division III Maine-Farmington on Nov. 12. The Black Bears dropped their opener at Virginia Tech, 82-47, on Nov. 9. Maine is shooting just 34.6 percent from the field over its first two games, including 18 percent from 3-point range. Defensively, Maine is allowing opponents to shoot 44 percent. The Black Bears are averaging 9.5 steals over the first two.
Junior forward Stephane Ingo leads Maine at 8.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Ingo had a double-double against Maine-Farmington with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Black Bears have a Colorado connection. Junior guard LeChaun Duhart, a graduate of Grandview High School in Aurora, has averaged 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds over the first two games. Sophomore guard Vukasin Masic leads the Black Bears in assists with five on the season while averaging 6.5 points and 4.0 rebounds.
Maine played just nine games in a pandemic-shortened season in 2020-21, finishing 2-7. The Black Bears were picked to finish ninth in the 10-team America East Conference in the 2021-22 Preseason Coaches Poll.
THE SERIES: This will be the first meeting between Colorado and Maine. It’s will be only the fourth time Colorado has faced one of the teams that make up the America East Conference and first since the Buffaloes defeated Hartford, 80-52, on Dec. 29, 2012 at the CU Events Center.
… Continue reading story here …
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November 13th
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs pull away late to defeat New Mexico, 87-76
… The Buffs never trailed in the second half, but didn’t have a double-digit lead until the final minutes …
From CUBuffs.com … Tad Boyle‘s Colorado Buffaloes battled down the stretch and held on for a 87-76 victory over the New Mexico Lobos in front of an energetic CU Events Center crowd Saturday afternoon.
Keeshawn Barthelemy led the Buffs with 20 points on 3-4 shooting from behind the arc. Sophomore Jabari Walker finished with a double-double, notching 17 points and leading the team with ten boards. Senior Evan Battey tacked on 16 points of his own as well as six rebounds.
Colorado led by as many as nine and Keeshawn Barthelemy’s 14 first half points aided the Buffs as they held a 42-36 lead at intermission.
Jaelen House led the Lobos in scoring with 22.
The Buffs struggled early in the second half and the Lobos cut the lead to as little as one point, but fueled by Battey’s 10 second half points, including a driving layup that sparked a 10-2 run late, Colorado was able to pull through for the nine-point victory.
NEXT UP: The Buffs have a quick turnaround and will return to the CU Events Center Monday for a 6:00 p.m matchup with Maine (Pac-12 Networks)
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November 11th
… CU in the Arena …
CU v. New Mexico (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Mountain) will mark Tad Boyle’s 500th game as a head coach
OPENING TIP: Saturday will mark the 500th game for Tad Boyle as a collegiate head coach. He is 290-209 in his 16th season leading an NCAA Division I program.
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado opened the 2021-22 season in thrilling fashion with a 94-90 overtime win over Montana State on Nov. 9, at the CU Events Center. The Buffaloes overcame a 13-point second-half deficit to force overtime, then outscored the Bobcats 14-10 in the extra session to record their sixth-straight season-opening win.
Senior guard Elijah Parquet, a member of the Pac-12 Conference’s All-Defensive Team in 2020-21, had the game’s biggest offensive moment. Parquet’s 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 80 and sent it to overtime. He finished with 17 points, hitting 5 of 11 from the field and 6 of 9 from the free throw line – all career highs.
Five Colorado players scored in double-figures in the opener – a feat achieved only once in 32 games in 2020-21. Two of those came from sophomores who had break out games after limited action a year ago. Keeshawn Barthelemy had a game and career-high 19 points and dished out five assists. Nique Clifford had 11 points and nine rebounds – both personal highs. Clifford had just 14 points and four rebounds total in 14 games as a freshman.
Senior forward Evan Battey had 16 points on a perfect 6 of 6 from the field; a career best for field goals made without a miss. Sophomore forward Jabari Walker had 14 points, eight rebounds and a career-best three steals.
NONCONFERENCE NUMBERS: Colorado is 103-32 (.763) in nonconference regular season games under head coach Tad Boyle including a 56-15 mark (.789) since the beginning of the 2014-15 season.
Colorado is 77-5 in nonconference home games under Boyle, a record which includes a perfect 6-0 mark in postseason action.
ABOUT THE LOBOS: New Mexico is 1-0, opening its season with a 99-92 win over FAU, in The Pit, on Nov. 10. It was Lobos’ first home game since Feb. 29, 2020 (621 days) as they didn’t play inside the state of New Mexico’s borders in 2020-21 (11 road, 11 neutral). New Mexico shot 53 percent overall and scored 56 second half points to outlast FAU.
Guard Jaelen House, a transfer from Arizona State, scored 30 points and dished out six assists in his New Mexico debut. Forward Jay Allen-Tovar had 18 points and led the Lobos with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Forward Gethro Muscadin had 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting off the bench.
New Mexico, which finished 6-16 in 2020-21, shared the eighth spot with Wyoming in the 2021-22 Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll.
THE SERIES: This will be the 16th meeting in the series with Colorado holding an 8-7 edge. The Buffaloes have won the last two, a home-and-home series played in 2017 and ’18. Colorado claimed a 75-57 win at the CU Events Center on Dec. 6, 2017. In the return trip to The Pit a year later, the Buffaloes overcame a 17-point deficit to sneak out of Albuquerque with a 78-75 victory on Dec. 11, 2018.
Colorado’s Evan Battey is the only player on either roster to compete in that contest. Battey, a redshirt freshman at the time, just missed a double-double scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Current Colorado seniors Elijah Parquet and Benan Ersek were on the Buffaloes’ roster for that game, but did not play.
Tad Boyle is 2-1 as a head coach against New Mexico. This will be Richard Pitino’s first game against Colorado as a head coach.
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November 10th
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs rally to defeat Montana State in overtime, 94-90
From CUBuffs.com … Colorado coach Tad Boyle knew his young Buffaloes would endure some growing pains this season.
But his Buffs barely escaped a very painful season opener Tuesday, overcoming a 13-point second-half deficit to force overtime, then outscoring Montana State 14-10 in the extra period for a 94-90 victory at the CU Events Center.
Keeshawn Barthelemy led five Buffs in double figures with 19 points. Elijah Parquet added 17 and Evan Battey, despite playing with foul trouble for much of the game, finished with 16 points. Jabari Walker chipped in 14 and Nique Clifford scored 11 off the bench. Clifford just missed a double-double, finishing with nine rebounds, and Walker had eight boards.
Abdul Mohamed and Jubile Belo each had 16 points for MSU.
Colorado built a seven-point lead early in the game, but foul trouble, turnovers and some defensive lapses allowed the Bobcats to take a 38-35 lead into intermission.
CU’s troubles continued early in the second half, as Montana State built a 13-point lead, 51-38. But CU slowly chipped away at the lead and went ahead with just under three minutes to play before Montana State regained a five-point advantage with less than a minute remaining in regulation.
But Battey hit two free throws, MSU missed the front end of a one-and-one and Parquet hit maybe the biggest shot of the game, a 3-pointer off an assist from Walker to tie the game at 80-80 and send it to overtime.
CU scored the first five points of the extra period, with Battey tallying the first bucket and Parquet adding a free throw and basket to put Colorado in control for good.
“Hard-fought win,” said a drained Boyle. “I knew it coming in, Montana State is a good basketball team, a veteran team. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I’m really proud of our players and the fight they showed … We weren’t great, it was kind of an ugly win. But they showed a lot of grit down the stretch defensively. A great, hard-fought win against a really good team. I’ve got a lot of respect for their players and their coaching staff.”
… Continue reading story here …
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November 9th – Game Day!
… CU in the Arena …
Game Notes: MSU 6-1 all-time v. CU
THE SEASON: Colorado officially opens the 119th season of varsity men’s basketball by hosting Montana State on Tuesday, Nov. 9.
FOR OPENERS: Colorado is 83-35 (.703) in all-time season openers and has won its last five. The Buffaloes are 9-2 under head coach Tad Boyle and 36-5 in overall season openers since 1980-81.
The Buffaloes are to 94-24 all-time in home openers and have won their last 13, making Tad Boyle a perfect 11-0 in home openers. The Buffaloes have won 19 of their last 20.
NONCONFERENCE NUMBERS: Colorado is 102-32 (.761) in nonconference regular season games under head coach Tad Boyle including a 55-15 mark (.786) since the beginning of the 2014-15 season.
Colorado is 76-5 in nonconference home games under Boyle, a record which includes a perfect 6-0 mark in postseason action.
ABOUT THE BOBCATS: Montana State begins its season regular season after a couple lopsided exhibition wins. The Bobcats routed NAIA Providence (Mont.) 108-63 on Oct. 25 and Yellowstone Christian (Mont.) 116-42 on Nov. 3.
Montana State returns all five starters and eight letter-winners from a team that finished 13-10 in 2020-21 and tied for fourth in the Big Sky Conference at 8-6. The Bobcats came within in one game of the NCAA Tournament last season, losing to Eastern Washington in the Big Sky Tournament final.
Senior guard Xavier Bishop and junior forward Jubrile Belo were named to the Big Sky’s Preseason All-Conference Team. Bishop averaged 13.9 points, 3.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game last season, earning second team all-conference honors. Belo averaged 14.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 2020-21, ranking second on the team in both categories. Senior guard Amin Adamu led the Bobcats in scoring last year at 14.7 points per game.
THE SERIES: This will be the eighth meeting between Colorado and Montana State with the Bobcats holding a 6-1 advantage. Montana State has won the last six, with the last coming in an 85-82 overtime decision in Boulder on Nov. 18, 2008. Only three of those all-time encounters have taken place in the last 91 years. Colorado’s lone win was the first meeting, a 25-19 decision in Boulder on Feb. 13, 1924. Tad Boyle is 4-4 as a head coach against Montana State, all coming while he was at Northern Colorado.
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Buffs taking on “scary” Montana State: “We’re in for a dogfight” (8:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Mountain)
From the Daily Camera … It’s only the season opener. Yet the level of Tad Boyle’s angst and concern already is at peak, midseason form.
The Colorado Buffaloes begin their 119th men’s basketball season, and the 12th under Boyle, on Tuesday night at the CU Events Center. On one bench will be the Buffs, a program that has reached five of the 10 NCAA Tournaments held during Boyle’s tenure and is trying to strike the delicate balance of retooling with a younger rotation while remaining nationally relevant.
On the other bench will be a deep and experienced squad that is the source of Boyle’s concern, Montana State. The Bobcats fell just short of an NCAA Tournament bid last season and will give the new-look Buffs a respectable opening-night test.
Boyle joked that former Director of Player Development Nate Tomlinson, who took the lead on compiling the schedule, should be fired by former CU assistant Kim English at his new assistant coach job at George Mason for scheduling such a demanding opener. What is no joking matter is the challenge Montana State will present on opening night.
“This is bad scheduling. It’s bad scheduling on my part,” Boyle said. “We’re in for a dogfight. They have three super seniors, and they went into UNLV for the opener last year and won by 13. They’re a veteran group. They have really good players. I coached in the Big Sky (at Northern Colorado), and this is a very, very good Big Sky team.”
Montana State very nearly stole an NCAA Tournament bid at the end of last season, topping top-seeded Southern Utah in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference tournament before dropping the title game against Eastern Washington.
The Bobcats return their top four scorers and top three rebounders from that squad. Three of them — guards Amin Adamu, Abdul Mohamed, and Xavier Bishop — were seniors last year who opted to return for the extra season of eligibility granted by the NCAA for the 2020-21 COVID season. Meanwhile, the Buffs will counter with at least two freshmen set to make their official debuts in KJ Simpson and Lawson Lovering. And no Buffs player outside seniors Evan Battey and Elijah Parquet has played in front of an Events Center crowd larger than the 2,406 on hand for CU’s exhibition win against Colorado Mines two weeks ago.
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November 5th
… CU in the Arena …
Vegas: CU a 100:1 shot to win the national championship (5th-best odds in the Pac-12)
From CBS Sports … As players rolled back to campus across the country in August, I ranked the top college basketball contenders and separated them into tiers to help sort which teams are good — and perhaps not so good — preseason futures bets and values. Incredibly, everyone that read it, including my bosses, agreed it was a perfect list with no flaws. Because of that perfection, I’ve been tasked with making another contenders list and again separating them into tiers. So nice we had to do it twice. Oh yes.
Even though the odds from Caesars Sportsbook have shifted slightly since then, Gonzaga again is in its own tier at the top and UCLA remains one of the top dogs.
Odds to win 2022 NCAA Tournament
Odds from Caesars Sportsbook
From the Pac-12 …
- UCLA … 12:1
- Oregon … 40:1
- USC … 50:1
- Arizona … 50:1
- Colorado … 100:1
- Oregon State … 100:1
- Arizona State … 100:1
- Stanford … 150:1
- Utah … 250:1
- Washington State … 1000:1
- Washington … 1000:1
- California … 2000:1
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November 4th
… CU in the Arena …
**Video: CU Hall of Fame speech of Donnie Boyce**
From BuffsTV …
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November 3rd
… CU in the Arena …
CBS: Buffs picked as No. 6 six team in Pac-12: “Ceiling determined by Pac-12’s top recruiting Class”
From CBS Sports … The Pac-12 made a loud resurgence onto the national scene during the 2021 NCAA Tournament by sending three teams to the Elite Eight, including No. 11 seed UCLA, which advanced from the First Four to the Final Four. Now, as the 2021-22 season dawns, the Bruins have swapped out their underdog status for a No. 2 national ranking and expectations of an outright league title.
While UCLA is expected to be the standard bearer for the league in 2021-22, there is hope the Pac-12 as a whole can sustain the momentum it generated in the NCAA Tournament. The league sent just three teams to the Big Dance in 2018 and 2019 but showed its potential last season as all five of its NCAA Tournament teams won at least one game in the event.
Oregon and USC should be solid again after reaching the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, respectively, last season. Oregon State also brings back several key players from a surprising Elite Eight run and looks capable of reaching another NCAA Tournament. But there are also mysteries on many of the league’s rosters as every program other than UCLA must replace its leading scorer. Let’s dive in and being to unpack what’s in store for the Pac-12.
Predicted Order of Finish
- UCLA
- Oregon
- USC
- Arizona
- Oregon State
- Colorado … This looks like a transition season for Colorado after the Buffaloes earned a No. 5 seed and won an NCAA Tournament game in their best season yet under coach Tad Boyle, who is entering his 12th season. Fifth-year senior Evan Battey is the last remaining member of the program’s incredibly productive 2017 recruiting class and will lead the team. He will pair with second-year forward Jabari Walker to form a quality front line. The ceiling will be determined by how ready the Pac-12’s top-ranked recruiting class is to contribute right away. After the 2017 class — led by the likes of Battey McKinley Wright and D’Shawn Schwartz — anchored the Buffs for several seasons, this incoming class looks capable of doing the same in the years to come. Five freshmen are coming in, including top-100 prospects K.J. Simpson, Quincy Allen and Lawson Lovering.
- Washington State
- Arizona State
- Stanford
- Utah
- Washington
- Cal
Most overrated team
Arizona
It feels like Wildcats’ are getting the benefit of the doubt based on their history by landing fourth in our poll. First-year coach Tommy Lloyd has never been a Division I head coach and will be baptized by fire during a non conference schedule that includes Wichita State, No. 11 Illinois, No. 18 Tennessee and potentially No. 6 Michigan. Bennedict Mathurin and Azuolas Tubelis are promising sophomores, and the Wildcats have some other potentially solid pieces. But they are too lean on veterans and proven production to be trusted as a lock for the league’s upper third.
… Continue reading story here …
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November 1st
… CU in the Arena …
Anonymous Pac-12 Player poll: Eli Parquet; Evan Battey voted “Hardest Players to Score On”
From The Athletic … It’s time to give the league that shocked everyone in March some respect. The Pac-12 has a national title contender and better talent than most people realized a year ago.
To get a better idea of who is good and what to expect this season, we polled the Pac-12 players. The only rule was they could not vote for their teammates, coach, arena or fan base. We had 26 participants, but some players elected not to answer a few questions.
| PLAYER | VOTES | |
|---|---|---|
Eli Parquet, Colorado | 3 | |
Evan Battey, Colorado | 3 | |
Warith Alatishe, Oregon State | 2 | |
Daejon Davis, Washington State | 2 | |
Efe Abogidi, Washington | 2 | |
Christian Koloko, Arizona | 1 | |
Marcus Bagley, Arizona State | 1 | |
Nate Roberts, Washington | 1 | |
Isaiah Mobley, USC | 1 |
Colorado had the league’s second-best defense last season, and the Pac-12’s best defender is now playing disrupter for the Cleveland Cavaliers, so CU is in a good spot to leapfrog USC. The Buffs were definitely elite defensively with Evan Battey and Eli Parquet on the floor together. They allowed just 0.91 points per possession in their minutes together, according to hooplens.com. For reference, that’d be a top 10 defense nationally.
Player I’d like as a teammate …
| PLAYER | VOTES | |
|---|---|---|
Evan Battey, Colorado | 4 | |
Jaime Jaquez, UCLA | 4 | |
Johnny Juzang, UCLA | 3 | |
Tyger Campbell, UCLA | 2 | |
Ethan Anderson, USC | 1 | |
Grant Weitman, Arizona | 1 | |
Keshawn Barthelemy, Colorado | 1 | |
Mac Etienne, UCLA | 1 | |
Marcus Bagley, Arizona State | 1 |
Great picks by the Pac-12 players here. Jaquez has awesome feel and is an efficient scorer who doesn’t need a ton of shots and is a willing passer. Battey has soft hands and is a defensive anchor, not the type of big man who is going to force things. Also, the Bruins should have great chemistry and enjoy playing with each other considering they were three of the four leading vote-getters.
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October 31st
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs close out exhibition season with troubling blowout loss to Nebraska
From CUBuffs.com … Colorado men’s basketball looked forward to its exhibition against Nebraska to gauge where the young Buffaloes were at this point of the preseason and what needed to be worked on. The short answers – a long way to go and little bit of everything.
Nebraska used a barrage of 3-pointers as Colorado struggled on both ends of the court during an 82-67 Huskers win in a charity exhibition men’s basketball game Sunday at Pinnacle Arena.
Sophomore Nique Clifford led Colorado with 12 points and eight rebounds, sharing the team lead in both categories. Keeshawn Barthelemy had 12 points while Luke O’Brien pitched in 11. Evan Battey had eight rebounds.
Bryce McGowens led Nebraska with 15 points. Derrick Walker had 12 points and six rebounds.
Nebraska drained 12 3-pointers and hit 44 percent from long range. Colorado struggled to defend the outside shot early, leaving the Huskers with wide open looks.
“They were shooting at a high clip,” Clifford said. “We talked before the game and knew they had a lot of shooters and guys that were scorers; they could drive or shoot. Coach talked about it after the game that we have to be able to guard people that can shoot and drive.”
Meanwhile, Colorado continued its exhibition season struggle from the 3-point arc. The Buffaloes missed their first eight attempts and finished 3 of 19. Colorado was 2 of 17 in its exhibition against Mines.
… Continue reading story here …
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October 28th
… CU in the Arena …
Buffs roll to 78-48 exhibition win over Colorado School of Mines
… Up next … An exhibition game at Nebraska … Sunday, October 31st, 10:00 a.m., MT …
From CUBuffs.com … Fans are back, and no one is more thrilled about it than the Colorado men’s basketball team.
Playing in front of a CU Events Center crowd without limitations for the first time since February 2020, the Buffaloes rolled to a 78-48 exhibition win over NCAA Division II power Colorado School of Mines on Wednesday.
Eleven Buffaloes scored in the win led by 12 points from freshman K.J. Simpson. Classmate Lawson Lovering, nearly had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Senior Evan Battey pitched in 10 points.
Mines, ranked No. 5 in the NABC Division II preseason coaches poll, was led by Ben Boone’s 11 points. Kobi Betts had 10 points and five rebounds.
The announced crowd of 2,406, while just over 20 percent capacity, was modest for an exhibition but a wonderful sight for a team that saw only a handful of home games last year with a limited number of friends and family capped at 100.
“It was great to have the fans back,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. “Nobody appreciated them more than our players. We’ve all missed them. This was an exhibition — it wasn’t televised, it wasn’t on the radio. Hopefully against Montana State (for the first regular season game), we can have this place rocking and rolling.”
There were some jitters, understandably, for a group – aside from seniors Battey and Elijah Parquet – that haven’t played in front of a collegiate crowd. Colorado struggled offensively from the outside – only 2 of 17 from 3-point range – but the Buffaloes evened it out with a solid defensive performance.
Colorado outrebounded the Orediggers by 20 (56-36) and forced 15 turnovers. Mines shot just 28 percent for the game
… Continue reading story here …
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October 26th
… CU in the Arena …
Neill Woelk: CU storylines to watch this season
From CUBuffs.com … With the Colorado men’s basketball season opener now just two weeks away — and the exhibition opener vs. Colorado Mines set Wednesday at the CU Events Center (7 p.m.) — coach Tad Boyle is anxious to get his Buffaloes on the floor and see them play against someone other than themselves.
Boyle normally likes to play closed scrimmages to prepare for the regular season. Those workouts offer coaches more of a chance to work with players and set up specific situations, and they usually entail much more than 40 minutes of playing time.
But with just two players on the roster who have played in front of college crowds, Boyle opted to go the exhibition route this year. After Wednesday, the Buffs will play at Nebraska on Sunday in a 10 a.m. exhibition, a series that will see the Huskers pay a visit to Boulder next fall.
Then comes the Nov. 9 season opener against Montana State at home.
Boyle has a highly talented but mostly untested group this year. While he has a pair of key veteran leaders in big man Evan Battey and guard Elijah Parquet, only one other player on the roster who has started even one college game is point guard Keeshawn Barthelemy.
The situation will place a big emphasis on growth and development in the non-conference schedule, a process Boyle wants to accelerate as much as possible.
Here are five key storylines to watch as the Buffs’ season begins to unfold:
1. Development of sophomores Jabari Walker and Tristan da Silva. These two ultra-talented youngsters will be critical to Colorado’s success this year. Both had flashes of outstanding play last year; the key this year will be for each to bring consistency to the table.
Walker is a big (6-foot-8, 200 pounds), athletic forward who can score at the rim, rebound, shoot from the outside and defend. He averaged 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds last season in barely 14 minutes a game — highly productive numbers. He had moments when he looked like an all-conference player.
But his biggest issue was foul trouble, as he more than once found himself on the bench with two (or three) fouls after only a few minutes on the floor.
Da Silva (also 6-8, 200 pounds) is a smooth, versatile player who can play multiple positions. He can also rebound, shoot and defend, and his versatility will give Boyle the opportunity to use a variety of combinations with him on the floor.
Both players last year had the benefit of being unknowns. That won’t be the case this year, particularly for Walker. Both will be on everyone’s scouting report, and they will have to work for every shot they get.
… Continue reading story here …
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