Colorado
7-3
Longwood
3-10
Buffs Cruise Past Lancers, Await Vegas Trip
December 19, 2010 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER - Time to take it on the road . . . to Vegas, baby.
After a pair of sound victories against overmatched opponents to close out an impressive five-game home stand, the Colorado men's basketball team departs Tuesday for a two-night stand in the 10th Annual Las Vegas Classic.
If the Buffaloes can tap into the confidence gained from five consecutive victories - the program's longest win streak since 2005-06 (nine straight) - they stand a good chance of ending this season's road woes. All three of CU's losses have come away from the Coors Events Center.
Draw what you will from comparative scores, but two days after New Mexico steamrolled Longwood 91-54 in Albuquerque, CU flattened the visitors from Virginia, 104-59, at the Coors Events Center.
CU catches New Mexico Wednesday (8 p.m., CBS College Sports Network) and either Northern Iowa or Indiana on Thursday (tip-off time to be determined).
The Lobos, coached by former Hoosiers great Steve Alford, will represent a marked upgrade from the Buffs' two most recent opponents - The Citadel on Friday night and Longwood on Sunday afternoon.
CU Coach Tad Boyle said it was "a great time" for his team to play New Mexico: "We're ready for it, our players are ready for it and ready to make a statement . . . they're ready for that challenge. It's a great opportunity to go on the road, to play them on a neutral court."
CU sophomore Alec Burks called this week's trip "a great chance to show off our team, especially in Vegas . . . I feel like everybody is contributing now. We just need to keep it going."
Longwood Coach Mike Gillian said CU and UNM match up "pretty even," giving the inside edge to the Lobos and the perimeter advantage to the Buffs. "The styles of play are significantly different . . . (The Buffs) are playing with confidence right now, shooting the ball well. Those perimeter guys will be an interesting match-up."
Balanced scoring and unselfish play again proved to be CU's dual recipe for success against the Lancers, who were on an a seven-game losing streak and entered Sunday's contest allowing 87 points a game.
Six Buffs reached double figures, topped by Cory Higgins' 18 - 15 of his points after intermission. Levi Knutson added 17, Burks 15, Marcus Relphorde and Andre Roberson had 14 each and Austin Dufault 12. Roberson snared 13 rebounds, giving him a double-double in back-to-back games.
The last time CU had six players in double figures was Jan. 3, 2007 against Central Florida. Four Buffs hit double figures against The Citadel, and for the second consecutive game CU had 23 assists.
Knutson continued his torrid December shooting. He didn't miss a shot Sunday, going five-for-five from the field (three-for-three from behind the arc) and hitting all four of his free throw attempts.
"He's has been shooting this way in practice, too," Boyle said. "I'm not sure if he can keep this clip up, but I hope he can. He's taking good shots, within the flow of offense."
Knutson didn't feel any more "on" Sunday afternoon than in previous games. "I've been feeling confident shooting," he said. "It's been fun. We've got a lot of good playmakers on this team; they like to share the ball. I've gained a lot of confidence, but that comes from playing with these guys."
Boyle has been emphasizing transition and post defense, particularly the latter after Friday's win against The Citadel. Longwood didn't have a dominant inside player, but 6-foot-6 Antwan Carter managed 12 of his 16 points in the first half before encountering foul trouble.
"He didn't make any big-time moves over us," Boyle said. "We let him in for layups in the first half . . . part of that was our post defense, the other part was help. We have to be aware of that in all our games."
The matinee rout kept the Buffs unbeaten (7-0) this season at home and was their 19th consecutive home win against non-conference opposition - a streak that stretches to 2008-09.
"It was a feel-good game," Boyle said, adding that the five-game home stand "gives us a lot of confidence. We're starting to feel each other, we're executing at a high level. Offensively, we've made some great strides over last 21/2 weeks."
The Lancers (3-10) kept it close for, oh, about 5 minutes, leading by a basket on their first three possessions but falling behind 8-6 on a tip-in by Burks. Ahead 16-12 about 13 minutes before halftime, the Buffs pulled away with a 16-0 run and went up 32-12 on a pair of Knutson free throws at the 8:07 mark.
Thereafter, CU increased its lead to as many as 24 points before intermission as Higgins converted a three-point play to send the Buffs up 47-23. Longwood's Mark Parker hit a trey from the left corner to make the score 47-26 at the half, but after intermission the Buffs began pulling away. Once again, Boyle used all 11 of his players, with 10 of them scoring (point guard Nate Tomlinson missed his only shot).
Since practice began in mid-October, Boyle has emphasized "finishing" to his team - "finishing workouts, practices, games . . . we talked about that at halftime (Sunday), too, finishing this game."
CU hit six of its eight first-half three-point attempts and shot 50 percent (17-of-34) from the field. For the game, the Buffs hit 38 of their 72 (52.8 percent) field goal attempts - both season highs - and matched the 10 treys they made against The Citadel. CU outrebounded Longwood 48-30 and outscored the visitor's bench 45-14.
The Buffs reached the 100-point mark for the first time this season on a jump shot by Javon Coney with 3:40 remaining. That made the score 100-57 and sent many of the 2,556 fans home - or perhaps somewhere to watch Tim Tebow and the Broncos - and happy for the holidays.
A pair of pre-Christmas wins in Vegas would make them (and the Buffs) happier still. The five consecutive home wins might have laid that kind of foundation.
Said Knutson: "This was a big stretch for us. We still have to prove ourselves on the road, but we needed to take care of business at home."
Now, it's time to see how their act plays in Vegas.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
