Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Thorne Wants At Least One Happy Return
March 01, 2010 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - At this point for Dwight Thorne II, it's not about many happy returns. It's about one.
As his University of Colorado basketball career trickles toward a conclusion, he's having a hard time believing he's taken all those Big 12 Conference road trips and never come back to Boulder a winner.
Think about it . . . four years of league travel and a gut-wrenching trail of 'L's that litters the Midwest. At hoops venues throughout the Big 12 for the past 41/2 seasons, a visit by CU has been as close to being a certified 'W' for the locals as counting on the sun rising in the east.
The Buffaloes' last league road win (80-78 in overtime at Oklahoma State) came on Jan. 21, 2006 - the winter before Thorne enrolled. Since then, CU has lost 36 consecutive Big 12 road games, with Thorne on hand for 31 of them in his four-year career.
"It's funny," he said Monday, but certainly not meaning that in the ''ha ha" sense. "It lets you know the kind of situation I've been in since I've been here."
Thorne makes his final regular-season road stop Tuesday night at Nebraska, an outfit bringing up the rear in the Big 12 with a 2-12 record. Among the Cornhuskers' dozen defeats was a 72-60 loss in late January in Boulder, but given the Buffs' road resume, they don't step on anyone's home court as a favorite.
Asked about the Huskers' difficulties in conference play (they are 14-15 overall and, like the Buffs, hopeful of an NIT bid), third-year CU coach Jeff Bzdelik offered this:
"There's a fine line between winning and losing. I mean, we've all gone through it. That's all. Nebraska, just like a lot of us, could . . . talk about a rebound here, a shot there."
That "fine line" is one Thorne, of Arlington, Texas, and his teammates have walked. I asked him to reflect on the most difficult road losses during his CU career, and two quickly nudged out the rest.
The first was at Kansas last season. CU overcame a 21-point second-half deficit in Allen Fieldhouse only to lose 66-61. Thorne finished as the Buffs' leading scorer (18 points) but was sidelined during a critical stretch during the comeback due to equipment failure.
"We had a chance to win at Kansas," he said. "A couple of things didn't go our way - I had to go out of the game when I lost my contact and they made some tough shots and went on a little run."
Tough Loss No. 2 was this season's 64-63 setback at Iowa State. Unable to hold a double-figure first-half lead, the Buffs rallied in the final minute and had a chance to win after forcing a turnover in the final seconds.
Marcus Relphorde's layup attempt flirted with everything but the net, finally bouncing away and leaving Thorne & Co. to take another of those unfulfilled flights home.
"It came down to the last possession and we had a good look . . . we just missed it," said Thorne, who averages 7.8 points a game and is CU's leading three-point shooter (43.3 percent),. "After that one, I was like, 'Man, is there something going on here against us?' But you gotta deal with it."
For Bzdelik, the close losses are no easier to stomach than the blow outs. Still, they signal that his young team is getting close. "We're getting better," he said. "We've had incremental improvement . . . it all takes time."
That's a commodity Thorne doesn't have much more of, but he sees a program on the uptick.
"This is probably the second year, maybe the first, that it's been stable and we've had the support in every aspect - the fans, the administration, the student body . . . when people realize you care, they want to give you more. That's true in life and in sports.
"It takes players, it takes good coaches and guys who know what they're doing. Coach knows what he's doing . . . he's out in the community, gathering moxie for us, interacting, putting in a good word for us.
"And we're putting a good product on the floor. I've had numerous people tell me they've enjoyed watching us this year - even with the ups and downs. So people are enjoying it and if they do that, they're going to come watch us.
"We're playing hard and doing the best we can. We're going to continue to do that. And support does nothing but help. When you know you've got the administration, the community and the students behind, you do well when you know you're going to be recognized."
With one regular-season home game remaining (Saturday against Texas Tech, 2 p.m., Altitude), attendance figures back up the contention of CU's lone senior. In 15 home games this season, the Buffs have averaged 6,096 - fifth all-time at the Coors Events Center.
Even better, the Big 12 home attendance average of 8,112 - bolstered by sellouts for Kansas and Kansas State - is fourth in the building's history.
Despite the hope they convey, rising attendance figures aren't as important to Thorne now as another number.
"It's come down to the last one," he said of his final regular-season road game. "It would be great to get it - and we need it. We need to be .500 going into the postseason for the NIT, so we need it.
"Everybody knows that, so there's going to be some urgency for both teams (Tuesday) night. It's going to be their Senior Night, so there'll be some emotion for them, too.
"But like coach says, it's going to come down to the 'give a crap factor' at the end of the game, where both teams are playing hard and who wants it more. We've got to want it more."
If Dwight Thorne II wants it just a little more than most, you can understand why.
STANDINGS CHECK: With its 75-72 win against Iowa State on Saturday, CU improved to 4-10 in the league (13-15 overall) and moved into a three-way tie for eighth place with Oklahoma and Texas Tech with two regular-season games remaining.
The Buffs have assured themselves of no worse than a 10th place finish, and their four Big 12 wins represent a quantum leap under Bzdelik. His first two CU teams won a total of four league games (28 losses) and were the No. 12 seeds in each of the past two league postseason tournaments.
STREAK SNAPPED: Nebraska (14-15, 2-12) broke a seven-game losing streak with a double overtime win (83-79) against Texas Tech on Saturday in Lincoln. It was only the second conference win for the Huskers, who had lost 12 of their last 13 games and had beaten only Oklahoma in Big 12 play.
Nebraska overcame a 14-point deficit - the program's second-largest that it has overcome in the Big 12 era - to defeat Tech. The Cornhuskers are 12-5 in the Devaney Center this season, but have won only twice (2-5) at home in league play.
Still, Bzdelik called Nebraska "an excellent basketball team . . . they're extremely well coached and play extremely hard. That was a great win for them (over Tech). It gives them a lot of confidence, no question."
CU lost 46-41 on last season's trip to Lincoln.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
