Colorado University Athletics
Colorado Hosts Omaha Sunday In Hoops Matinee
November 21, 2015 | Men's Basketball
THE GAME: The University of Colorado continues its home stand by hosting the University of Nebraska Omaha on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 12 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.
WATCH/LISTEN:
TV: Pac-12 Network (Guy Haberman, Mike Montgomery)
Radio: 850 AM KOA (Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Watch Online: Pac-12 Now
Listen Online: CUBuffs.com, TuneIn, CU Gameday App
Satellite Radio: Sirus 212 XM 197
Live Statistics: CUBuffs.com
OPENING TIP: Early sign of solid depth - Colorado's bench is averaging 25 points and 16 rebounds per game while shooting 48 percent. The Buffaloes' three opponents: 14.7 points & 15.3 rebounds, shooting only 29 percent.
FOOD DRIVE: CU will host a food drive before Sunday's game, and and fans who donate a sealed food item will receive a voucher for a $10 ticket to that game. Season ticket holders are also encouraged to donate to the food drive, with all items to be given to the Community Food Share program.
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 2-1 overall on the young season, coming off an 85-63 win over Portland Friday night in the home opener at the Coors Events Center.
The Buffaloes will play their second of five straight home games after coming out even from one of the more challenging starts in recent memory. Colorado opened the season with two games away from the Coors Events Center for the first time since 2003-04.
The Buffaloes dove right into the 2015-16 schedule matching up with preseason No. 7 ranked (AP & USAT) Iowa State. Colorado produced a valiant effort, but fell short of the two-time defending Big 12 Champion Cyclones 68-62 at a sold-out Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Buffaloes rebounded with a quality 91-84 win at Auburn in SEC country. Colorado fell behind by as much as 15 in the first half, but had the Tigers' lead whittled down to four by the break (46-42). The Buffaloes took over in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 49-38.
Colorado shot a scorching 57.4 percent (31-of-54) its best mark in a true road game since shooting 61.7 percent (29-of-47) in an 86-69 loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 12, 2008. The Buffaloes also did well from the free throw line. CU shot 80 percent (21-of-26) and made its first 14 attempts of the second half; finishing 16-of-19 (.842).
Senior forward Josh Scott shook off a cold shooting night against Iowa State in the opener and has returned to his usual form. Since making just 5-of-16 against the Cyclones, Scott has made 13-of-16 over the last two games (.813). He is averaging 16.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.
Against Auburn he scored 24 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Scott had identical numbers from the field and free throw line connecting on 8-of-10 attempts. He made his first seven shots from the field.
Against Iowa State, Scott recorded his 24th career double-double ranking 11th all-time at Colorado. His next double-double will move him into the top 10, as David Harrison (2001-04) sits in that spot with 25. Scott now has 69 double-figure scoring games, 28 double-figure rebound games and 30 with at least two or more blocks.
Sophomore guard George King has led the early scoring punch, averaging 19.7 points over his first three games. He had a career and team-season high 27 points at Auburn, nearly doubling his previous best, four days earlier against Iowa State (14). King is shooting 51 percent from the field (18-of-35) including 9-of-18 from 3-point range.
King, who took a redshirt year in 2014-15, also had a personal best nine field goals on 14 attempts against the Tigers while matching career numbers for 3-pointers made (4) and rebounds (7).
Junior guard Josh Fortune had a spectacular home debut against Portland. Fortune recorded his first career double-double with 17 points and a team season-high 14 rebounds. He also led the Buffaloes with six assists and three steals. He is second on the team in rebounding at 7.7 per game while ranking third in assists at 2.7 per contest.
Junior guard Tre'Shaun Fletcher was one of four Buffaloes in double-digits against Portland, scoring a career-high 17 points on 7-of-8 from the field. He hit his first six shots of the game, including three from downtown, also a personal best. Fletcher has hit 64.3 percent from the field over his first three games (9-of-14) and currently ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 8.7 per game.
Sophomore guard Dominique Collier is averaging 8.3 points and 3.0 assists per game and is one of four Buffs with at least four 3-pointers through the first three games. Collier dished out a team-best five assists in the win over Auburn. He had 13 points and three assists against Iowa State, recording a career-high three 3-pointers and five overall field goals.
Junior forward Wesley Gordon is averaging 4.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He was held scoreless against Portland, but had a good defensive night with six rebounds and a team season-high six blocked shots.
The Buffaloes depth has continued to show itself. Senior guard Xavier Talton has been a steady reserve, leading the team in both assists (3.3 apg) and steals (1.3 spg) to begin the season. Sophomore forward Tory Miller is averaging 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds while hitting 56 percent from the field (5-of-9).
Colorado's international connection of freshman guard Thomas Akyazili and sophomore forward Kenan Guzonjic had a nice debut in front of the home crows. Akyazili, from had five points, two assists and two rebounds against Portland. Guzonjic scored his first points in a Colorado uniform with a 3-pointer late in the game against the Pilots.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: Omaha is 2-1 overall having won two straight since dropping its season opener 60-59 to UC Santa Barbara. This will be the first road game for the Mavericks. Omaha is coming off a 95-89 overtime win over UMKC on Nov. 17. The Mavericks are averaging 86 points overall and 99.5 points in their last two outings. Omaha is shooting 45 percent from the field and 72 percent from the free throw line. The Mavericks have outrebounded their opponent by 5.3 boards per game so far and have collected 31 steals in three outings. Omaha is a member of the Summit League and, now in its fifth year of NCAA Division I, is eligible for NCAA postseason play for the first time in 2015-16.
Sophomore forward Tre'Shawn Thurman leads Omaha at 14.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while hitting 62 percent from the field. Thurman is coming off a solid double-double against UMKC netting 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting with 11 rebounds. Senior guard Devin Patterson is averaging 12.0 points and has a team-best seven steals. Junior guard Tra-Deon Hollins is dishing out 4.3 assists an outing while averaging 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds. Senior forward Jake White is averaging 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest.
Derrin Hansen is in his 11th season as the head coach of Omaha with a record of 163-139.
THE SERIES: This will be the first meeting between Colorado and Omaha. The Buffaloes have a limited history with the Summit League having only played two of its current members, Denver and South Dakota State, and all but eight of Colorado's 82 meetings with the Pioneers came before 1947 when the two schools were Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Mountain States Conference rivals. Sunday's game will mark Omaha's first against a school from the Pac-12 Conference.
