Colorado University Athletics
Pac-12 Big Man Battle: CU's Scott, Utah's Poeltl To Meet
January 07, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When the Colorado Buffaloes play host to Utah on Friday (7 p.m., Fox Sports 1), it will mean a marquee matchup between two of the nation's best big men: Colorado's Josh Scott and Utah's Jakob Poeltl.
They're on the 20-player national Abdul-Jabbar Award watch list, given to the nation's best big man. They're among the statistical leaders in the Pac-12 in a variety of categories, including those most-often associated with big men: scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field goal percentage.
And, they've met before, facing off twice last year in the two teams' meetings.
But this year, there is one significant difference: Scott is not nursing a back injury that sidelined him for nearly half of the conference season a year ago.
"It's the first time I get to play him healthy," Scott said. "I'm looking forward to that."
Last year, Scott could not have picked a worse time to match up with Poeltl. In their first meeting, Scott attempted to come back from his back injury after missing a pair of games. It was obvious from the beginning that he was not 100 percent, and it showed in the box score: in 28 minutes, he scored just three points and collected just two rebounds in a 74-49 CU loss..
""I was hurt still when we played them the first time at their place, probably worse than when it first happened," Scott said.
Indeed, coming back too soon likely set Scott's recovery back, and he missed another six games. His first game back was against the Utes in Boulder, and while he had a better statistical night — 10 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes of play — the result was still the same, a 79-51 loss.
"I'm looking forward to playing this one healthy," Scott said. "He's a good player. In the Pac-12, you're going to play against a lot of good players, and for me, it's fun to get to play against another one. I'm looking forward to battling with him."
The 7-foot, 248-pound Poeltl, a native of Austria, is having a standout sophomore season after his freshman All-American year, averaging 17.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game for the 11-4 Utes.
The senior Scott, meanwhile, is averaging 17.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. The two are in the top five in scoring and rebounding in the Pac-12 and top 10 in blocks.
Scott said he'll probably watch a little extra film of Poeltl this week, particularly of the Utes' offensive sets.
"It's one of those things you've got to learn," Scott said. "Figure out a guy's tendencies and it might be the difference in the game."
The Utes might be without one of their big men when they visit, as 6-9 forward Kyle Kuzma suffered a bruised tailbone in last weekend's loss at Cal and Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said earlier this week he's not sure if Kuzma will be ready to play.
CU coach Tad Boyle, who has called Scott one of the nation's most underrated players, noted that both teams have more than just a quality big man.
But, Boyle noted, "No. 1, Josh Scott's worth the price of admission," Boyle said. "Jakob Poeltl's worth the price of admission. Playing against each other it is, too, even more so. Those are two of the best centers in college basketball, there's no question about it"
TALE OF THE TAPE
Statistic Scott Poeltl
Scoring 17.9 17.7
Rebounding 9.5 9.3
Blocks 1.8 2.1
FG Pct. .582 .687
INFINITI CHALLENGE: Boyle is once again participating in the Infiniti Coaches Charity Challenge with the opportunity to earn a $100,000 donation to Special Olympics of Colorado. The voting website is now open at ESPN.com/Infiniti. You do have to register an email address, but it is free of charge. You can vote once per day, per email address. Voting for the first round lasts until Jan. 24 at 10 a.m.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
