Colorado
Air Force
Buffaloes Travel To Face Air Force Monday
December 18, 2016 | Men's Basketball
THE GAME: The University of Colorado plays its final nonconference road contest of the season as the Buffaloes travel to face the Air Force Academy on Monday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. at Clune Arena.
WATCH/LISTEN:
TV: CBS Sports Network (Jason Horowitz, Bob Wenzel )
Radio: DenverSports 760 AM (Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Listen Online: CUBuffs.com, CU Gameday App
Live Statistics: CUBuffs.com
OPENING TIP: The Pac-12 Conference has four wins over ranked opponents during the nonconference schedule. Two of those have been by Colorado, vs. then No. 22/21 Texas and No. 13/14 Xavier. UCLA, over No. 1/1 Kentucky, and Arizona, over No. 12/9 Michigan State, are the others.
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 8-3 overall, returning from its week-long break for finals with an 81-71 win over Fort Hays State on Dec. 17. The Buffaloes have won three of four and five of their last seven including victories over ranked Xavier and Texas squads.Â
Colorado is averaging 75.1 points per game while shooting 43 percent from the field. The Buffaloes are outrebounding their opponents by five boards per game. Defensively, Colorado has held the opposition to 66.5 points per game. The Buffaloes are third in the Pac-12 Conference in 3-point defense (.298) and overall rebounding (41.2 rpg) while ranking fourth in overall field goal percentage defense (.384) and offensive rebounds (12.4 orpg).
Depth and balance have been a key for Colorado. Three Buffaloes are averaging double-digits in scoring while four more are averaging between six and nine an outing. Four players have at least four rebounds per game while six have at least nine assists.
Senior Derrick White is averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while hitting a team-best 51.9 percent from the field. He was the Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 22.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in games against Xavier and BYU. White shot 55.2 percent from the field overall (16-of-29) while hitting 6-of-12 from 3-point range.
He was named to the Legends Classic All-Tournament team averaging 18.0 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds, shooting 54 percent against Notre Dame and Texas. He scored 20 points and dished out a team-season high nine assists against the Fighting Irish. The nine assists are the most by a Buffalo since Askia Booker had 12 against UCLA on Feb. 13, 2014. White had a team-high 16 points with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks against Texas.
White is 10th in assists, 11th in steals (1.2 spg), 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and 15th in scoring and free throw percentage (.792) on the Pac-12 charts.
Xavier Johnson is second on the team in scoring at 15.0 points per game while ranking third in rebounds at 6.1 an outing. He had 15 points against Fort Hays State, scoring in double figures for the fourth-straight game, fifth in his last six and eighth overall. Johnson had 18 points and seven rebounds in the win over Xavier, hitting 7-of-11 from the field including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. His second 3-pointer against the Musketeers was the 100th of his career. Johnson has made 22 of his last 43 field goal attempts (.512).
He averaged 19 points over three-game span which included the Legends Classic and Wofford, putting in a pair of 20-point performances. Johnson matched a career high with a team season-best 27 points against Wofford. He also had a season-high 12 rebounds against the Terriers, logging his seventh career double-double. Johnson had a game-high 23 points in the Legends Classic semifinal against Notre Dame.
Johnson ranks 16th in scoring and 20th in rebounding on the Pac-12 leaderboard.
George King is third on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game and second in rebounding at 7.4 per contest. King recorded his fourth double-double of the season and fifth of his career with 14 points and 12 rebounds at BYU. It was his second straight double-double after his 16-point, 10-rebound effort vs. Xavier. His four double-doubles this season have come in the last eight games.
King had a fantastic Legends Classic, recording back-to-back double-doubles and averaging 14.5 points and 13.0 rebounds over the two-day series. He tallied a personal-best 13 rebounds in both contests. King scored 17 points against Notre Dame while pitching in 12 in the win over Texas. He had 10 rebounds in the first half alone against Texas.
King is 11th in defensive rebounds (5.6 drpg) and 14th in overall rebounds on the Pac-12 leaderboard.
Guard Josh Fortune is Colorado's fourth leading scorer at 9.1 points per game. He's coming off a season-high 15 points in the win over Fort Hays State. Fortune broke out of a prolonged shooting slump hitting 5-of-9 from the field including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Prior to making his first 3-pointer against the Tigers, he had missed 16 straight shots including nine from beyond the 3-point arc.
Fortune leads the Pac-12 in free throw shooting at 89.2 percent, hitting on 33-of-37 attempts. He saw his consecutive free throws made streak end at 19 against Portland. That streak included a perfect 10-of-10 game against ULM, the program's best performance without a miss since Askia Booker was 14-of-14 against DePaul on Dec. 22, 2014.
Wesley Gordon tops Colorado in rebounding at 8.4 per game. Gordon is pitching in 6.5 points per game while leading the squad in blocks (16) and ranking third in assists (23). He's tallied 13 of his blocked shots in the last seven games and ranks second on CU's all-time list at 172.
Gordon recorded his 11th career double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds against Seattle U. He hit double-figures in rebounding for the 23rd time in his career with 10 at Portland.
On the Pac-12 charts, Gordon is fourth in offensive rebounding (2.9 orpg), ninth in overall rebounding and blocked shots (1.5 bpg) and 12th in defensive boards (5.5 drpg).
Sophomore Thomas Akyazili is second on the team in assists (2.4 apg) while scoring 3.2 points per contest. He made his first 3-pointer of the year at BYU, snapping an 0-for-11 slump. He dished out four assists, recording his third game of the season with four or more. Akyazili dished out a career-best six assists in the season-opener against Sacramento State.
Junior Tory Miller is fourth on the team in blocks (5) and sixth in rebounds (3.3 rpg) while pitching in 5.8 points an outing. Miller had nine points with a season-high five free throws made against Fort Hays State. He had a season-high 10 points against ULM, the ninth double-figure scoring game of his career. He also added his first career 3-pointer (in five attempts) against Sacramento State.
Dominique Collier has missed the last nine games with a foot injury. He had a team-high 12 points in the opener against Sacramento State, hitting 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He saw limited minutes in the game against Seattle U due to that injury.
Colorado's freshman class, with a wealth of experience in front of them, have picked their spots to contribute. As a group they are averaging 10.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Bryce Peters played a personal-best 21 minutes off the bench at BYU with three points, two rebounds, and assist and a steal. Deleon Brown is coming off a career-best 15 points against Fort Hays State. He has shot well on limited attempts, hitting 52 percent overall including 9-of-19 from downtown (.474). Lucas Siewert scored for the first time in five games with five points at BYU. He's averaging just over 2.0 rebounds per game.
TICKETED FOR REDSHIRT: The Buffaloes are planning to redshirt two freshmen. Dallas Walton, a 7-0 forward and Alexander Strating a 6-7 forward. Walton earned All-Jefferson County Conference first team honors for Arvada (Colo.) West High School in 2015-16. Strating hails from the Netherlands and played for the Canarias Basketball Academy in Spain last year.
Namon Wright, a 6-5 guard, will sit out the 2016-17 season after transferring from Missouri and will have two years of eligibility remaining. He averaged 8.2 points and 3.8 rebounds and made 79 3-pointers in 61 games with the Tigers.
ABOUT THE FALCONS: Air Force is 6-5 overall but has lost two straight and 5-of-6 after starting the season 5-0. The Falcons are 6-1 at home, dropping their only game at Clune Arena in their last outing, a 77-65 setback to Denver on Dec. 10. Air Force is averaging 79.8 points on 47 percent shooting. The Falcons rank eighth in the nation and lead the Mountain West Conference in 3-point shooting at 42.4 percent. Defensively, Air Force allows 72.1 points while opponents shoot 45 percent. The Falcons have been excellent taking care of the ball, committing just 10.7 turnovers per game, ranking 16th in NCAA Division I.
Air Force features a balanced scoring attack with four players averaging double-digits. Senior forward Hayden Graham leads the Falcons at 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Junior guard Jacob Van averages 12.5 points on 52 percent shooting while leading Air Force in assists at 3.4 per game. Senior guard Zach Kocur averages 11.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting a team-best 58 percent from the field. Junior center Frank Toohey averages 11.3 points and 3.9 rebounds an outing.
Dave Pilipovich is in his fifth season as the head coach at Air Force with an overall record of 66-78.
THE SERIES: This will be the 26th meeting between Colorado and Air Force with the Buffaloes holding a 22-3 series lead. The Buffaloes have won six straight in the series, including an 81-70 decision at the Coors Events Center on Nov. 25, 2015. Colorado has won 10 of 12 all-time meetings at Air Force with the last an 81-57 Buffaloes win on Nov. 30, 2013. This will be the sixth-straight season Colorado has met Air Force on the hardwood.
Tad Boyle is 6-2 against Air Force as a head coach, 5-0 with Colorado and 1-2 while at Northern Colorado. Dave Pilipovich is 0-4 against Colorado as a head coach.
RIGHT AT HOME: Colorado has won 14 of its last 15 and 24 of 26 in the friendly confines of the Coors Events Center.
The Buffaloes had a streak of 14-straight home wins against non-league opponents snapped in the loss to Colorado State. When Pac-12 play begins, Colorado will bring an eight-game win streak against league opposition at home, tied for the 12th best run in team history.
In the Tad Boyle era, Colorado is a sparkling 94-16 at the Coors Events Center (.855). The Buffaloes are 407-167 (.709) all-time at the CEC, picking up win No. 400 in style as Colorado defeated No. 9/10 ranked Arizona 75-72 in front of the third-largest crowd in facility history (11,309) on Feb. 24, 2016.
BOYLE WINNING PERCENTAGE: Tad Boyle has hovered right around the school's all-time winning percentage lead since the early portion of the 2015-16 season (minimum two seasons), Boyle, who has won 62.4 percent of his games with Colorado (138-83), is just ahead of CU Athletic Hall of Fame coach Forrest "Frosty" Cox who was 147-89 (.623) in 13 seasons between 1936-50. Boyle is 194-149 in his 11th year as a collegiate head coach.
IN THE POLLS: Colorado received votes for the six straight week in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll on Dec. 12. The Buffaloes received votes in the first four Associated Press polls.
Eight 2016-17 opponents have been or are currently ranked in one of the Top 25 polls including Oregon, UCLA, Arizona and Xavier who have each made a Top 10 appearance this year. Texas was ranked in both polls before dropping out Nov. 28. California had a one-week run at No. 25 in the AP poll. No. 21/21 Notre Dame debuted in the Dec. 5 edition of both polls. No. 24/25 USC earned its initial ranking this week.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Colorado has won two straight and three of its last five against ranked opponents. This is the first season with two wins over ranked teams since 2013-14 (2-6 overall).
The Buffaloes have back-to-back wins against ranked opponents for the first time since winning three straight in February-March 2013:Â Feb. 7 at #19/19 Oregon (48-47), Feb. 14 vs. #9/9 Arizona (71-58), March 7 vs. #19/25 Oregon (76-53).
With its win over No. 13/14 Xavier, Colorado defeated its highest ranked nonconference opponent since its 75-72 win over No. 6/7 Kansas on Dec. 7, 2013. Colorado claimed a win in its first game against a ranked opponent this season with its 68-54 win over No. 22/21 Texas on Nov. 22. It was Colorado's first win over a ranked opponent away from Boulder since a 76-53 win over No. 19 Oregon on March 7, 2013.
Colorado's 14 wins over ranked opponents in Boyle's six-plus seasons is by far the best streak in team history. In fact Boyle coached teams, with a record of 14-24, have accounted for 24 percent of wins over ranked opponents (58) since 1949-50.
