Buffs Face First True Road Test Saturday

THE GAME: The University of Colorado faces its first true road game of the season as the Buffaloes travel to the University of Portland on Saturday, Dec. 3, 8 p.m. MT, at the Chiles Center.

WATCH/LISTEN:
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OPENING TIP: Dec. 3 is Colorado's latest date for a first true road game since playing at Oregon State on Dec. 4, 2009. That game, a 74-69 OSU win, was also the Buffaloes' eighth overall contest of the year. Three years ago, Colorado also played its first true road contest on game No. 8, an 81-57 win at Air Force on Nov. 30, 2013. The Buffaloes are 3-3 in road openers under Tad Boyle.

ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 5-2 overall after falling to Colorado State 72-58 on Nov. 30. The loss also dropped the Buffaloes to 4-1 at home, snapping a 12-game winning streak at the Coors Events Center.

Colorado's only other games away from Boulder this season were at the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Buffaloes placed third at the Classic at the Barclays Center. Colorado fell to eventual champion Notre Dame, 89-83, in the semifinals but rebounded nicely with a 68-54 win over No. 22/21 Texas in the consolation game.

Colorado is averaging 75.7 points per game while shooting 43 percent from the field which includes a season-best 56.5 performance against Wofford. The Buffaloes are outrebounding their opponents by just under nine boards per game. Defensively, Colorado has held the opposition to 64.7 points per game. The Buffaloes lead the Pac-12 Conference in offensive rebounds (14.6 orpg) and 3-point defense (.277) while ranking third in overall field goal percentage defense (.372), rebounding (44.0 rpg) and rebound margin.

Depth and balance have been a key for Colorado. Four Buffaloes are averaging double-digits in scoring while six more are averaging between four and seven an outing. Five players have at least four rebounds per game while five have at least seven assists. In the season-opening win over Sacramento State, 10 of 12 players who suited up scored. All 10 players scored between six and 12 points and seven different Buffaloes hit a 3-pointer.

Senior Derrick White is averaging 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while hitting a team-best 51.5 percent from the field. White 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 eighth in assists, and 14th in steals and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3) on the Pac-12 charts.

Xavier Johnson is second on the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game while ranking third in rebounds at 6.4 an outing. 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.

On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Johnson ranks 14th in offensive rebounds (2.0 orpg), 19th in overall rebounding and 21st in scoring. He has shot 48 percent (21-of-44) over the last four games.

George King is third on the team in scoring at 10.4 points per game and second in rebounding at 7.0 per contest. 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. The double-doubles are the second and third of his career. King had a personal-best 13 rebounds in both contests. He scored 17 points against Notre Dame while pitching in 12 in the win over Texas. King had 10 rebounds in the first half alone against Texas.

King is 14th in offensive rebounds (2.0 orpg), 15th in defensive rebounds (5.0 drpg) and 17th in overall rebounds on the Pac-12 leaderboard. He hit all four of his field goal attempts against Wofford en route to 10 points.

Guard Josh Fortune is just a fraction under 10 points per game while leading the Buffaloes in free throw percentage (.920), ranking second in steals (6) and third in assists (11). He's had a great start from the foul line hitting 23-of-25 attempts. Fortune was a perfect 10-of-10 from the line against ULM, the program's best performance without a miss since Askia Booker was 14-of-14 against DePaul on Dec. 22, 2014.

Fortune is third in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage and has made his last 17, the best stretch on the team this season.

Wesley Gordon tops Colorado in rebounding at 9.4 per game. Gordon is pitching in 7.3 points per game while leading the squad in blocks (10) and third in assists (11). After being held to three blocks in his first four games, he has seven in the last three, allowing him to climb into sole possession of second place on CU's all-time list at 166.

He has corralled at least nine rebounds in 6-of-7 games with his averaging upping to 10.3 over those contests. Gordon recorded his 11th career double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds against Seattle U. He hit double-figures in rebounding for the 22nd time in his career and this marked the seventh time he has recorded two or more straight games with double-digits (includes two stretches of three straight).

On the Pac-12 charts, Gordon is fourth in offensive rebounding (3.1 orpg), sixth in overall rebounding and eighth in blocked shots and dfensive boards (6.3 drpg)

Sophomore Thomas Akyazili is second on the team in assists (2.7 apg) while scoring 4.4 points per contest. He had five points and dished out two assists against Colorado State. Akyazili dished out a career-best six assists in the season-opener against Sacramento State.

Junior Tory Miller is third on the team in blocks (5) and fourth in rebounds (4.3 rpg) while pitching in 5.5 points an outing. 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 five 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.

Freshmen Lucas Siewert and Deleon Brown had successful debuts against Sacramento State, both finishing with nine points. Siewert, a 6-10 forward, made all three of his shots from beyond the arc and had five rebounds. Brown, was 3-of-4 from the floor and dished out an assist. Bryce Peters, made is collegiate debut against ULM scoring his first career points on a dunk off a fast break. He finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds and a game-high 3 steals.

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. Those plans could change early in the season if needed, but not later.

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 PILOTS: Portland is 4-2 overall, snapping a two-game losing streak with a win over Cal State Northridge, 96-78, on Nov. 27. The Pilots are averaging 82.5 points per game shooting 47 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range. Portland has hit 90 points twice, the CSU Northridge game and also a season-high 98 points in a win over Lewis & Clark. Defensively, the Pilots give up 72.3 points while opponents are shooting 40 percent on the season.

Senior guard Alec Wintering leads Portland at 22.8 points and 6.7 assists per game. An All-West Coast Conference selection as a junior, Wintering is shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor and 91 percent from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Jazz Johnson is averaging 18.5 points, 55 percent from the field and 57 percent from 3-point range. The Wintering-Johnson tandem, at a combined 41.3 points per game, are the fifth-leading scoring duo in the nation. Junior forward Gabe Taylor leads Portland in rebounding at 7.2 an outing while averaging 13.3 points on 43 percent shooting.

Terry Porter, former NBA player and head coach, is in his first year at the helm of the Portland program with a record of 4-2.

SERIES RECORDS: This will be the second meeting between Colorado and Portland, as this is the return trip from last year's get together in Boulder. Colorado won that game 85-63 on Nov. 20, 2015. The Buffaloes are 35-17 all-time against teams currently in the West Coast Conference, the bulk of those coming against BYU (CU leads 16-5). Colorado and BYU meet in Provo, Utah, on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Tad Boyle is 3-1 against Portland as a head coach; 1-0 at Colorado and 2-1 with Northern Colorado. Terry Porter has never faced Colorado as a head coach.

RIGHT AT HOME: Colorado has won 12 of its last 13 and 22 of 24 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 92-16 at the Coors Events Center (.852). The Buffaloes are 405-167 (.708) 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.

GRAND ACHIEVEMENTS: Xavier Johnson became the 33rd player to score 1,000 points at Colorado on Nov. 14, but two other players are recording unique milestones of their own.

Senior Derrick White reached the 2,000-point mark for his collegiate career during the Colorado State game. White scored 1,912 points in three seasons at UCCS (2012-15). Senior Josh Fortune needs 99 points to reach 1,000 in his collegiate career. Fortune scored 481 points in two years at Providence College (2012-14) and has 420 in 41 games at Colorado.

4 OF A KIND: Colorado sports an unusual occurrence with four fifth-year seniors on its roster, each traveling a different path to get to this point.

Wesley Gordon has taken the most traditional five-year route. He took a redshirt season his true freshman year as Colorado was loaded in the front court led by Andre Roberson currently with Oklahoma City of the NBA. Gordon is among Colorado's all-time leaders in rebounds and blocked shots.

Xavier Johnson played his first three seasons (2012-15) before an Achilles injury derailed his 2015-16 season. Johnson has been a steady performer, averaging double-digits over his three years and joining the 1,000-point club on Nov. 14 against Seattle U.

Josh Fortune is the mid-career transfer. After two years at Providence College, helping the Friars to the 2014 Big East title, Fortune transferred to Colorado and sat out the 2014-15 season. He was a key contributor to Colorado's NCAA Tournament run as a junior ranking third on the team in scoring.

Derrick White will get his one-year shot in Boulder this year. White played his first three years at NCAA Division II UCCS, earning All-America honors. He practiced with the Buffaloes last year as a redshirt.

Additionally, the Buffaloes also have a fourth-year junior in George King, the reigning Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year.

BOYLE NEAR WINNING PERCENTAGE LEAD: 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 62.2 percent of his games with Colorado (135-82), is just behind CU Athletic Hall of Fame coach Forrest "Frosty" Cox who was 147-89 (.623) in 13 seasons between 1936-50. Boyle is 191-147 in his 11th year as a collegiate head coach.

IN THE POLLS: Colorado received votes for the fourth straight week by both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' Polls on Nov. 28. The Buffs have a little more with the coaches vote with 15 points compared to one in the AP Poll.

Six 2016-17 opponents have been or currently are 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.

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: 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 nonconference opponent since its 75-72 win over No. 6/7 Kansas on Dec. 7, 2013. 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 was 1-5 against ranked teams in 2015-16.

Colorado's 13 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 13-24, have accounted for 23 percent of wins over ranked opponents (57) since 1949-50.

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Akyazili

Deleon Brown

Dominique Collier

Josh Fortune

Wesley Gordon

Xavier Johnson

George King

Tory Miller-Stewart

Bryce Peters

Lucas Siewert

Alexander Strating

Dallas Walton

Derrick White

Namon Wright