Colorado
Arizona
Colorado Concludes Road Swing At No. 17 Arizona Saturday
January 06, 2017 | Men's Basketball
THE GAME: The University of Colorado concludes its three-game Pac-12 season opening road trip by facing No. 17 (AP & Coaches) ranked University of Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 7:30 p.m., at the McKale Center in Tucson.
WATCH/LISTEN:
TV: Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson, Bill Walton, Jill Savage)
Radio: Newsradio 850 AM & 94.1 FM (Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Satellite: Sirius: 84 XM: 84 Internet: 84 (Arizona Broadcast)
Watch Online: Pac-12.com/now
Listen Online: CUBuffs.com, CU Gameday App
Live Statistics: CUBuffs.com
OPENING TIP: Colorado begins conference play with three straight and five of its first seven on the road. It will be the first time the Buffaloes have started a conference season with three straight road games since the 1931-32 Rocky Mountain Conference schedule, and just the fourth overall (1926-27; 1912-13). Colorado has played three in a row on the road in league action numerous times, the last to end the 2013-14 season (at Utah, Stanford and California).
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 10-5 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12 after dropping a heart-breaking 78-77 decision at Arizona State on Jan. 5.
The Buffaloes finished off the nonconference schedule at 10-3, the fifth time in seven seasons under head coach Tad Boyle CU has finished with at least 10 wins prior to the tip-off of the conference slate. Colorado has dropped two straight, but has won 5-of-8 and 7-of-11, a span that includes wins over ranked Xavier and Texas squads.
Colorado is averaging 74.3 points per game while shooting 44 percent from the field. Defensively, Colorado has held the opposition to 68.1 points per game and just under 40 percent shooting. The Buffaloes are fourth in the Pac-12 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.309) and offensive rebounds (11.6 orpg) while ranking fifth in scoring defense.
Depth and balance have been a key for Colorado. Three Buffaloes are averaging double-digits in scoring while five more are averaging between five and eight an outing. Four players have at least four rebounds per game while six are in double-digit assists. The Buffaloes are 7-0 this season when four or more players reach double figures in the points column.
Senior Derrick White leads Colorado in scoring at 16.3 points per game while also pacing the Buffaloes in field goal percentage (.516), assists (4.1 apg) and steals (1.1 spg).
White led Colorado in scoring for the eighth time this season with a team season best 35 points at Arizona State. His points were the most by a Buff since Askia Booker had 43 in a triple-overtime win over USC on Jan. 29, 2015 and the most in regulation since Alec Burks scored 36 against Missouri on Jan. 8, 2011.
He also dished out five assists, a stat in which he's been on a tear recently. White, who had eight assists at Utah, is averaging 6.7 over the last three games. White has also increased his production from downtown. He has made 49 percent from 3-point range the last seven games (16-of-33) while sinking three 3-pointers in five of those outings.
White is sixth in assists, seventh in scoring and free throw percentage (.829), ninth in blocks (1.4 bpg), 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5), 13th in 3-point percentage (.423) and 15th in field goal percentage on the Pac-12 charts.
Xavier Johnson is second on the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and third in field goal percentage (.507) and rebounding (5.6 rpg). Johnson had 13 points hitting 6-of-7 from the field at Arizona State. He has made 39 of his last 70 field goal attempts (.557).
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. 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.
George King is third on the team in scoring at 10.3 points per game and second in rebounding at 7.0 per contest. He had 11 points on 4-of-6 from the field and grabbed five rebounds in the Pac-12 opener at Utah.
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 came in a seven-game span and just missed another double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds at Air Force.
King is 13th in defensive rebounds (5.3 drpg) and 15th in overall rebounds on the Pac-12 leaderboard.
Guard Josh Fortune is Colorado's fourth leading scorer at 8.2 points per game. He's second on the team with 17 3-point field goals and fourth in assists with 27. Fortune scored a season-high 15 points in the win over Fort Hays State. He also had 13 points with five rebounds and a season-best four assists in the nonconference finale against Eastern Washington.
Fortune leads the Pac-12 in free throw shooting at 90 percent, hitting on 36-of-40 attempts. He had a team season-best streak of 19 consecutive free throws made during the nonconference schedule. That streak included a perfect 10-of-10 game against ULM, which at time was 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 7.9 per game. Gordon is pitching in 7.0 points per game while leading the squad in blocks (25) and ranking third in assists (28). He had a team season-best five blocks at Air Force; he had four in the first half alone which was better than his previous team season-high of three. He's tallied 22 of his blocked shots in the last 11 games and ranks second on CU's all-time list at 181.
Gordon registered his second double-double of the season and 12th of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Eastern Washington. He is averaging 8.0 points over the last five games while hitting 72 percent from the field over that span (13-of-18). Gordon made all three of his field goal attempts at Utah.
On the Pac-12 charts, Gordon is fourth in offensive rebounding (2.8 orpg), eighth in blocks (1.7 bpg), 12th in overall rebounding and 14th in defensive boards (5.1 drpg).
Dominique Collier returned to the lineup against Air Force after missing the previous nine games with a foot injury. He had nine points against the Falcons hitting 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Collier is averaging 5.9 points over his six games played, hitting 47 percent from 3-point range. He had a team-high 12 points in the opener against Sacramento State, hitting 4-of-6 from deep.
Junior Tory Miller is averaging 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds a game, ranking sixth on the team in both categories. He matched his scoring and shooting output from the Utah game with eight points on 4-of-5 from the field at Arizona State, the best start by a Pac-12 player through the opening games of the conference schedule. Miller is continuing his strong play from the end of the nonconference season, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds against Eastern Washington. He has made 22 of his last 32 from the field (.688).
Sophomore Thomas Akyazili is second on the team in assists (2.0 apg) while scoring 2.7 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.
Colorado's freshman class, with a wealth of experience in front of them, have made a good contribution off the bench. As a group they are averaging 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Deleon Brown has 35 points in the last five games (7.0 ppg), including a career-best 15 against Fort Hays State. He had just 33 points over his first 10. Bryce Peters matched personal-bests with three rebounds and a pair of assists at Utah. Lucas Siewert scored for the first time in five games with five points at BYU. He's averaging just under two rebounds per game.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS: Arizona, ranked No. 17 in the latest Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls, is 14-2 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-12. The Wildcats have won eight in a row, including their 66-56 home win over Utah on Jan. 5. Arizona averages 73.8 points on 48 percent shooting. The Wildcats sport the Pac-12's top scoring defense at 60.1 points per game while opponents shoot 39 percent. Arizona also tops the Pac-12 in rebounds allowed (30.1 rpg) and 3-point defense (.287).
A trio of freshman have paved the way for Arizona's fast start. Seven-foot forward Lauri Markkanen leads Arizona at 15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while hitting 49 percent from the field. Guard Rawle Alkins is second on the team in scoring (12.4 ppg) and steals (1.1 spg). Back court mate Kobi Simmons is averaging 12.2 points and 2.3 assists per game.
Sean Miller is in his eighth year at Arizona with a record of 202-63. He is in his 13th year overall as a collegiate head coach with a record of 326-110.
THE SERIES: This will be the 27th meeting between Colorado and Arizona with the Wildcats holding a 14-12 series edge. The teams split their two meetings last year. Colorado won the only regular season meeting, 75-72 in Boulder while the Wildcats edged the Buffaloes 82-78 in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament. Arizona has won the last six and 9-of-13 since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12. .
Tad Boyle is 4-9 against Arizona as a head coach. Sean Miller is 10-4 against Colorado as a head coach.
WHITE'S 35 ON THE ROAD IN ELITE COMPANY: Senior Derrick White's 35 points at Arizona State ties for the seventh-most in a true road game in team history and fourth best in regulation. Here are Colorado's top performances in true road games.
Points in a True Road Game
46 – Donnie Boyce at Oklahoma State (3/5/94)
43 – Askia Booker at USC (3 OT) (1/29/15)
43 – Cliff Meely at Oklahoma (1/16/71)
40 – Cliff Meely at Iowa State (OT) (2/22/69)
39 – Chuck Gardner at Kansas (3/7/66)
37 – Shaun Vandiver at San Diego (OT) (1/2/91)
35 – Derrick White at Arizona State (1/5/17)
35 – Chauncey Billups at Nebraska (2/5/97)
35 – Stevie Wise at Eastern Michigan (1/2/90)
35 – Ken Charlton at Kansas (1/5/63)
35 – Ken Charlton at Missouri (3/5/62)
(D.J. Harrison scored 38 points against Austin Peay in a neutral court game in Fairbanks, Alaska on Nov. 18, 2000)
RIGHT AT HOME: Colorado has won 15 of its last 16 and 25 of 27 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 95-16 at the Coors Events Center (.856). The Buffaloes are 408-167 (.710) 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 62.2 percent of his games with Colorado (140-85), 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 196-151 in his 11th year as a collegiate head coach.
IN THE POLLS: Colorado received votes in the first USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls of the season and the first seven by the Associated Press.
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. Notre Dame debuted in the Dec. 5 edition of both polls while USC earned its initial ranking on Dec. 12.
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: 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.
