Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Ready For Matchup With No. 13 Flyers
December 20, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
CHICAGO — In a way, Saturday's 4:30 p.m. Colorado-Dayton game at the United Center will serve as the fall semester final exam for Tad Boyle's Buffaloes.
The matchup with the 9-1 Flyers (No. 13 AP/No. 12 USA Today) will no doubt provide a solid measuring stick for the 9-2 Buffs, who spent five weeks in the nation's top 25 before slipping out after losses to Kansas and Northern Iowa.
After Saturday's game, the Buffs will have one more non-conference game — a Dec. 29 matchup with Iona — before opening Pac-12 play against Oregon on Jan. 2. The 7 p.m. game at the CU Events Center will be a matchup between the team picked in the preseason to win the conference, Oregon, against the team picked to finish second, Colorado.
But first comes Saturday's matchup, a game that has had a little extra juice to it since it first appeared on the schedule.
For starters, it is a big game for Colorado point guard McKinley Wright IV, who originally committed to Dayton but then signed with the Buffs after then-Dayton coach Archie Miller left for Indiana. Wright, whose father is from Chicago, was a Dayton commit long enough to get to know plenty of members of the current squad. He will also have approximately 50 family members at the game, including his grandmother.
"It's a big one," Wright said after Thursday night's 83-64 win over Prairie View A&M in Boulder. "It's going to be a fun one. It's one we have to win. I was committed to that school, so I want this win, I need this win. Before the season started coach (Tad Boyle) told me we were playing Dayton again and my eyes lit up. It's going to be fun. I know a lot of those guys from when I was committed there. There's history."
There is also history between the two programs dating back to last year, when Colorado beat Dayton in Boulder, 78-73, in a first-round NIT game. It was one of CU's best overall efforts of the season and one they will need to replicate Saturday if they want to come away with another win.
But most importantly, Saturday's game is a chance for the Buffs to prove they belong in the discussion of the nation's top 25 teams. The Flyers have one of the nation's best players in 6-foot-9 sophomore power forward Obi Toppin, they have a wealth of depth, and they already own wins over Georgia, Virginia Tech and St. Mary's. Their only loss thus far is a 90-84 overtime decision at the hands of Kansas in the Maui Jim Invitational title game in late November.
Coach Anthony Grant's Flyers are a balanced squad. Dayton boasts five players averaging double-digit scoring, and the Flyers are shooting 53.7 percent from the floor this year — the best percentage in the nation. They are averaging more than 88 points per game and holding opponents to 66, giving them the nation's ninth-leading scoring margin, and they are also forcing an average of 15.7 turnovers per game and turning those turnovers into nearly 20 points per contest.
 "The thing that makes Dayton so good is they've got quality depth, they're well coached, they defend, they're efficient on offense," Boyle said. "They're a legit top 20 team. So, this is an opportunity you just relish."
But while the Flyers do have balance, Toppin is no doubt the premier piece of the puzzle, averaging 20.1 points and 8.1 rebounds this season. He has also added a reliable 3-point shot to his arsenal (41.4 percent this year), and NBA observers now believe he will be a first-round pick if he makes himself available for the draft next summer.
"Toppin is a terrific player," Boyle said. "He has made major strides. He really can shoot the ball from three now and he's a really good low post player. He's a matchup problem, there's no doubt about it. We've got our work cut out for us."
The task of guarding Toppin likely won't be a one-man job, but there's no doubt Tyler Bey will get his chances, and Evan Battey might sneak into the equation as well.
Toppin did his fair share of damage against the Buffs in their meeting last spring, finishing with 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting and six rebounds. But the Buffs won the game by hitting 16 of 18 free throws, winning the rebound battle and committing a season-low seven turnovers.
Those turnovers will be a key Saturday, as CU has had trouble taking care of the ball thus far this year, averaging 15.5 per game.
THE SERIES: Colorado holds a 3-1 all-time edge, with wins in the last three. CU won the only neutral court game in the series, 67-57, in the Charleston Classic in 2012.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by CBS Sports Network with John Sadak and Steve Lappas. The radio broadcast will be carried by 850 AM and 94.1 FM KOA, with Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
UP NEXT: The Buffs will take a few days off for the holidays, then reconvene in Boulder to prepare for their Dec. 29 game against Iona at the CU Events Center (Noon, Pac-12 Network).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
