University of Colorado Athletics
Buffaloes Host 20th Annual Coors Classic Friday-Saturday
THE CLASSIC: The University of Colorado will host the 20th Annual Coors Classic on Friday, Nov. 24, and Saturday, Nov. 25, at the Coors Events Conference Center.
The Coors Classic will have a little different look to it this season. For the first time, the tournament will follow a ?classic’ format, where match ups for both days are predetermined. The schedule is as follows:
Friday, Nov. 24
Wyoming vs. Charlotte, 5 p.m.
Nevada at Colorado, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 25
Wyoming vs. Nevada, 5 p.m.
Charlotte at Colorado, 7:30 p.m.
In previous years, the winners of the first day’s games met in a championship game on the second day, while the losers will met in a consolation game. No champion will be crowned for this year’s Coors Classic.
BROADCAST: All Colorado women’s basketball regular and post season games are broadcast live on KKZN AM 760, Boulder’s Progressive Talk station. Mike Rice will handle play by play duties and is joined by USA Basketball’s Carol Callan with the color commentary. Live video streaming of CU’s two Coors Classic games will be available to Stampede Online subscribers at CUBuffs.com.
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado suffered a 68-49 setback to the University of Wyoming in its first road contest of the season to fall to 2-2 overall, the third straight season the Buffaloes have been even after four games.
Junior forward Jackie McFarland has had a fantastic start to the season. She is averaging 21.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game while shooting a Big 12 Conference best 69 percent from the field (31-of-45). She was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the season’s opening weekend (Nov. 13) and started the season with three consecutive double-doubles. It is only the third time in CU history that a player has began the season with three-straight double-doubles, and McFarland is two of those instances (2005-06). The only other player to start a season with three straight is CU’s all-time leading scorer Lisa VanGoor who did it in 1982-83.
Senior guard/forward Jasmina Ilic is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game and has a team-best seven 3-point field goals. She is coming off a 12-point performance against Wyoming where she became just the seventh player in CU history to reach 100 3-point field goals, and now sits at 101. Colorado is receiving 8.8 points per game from center Kara Richards who is also second on the squad in rebounding (4.5 rpg) and second in field-goal percentage at .565 (13-of-23). Richards also leads the Buffaloes in assists over the first four games with 11. Senior guard Susie Powers has dished out nine assists and is averaging 3.5 points over the first four games.
Four freshman Buffs are contributing significant minutes, just a handful of games into their collegiate careers. Redshirt freshman guard Bianca Smith has started all four games for the Buffs, averaging 6.5 points per game, including four 3-point field goals. True freshman guards Whitney Houston and Candace Rucker and forward Aija Putnina have been the first off the bench for Colorado. Houston is second on the team in assists with 10 and averaging 5.0 points per game. Rucker is averaging just under five per contest, and has four steals and five assists. Putnina is third on the team in rebounding at 3.8 per game.
McFARLAND BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jackie McFarland was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Player of the Week by a media voting panel on Nov. 13 for the opening weekend of games.
This is McFarland’s third career weekly honor from the Big 12 as she was twice named the league’s Rookie of the Week during the 2004-05 season.
McFarland averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and two steals while shooting 71 percent from the field (17-of-24) in games against San Francisco and No. 16/15 ranked Vanderbilt over the weekend.
McFarland had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 12 rebounds in the season-opening 62-56 win over San Francisco. She scored a game-high 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds along with two assists and three steals against No. 16/15 Vanderbilt. McFarland recorded double-doubles in both games for the 20th and 21st of her career. She had nine points ? a 3-pointer and two conventional 3-point plays ? in the final minute against VU as Colorado nearly erased a 17-point second half deficit.
THE COACH: Kathy McConnell-Miller is in her second season as Colorado’s head coach and in her eighth season at the helm of an NCAA Division I program. She is 11-23 with the Buffaloes and has an overall head coaching record of 102-111.
ABOUT THE WOLFPACK: Nevada is 3-0, matching the program’s best start last achieved in 1981. Sophomore guard Dellena Criner leads the way for the Wolfpack, averaging 17.7 points and 4.0 steals per game. Senior guard Traci Graham is scoring 11.3 points per contest while senior forward Jessica Presslar is averaging 10.3 points and a team-best 9.7 rebounds per game. Nevada has made the most of second opportunities in its first three games. The Wolfpack is shooting just 34.7 percent on the season, averaging 74 shot attempts per game. Nevada shot attempt numbers are so high thanks in part to the team’s 47.7 rebounds per game and a remarkable average of 23.3 offensive boards per game.
ABOUT THE 49ers: Charlotte is 3-1 overall with its lone loss coming in its only road game of the young season, a 78-66 decision at the University of Minnesota on Nov. 14. The 49ers are scoring 77.5 points per game led by junior forward Sabrina Gregory who is averaging 17.5 points per contest to go along with 6.5 rebounds and a team-best 4.3 assists per game. After Gregory, Charlotte has six players averaging between 6.5 and 9.8 points per game. Sophomore center Danielle Burgin is pulling down a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest as the 49ers have been quite successful on the boards, enjoying a +8.5 rebounding margin over their opponents.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the second meeting between Colorado and Nevada. The Wolfpack claimed a 69-59 win over the Buffaloes in the championship game of the Nevada Nugget Classic on Nov. 20, 2004, in the only prior meeting. This will be the first ever meeting between Charlotte and Colorado.
Kathy McConnell-Miller has never faced Charlotte and is 8-2 against Nevada as a head coach.
CU IN COORS CLASSIC: Colorado is 31-7 all-time in the Coors Classic and has won 12 of the previous 19 tournament titles. Northern Iowa won the 2005 Coors Classic by defeating the Buffaloes 74-65 in overtime in the first round, and scoring a 71-47 win over Illinois in the championship contest. For the first time in 2006, the Coors Classic will step away from the traditional tournament and will feature a classic format. No team champion will be crowned for this year’s Coors Classic.
MILESTONE WINS APPROACHING: Three wins will give Colorado 600 as a program (597-355) and two wins at the Coors Events Center will give the Buffs 300 in the facility (298-88).
CLIMBING THE 3-POINT LADDER: Jasmina Ilic hit two 3-point fields goals against Wyoming, becoming the seventh player in CU history to reach 100 in her career. She is currently seventh on CU’s all-time list at 101 and needs eight more to reach Alexis Felts (1994-98) who is in sixth with 109.
Anna Nedovic needs three 3-point field goals to reach 50. She has a shot at reaching the career top 10, needing 27 3-pointers which would be a career season high.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS: Jasmina Ilic and Jackie McFarland are both well on pace to reach the 1,000 point mark this season and would become the 19th and 20th Buffs to reach that milestone. They would be the first pair of teammates to hit the mark in the same season since Britt Hartshorn, Jenny Roulier and Mandy Nightingale hit 1,000 within two weeks of each other in November 2001. McFarland needs 126 points, which by using her season average of 21.8 ppg, she would approach the mark in about six games (Dec. 9, vs. Oregon). Ilic needs 233 points, which by using her junior season average of 14.8 ppg, she would reach around game 19 (Jan. 28, at Missouri).
MORE NUMBERS FOR McFARLAND: McFarland began the season with three-straight double-doubles, equalling her output from the 2005-06 season. The only other player in CU history to record three-straight double-doubles to open a season is CU’s all-time leading scorer Lisa VanGoor, who did it in 1982-83.
McFarland’s 22 career double-doubles tie for third on the CU charts with Sandy Bean (1978-82). Her 22 double-digit rebounding games ranks sixth on CU’s all-time list.
McFarland needs just 10 rebounds for 500 in her career and 157 rebounds would put her in the career top 10. She had 277 rebounds as a sophomore.
McFarland is already ninth on CU’s career list for blocked shots with 68. She needs 32 to reach 100 and would be just the sixth Buff to reach the century mark.
COME FROM BEHIND WIN BREAKS LONG DROUGHT: CU’s 62-56 win over San Francisco broke a 26-game losing streak when the Buffaloes trailed at halftime dating back to a 56-51 win at Missouri on Jan. 18, 2005. USF led 30-26 at the break, but the Buffs outscored the Dons 36-26 in the second half.
STILL IN NEED OF A WIN OVER A RANKED TEAM: After its competitive 81-76 loss to No. 16/15 Vanderbilt, Colorado is still searching for its first win over a ranked team in 17 tries dating back to January of 2004. The Buffaloes last win over a ranked opponent was a 69-59 decision at No. 24 Baylor on Jan. 7, 2004. CU was ranked No. 14 at the time. The last time CU was unranked and defeated a ranked opponent was in the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament when the Buffaloes knocked off No. 12 North Carolina 86-67.
BUFFS IN OPENERS: Colorado is 28-5 (.844) all-time in season openers and a whopping 32-1(.970) all-time in home openers. The Buffs’ lone loss in a season-opening home game was a 77-63 setback to Michigan on Nov. 21, 1999. CU has won seven straight season debuts and 20 of its last 21 with the lone loss in that span coming at Denver on Nov. 19, 1999.
NOVEMBER SUCCESS: Fast starts in November are common for Colorado. The Buffaloes are 92-27 (.773) all-time in the month of November and a stunning 75-12 (.862) at the Coors Events Center. CU is 18-5 at home in November since 2000.
EARLY START: The Nov. 10 start against USF was the third earliest start for the Buffs and the second earliest home game in their 33-year history. CU’s earliest start came in season No. 2 as the Buffs dropped an 81-80 decision at Nebraska on Nov. 6, 1976. CU’s earliest start at the Coors Events Center is much more recent as the Buffs hosted Oral Roberts in a preseason WNIT game on Nov. 9, 2001, a 78-49 CU win.
BUFFS PICKED 11TH: CU was picked to finish 11th in the annual Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll. The Buffaloes received 26 points, an improvement from the 14 points received a year ago when the CU was picked to finish last. CU was 9-21 overall in 2005-06 and finished 11th in the Big 12 race with a 3-13 mark.
Defending league champion Oklahoma was picked to repeat its title receiving all 11 possible first place votes for a total of 121 points. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. Big 12 Southern Division teams dominated the upper half of the poll, taking the top four spots. Texas A&M was picked second with 107 points, followed by Texas (101) and Baylor (94).
Iowa State came in fifth with 68 points, just edging out Nebraska which was picked sixth with 66. Kansas State and Texas Tech tied for seventh with 57 points followed by Missouri (43), Kansas (36), CU (26) and Oklahoma State (16).
TOUGH SCHEDULE: Colorado once again faces a tough schedule with no less than 17 games against 2006 NCAA or WNIT tournament teams. The Buffaloes will host perennial NCAA women’s powers Southern California and Vanderbilt during the non-conference season as well as region rival Colorado State. Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma come to Boulder this year out of the Big 12 South along with the Buffs’ usual Big 12 North opponents.
HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 298-88 all-time record at the Coors Events/Conference Center (.772). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CECC in 18 of the previous 28 years including five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94). At 7-9 in 2005-06, CU finished its home season with a below .500 mark for just the third time in the 28-year history of the CECC.
BUFFS ON TV: Colorado’s schedule features nine games that will be televised either regionally or nationally by Fox Sports Net. Two games are part of the Big 12’s national package with FSN: Sunday, Jan. 28, at Missouri and Saturday, Feb. 10, at home against Nebraska. FSN Rocky Mountain will televise six CU home games beginning with the regular season opener against San Francisco on Friday, Nov. 10. FSN Midwest will televise CU’s game at Kansas State on Wed., Feb. 14, which could potentially be picked up by FSN Rocky Mountain as well.
UP NEXT: Colorado will continue nonconference play at home when the Buffaloes host Colorado State University on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events/Conference Center.