Colorado University Athletics
MBB Travels to Iowa State for Sunday Tilt
CU vs. IOWA STATE: Colorado (15-3, 5-2 Big 12) nationally ranked at No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll looks for their second straight win in Ames after winning at Hilton Coliseum for the first time last season, 54-52 in overtime (Jan. 22, 2005). Winning in Ames is a rare feat for any CU team, just three victories in 29 games since 1977. The trio of wins came last year, Feb. 19, 1991 (84-78) and Feb. 9, 1977 (64-62). Overall, CU is 16-42 in Ames since the series began in 1947. Television: ESPN Plus (Altitude Network in Denver/Boulder) with announcers, Bill Doleman, Paul Splittorff. The game can also be heard on KKZN Radio 760-AM with Mark Johnson and Charles Johnson.
BUFF TIDBITS: Entering Sunday’s game, Richard Roby ranks first in Big 12 scoring (22.6 ppg.). He has led CU in scoring five straight games (25.8 ppg.) and ranks 40th on the school’s all-time scoring list with 813 pts. (16.9 in 48 games)...Chris Copeland had a career- and team-best four blocks against K-State placing him ninth on CU’s all-time blocked shots list (80)...Andy Osborn has made at least one 3-pointer in 15-straight games (2.1 a game)...Marcus Hall leads the team in assists (4.1 apg.), Big 12 assist-turnover ratio (all games, 2.59) and fourth in conference-only games (2.64). Hall is averaging 12.3 points, 5.7 assists in his last three...Roby and Copeland are the only two players who have started all 18 games...TEAM: CU is first in conference (all games) scoring offense (82.6), rebounding (41.5) blocks (6.28), assist-turnover ratio (1.31), and offensive rebounding (15.9). Big 12-only stats: first in blocks (7.1), offensive rebounding (16.8), 3-pters made (69)...The last time CU won five consecutive conference games was 1996-97 (Jan. 4-18, 1997); the last time they won six straight was 1996-97 (Jan. 4-21)...CU is off to its best start in Big 12 play (5-2) since starting 6-0 in 1996-97...The 5-2 mark is the 14th time CU has started 5-2 or better in league play in 59 years...CU is 8-1 when four or more players net 10 or more points...The Buffs last won three road Big 12 games came in 2003-04.
SCOUTING THE CYCLONES: Iowa State (13-7, 3-4 Big 12) is led by three players who average over double figures (see probable starters) and a starting five with not one senior. Will Blalock and Curtis Stinson not just score, but pass the ball with 130 and 104 assists between them, respectively. The Cyclones have struggled at home in conference play (1-3) and have split their last six games with a 3-3 mark. ISU won at Boulder, 78-73 on the last day of the regular season.
TOP 25 RANKINGS: For the first time since the 1996-97 season, CU finally made the top-25 in one of the nation’s polls. This week, the Buffs entered the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 25. In the AP poll, CU received 83 votes (27th overall). Prior to this week, CU last made either poll came in 1997 at No. 24 (Associated Press). The others were 1969 (#18), 1963 (#10), 1962 (#9) and 1955 (#15).
AP VOTES: If you would have told me two months ago that CU would have more votes in the AP poll than Arizona, Cincinnati, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina COMBINED, I would have said you are nuts... Others Receiving AP Votes: Maryland 139, Colorado 83, North Carolina 53, Wisconsin 45, Bucknell 34, UAB 25, S. Illinois 18, Air Force 10, Kentucky 9, Louisville 9, Utah St. 8, Marquette 6, Kansas 5, Xavier 5, Seton Hall 4, Akron 3, California 3, Creighton 3, San Diego St. 2, George Mason 1, Iona 1, Stanford 1.
MARCUS HALL UPDATE: Marcus Hall is feeling much better since he collapsed with 2:02 left in the game last Saturday against Kansas State. He was carried off the court on a stretcher for precautionary measures and taken to Boulder Community Hospital for observation and further tests. He was later released and diagnosed with lower back spasms. Prior to leaving the game, Hall made his first start since Kansas (Jan. 11), scored 12 points and handed-out a team and season-best seven assists.
SHOOTING THE THREE: CU has made the 3-pointer as their preferred offensive weapon of choice with 10 or more treys in four of their last five games (only eight vs. K-State). The Buffaloes are inching closer to last year’s school record of 223. Entering today, CU is 160-of-419; last year at this time they were 118-of-335!
BIG 12 Start: Colorado has opened Big 12 men’s play with five wins in its first seven games. It’s only the second time the Buffs have started so well at the beginning of conference play (6-0 in 1997 (finishing second with an 11-5 mark behind Chauncey Billups).
BIG 12 ROAD WINS: Richard Roby scored 27 points, including the decisive basket in overtime as CU beat Oklahoma State 80-78 (Jan. 21). It was the Buffaloes’ second Big 12 Conference road win of the season. CU hadn’t won at Gallagher-Iba Arena since Jan. 12, 1980, a stretch of 20 games. The Buffs also hadn’t won at Missouri since the 1996-97 season and only the second time in Columbia since Jan. 15, 1973 (32 games). Roby scored a career-best 33 points and Chris Copeland hit the last of CU’s season-best 13 3-pointers with two-tenths of a second to go, giving the Buffaloes a 74-71 victory.
COLEMAN KEEPS SHINING: Lost in the limelight of Roby’s 30-point effort against Nebraska was junior Dominique Coleman’s stellar performance. In only 25 minutes, Coleman posted 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists. If you adjust his numbers into a full 40 minutes, his line looks quite impressive: 17.6 pts., 9.6 rebounds and 11.2 assists. Not go get ahead of ourselves, but in case you are wondering, only three Buffs have ever finished a game with a triple-double. Chauncey Billups (24 pts., 11 boards, 11 assts. against George Mason (Dec. 2, 1995) in just his fourth career game. David Harrison recorded 20 pts., 10 rebounds and 11 blocks versus Nebraska (Mar. 8, 2003) and registered 31 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks against Stetson (Nov. 24, 2002). See page 4 for all Big 12 triples-doubles to date.
20/20 DEFENSE: Against Missouri and Kansas State, the Buffs allowed two 20-point scorers by an opponent. The last time an opponent had more than one player with 20 or more points against the Buffs was last season when Iowa State handed CU a home defeat, as Curtis Stinson (22), Will Blalock (20) and Tasheed Carr (20) reached the mark. Last season, CU allowed six different teams to account for at least two players with 20 or more points (four in conference play)...The Buffs were 1-5 in those games with the only win coming against Gardner-Webb.
REBOUNDING BY COMMITTEE: Five Buffs are averaging at least four rebounds per game in conference play: Roby (5.1), Julius Ashby (4.7), Calvin Williams (4.5), Chris Copeland (4.4), and Martane Freeman (4.4). Although Williams has only played in two conference games (Texas, and one minute vs. Kansas), Marcus King-Stockton is on the cusp of the mark, averaging 3.6 rebounds per game in conference play.
FREE THROW WOES: CU ranks 11th of 12 in the Big 12 in free throw percentage in conference play (.626). Richard Roby is the lone CU player ranked among the top-15 individuals in the conference (15th at .700).
RAINING THREE’S: After topping the 40 percent mark for three-pointers twice in non-conference play (.533 at Penn; .632 vs. Mercer), the Buffs have shot over the mark in four of their seven conference games. CU has reached double-digit totals in three-point field goals made four games of their last five conference games. CU performed a school-first with four straight games with 10 or more since the introduction of the three-point line in the 1986-87 season.
ROBY?RHYMES WITH KOBE: Two-time Big 12 Player-of-the-Week Richard Roby is coming off the best three-game stretch of his career (Jan. 18-Jan. 25). His 81 points (27.0 ppg) is easily his best scoring output of his career over a three-game span. Just for kicks, here’s how Roby’s numbers over the last three games stack up against Kobe Bryant’s historic 81-point effort against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
MIN FG-A 3FG-A PTS R A S B
Kobe 42 28-46 7-13 81 6 2 3 1
Roby 99 31-62 11-23 81 17 6 8 5
HALL BALL: Junior Marcus Hall had perhaps his best game of the season against Oklahoma State. His 16 points marked his second-highest total of the season (17 at TCU) and dished out six assists. Against Kansas State, Hall started with 12 points and season-best seven assists. Entering today, he’s 12th on CU’s all-time assist list (246).
THE STEAL CURTAIN: With a conference high 10 steals against the Cornhuskers, CU’s season total stands at 174. The single-season record is 285 by the 1994-95 Buffs, led by Keith Higgins (72) and Donnie Boyce (66). This season, the Buffs are on pace for 280, led by Roby (40) who has registered at least one steal in every game this season, capped by his six-steal performance against Oklahoma State. If he continues his 2.5 steals-per-game average, he will finish the season tied for seventh in single-season steals (66) and tied for fifth in steals per game.
NCAA STATS: As of Jan. 30, the Buffs are ranked among the best statistically in the 12 national team categories:
6th, Scoring Margin, 15.7
7th, Scoring Offense, 82.6
12th, Assists, 17.9
12th, Blocked Shots, 6.3
16th, 3-point FG Made, 8.9
20th, Steals, 9.7
25th, Rebounding Margin, 6.1
42nd, 3-pt. FG%, .382
"LS" INITIALS: If you notice the "LS" initials on each of the CU player uniforms that’s in memory of senior walk-on Scott Senger’s mother, Linda died of cancer last July. Scott played at nearby Monarch High School where set the school record for 3-pointers made in a season and most points scored.
MAKING A RUN at TREY HISTORY: Most likely the CU men’s team will break the school record in treys made in a season. What about the Big 12 Conference record? Here’s a look at each year to see how far the Buffs need to go (i know it’s a little early to speculate):
2005-06: Colorado 160 (2nd in Big 12)
2004-05: Texas 243
2003-04: Texas 227
2002-03: Baylor 254
2001-02: Nebraska 267
2000-01: Missouri 279
1999-00: Missouri 291
1998-99: Oklahoma 274
1997-98: Baylor 217
1996-97: Baylor 227
CLEANING THE GLASS: Marcus King-Stockton (career-best 11) and Julius Ashby (season-high 10) performed a CU first this season and the first since last year at Iowa State (Jan. 22, 2005), two players with 10 or more rebounds. Against the Cyclones, Ashby grabbed 13 and Glean Eddy had 11 in CU’s 54-52 overtime win in Ames. A CU win in Ames since Feb. 19, 1991.
TURNOVER BATTLE: The Buffs have committed fewer turnovers than their opponent in six of seven conference games this season, the exception was CU-12, Baylor-11. In 16 conference games last season?not including the tournament?the Buffs had fewer turnovers exactly half of the time. Surprisingly, CU was only 2-6 when turning the ball over less than the opponent.
MORE BUFF Tidbits: Richard Roby has scored double figures in 21 of his 23 career conference games (the other two were nine points) ... Roby holds the top five of CU’s top scoring games this season (33, 30, 29, 27, 22) ... CU has played with a different starting line up five times (see page 5) ... Glean Eddy has 366 career rebounds, 42nd all-time at CU, while Chris Copeland has 361 (43rd) ... Roby has led CU from the 3-point arc nine times this season (three shared) ... The Buffaloes have made 10 or more treys in eight games this season, including the last four of five games ... CU went 18+ minutes without committing a turnover in the second half against Kansas State (just had one in the second half), nine for the game, a Big 12 Conference low this season ... CU’s nine-game winning streak Nov. 26-Jan. 3) was the longest in school history since the 1961-62 season when the Buffaloes won 12-straight ... CU has made a 3-pointer in 124-straight games (last time CU they didn’t was Jan. 16, 2002, Iowa State, W, 63-61) ... The Buffs are shooting a staggering .603 from the free throw line (11th in the Big 12 ... Of the nine national categories kept by the NCAA located on page 6, Roby leads CU in seven of them. The only exceptions are blocked shots (Copeland) and assists (Hall) ... Copeland scored 17 points against K-State, the first time in three games he has netted double-digits ... Against OSU, Roby tied a CU record with six steals in a half (1st); his six steals also tied a CU conference high, a first for a CU player in the Big 12; And his six steals, tied five others as a sophomore best ... Roby collected his third career double-double versus Utah (19 pts., 10 rebs.) ... Andy Osborn recorded his second career double-double at CU, 17 pts., 10 rebounds against Cal Poly (four at Loyola Marymount) ... Roby failed to make a 3-pointer against SSU, ending his streak of 30 games going back to last season ... On page 10, a handful of CU players are moving upward on career school lists ... Seniors Chris Copeland, Glean Eddy, Antoine McGee, and Jayson Obazuaye close out their final year in 2005-06. It’s also the first senior class under Head Coach Ricardo Patton that four players will have played their freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years at CU.