THE GAME: Colorado will host Colorado State on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7 p.m. at the Coors Events/Conference Center.
PROMOTIONS: Fans will be able to purchase tickets for just $1 and will receive a free CU T-shirt courtesy of CU Athletics and FSN Rocky Mountain while supplies last. This T-shirt will give fans free admission to all the men's and women's basketball non-conference home games this season. Fans can purchase these $1 tickets online at CUBuffs.com or at the Coors Events Center box office on the night of the game.
BROADCAST: Wednesday’s game will be televised by FSN Rocky Mountain. Marc Stout will handle play-by-play duties and will be joined by legendary CU coach Ceal Barry with the color commentary and Alanna Rizzo providing sideline reporting. All Colorado women’s basketball games can be heard live on KKZN AM 760. Mike Rice will deliver play-by-play of Wednesday’s game with Carol Callan of USA Basketball providing color commentary. Live internet audio of all CU basketball games is available through Yahoo! Sports.
OPENING TIP: Colorado is looking for its first 2-0 start since the 2003-04 season which was also the last season the Buffaloes made the NCAA Tournament.
SEASON OPENING SUCCESS: Brittany Spears had a game-high 23 points to lead Colorado to an 86-59 win over UCF Sunday afternoon at the Coors Events Center in the season opener for both teams.
Spears, just one off her career high of 24 points, set last season against Missouri, was 9-of-17 from the field with three 3-pointers and added eight rebounds and five steals.
She scored 15 of CU’s first 21 points as the Buffaloes built a 21-11 lead in the first 8:09 of the game. Spears totaled 18 points in the first half, a career-high for one period, as Colorado led 41-28 after the first 20 minutes.
The Buffaloes pressured UCF into 31 turnovers and held the Knights to just 34 percent from the field.
Colorado struggled from the free-throw line, making just 16 of 26 attempts and was outrebounded 52-35, but it was an overall good start for a team debuting a new starting back court. True freshman guard Alyssa Fressle fought off two early fouls to finish with 10 points, three rebounds and four steals. Sophomore point guard Kelly Jo Mullaney, making her official CU debut, had two points, three rebounds and one assist, but overall handled the UCF pressure well.
Colorado’s front court, the topic of much discussion during the off season, had a productive afternoon. Fifth-year senior center Kara Richards had 13 points on 5-of-6 from the field with seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Freshman Julie Seabrook came off the bench to score five points and four rebounds while Courtney Dunn had six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
The Buffaloes fell into a little foul trouble in the second half with Richards picking up her fourth foul with 16:27 remaining and Spears notching her fourth with 13:56 left, but the Buffaloes didn’t miss a beat.
Junior guard Bianca Smith took over from that point as the Buffaloes pulled away and led by as much as 33 late in the game. Smith had 14 of her 16 points in the second half, tied a personal best with six rebounds and added two assists and two steals. Senior guard/forward Hannah Skildum added nine points, a game-high five assists, three rebounds and two blocks.
ABOUT THE RAMS: Colorado State opened the season with a 76-69 overtime loss at Wichita State on Nov. 15. The Rams are led by first year coach Kristen Holt, who was actually a CSU assistant under Jen Warden in 2007-08. CSU is looking to build after struggling to a 4-28 record in 2007-08.
Senior forward Britney Minor and sophomore guard Bonnie Barbee each scored 16 points in the overtime loss whilee senior guard Kandy Beemer added 14. Junior Juanise Cornell, CSU’s top returning scorer from last season had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Cornell averaged 7.5 points and a team-best 6.7 rebounds for the Rams in 2007-08. Minor started 17 of CSU’s 32 games in 2007-08 averaging 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds. Barbee played in 22 games off the bench averaging 3.5 points and one rebound.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 40th meeting between Colorado and Colorado State, the second-most played non-conference series for the Buffaloes in team history (Wyoming-42). CU holds a 29-10 series lead over Colorado State and has won the last two and five of the last six meetings. The Buffaloes are 19-2 all-time against the Rams in Boulder, including the last three. CSU’s last win in Boulder was a 72-70 decision on Dec. 6, 2000.
This will be the earliest meeting between the two teams, in terms of number of games played, since they met in the second game of the 1982-83 season. This will be the earliest calandar date meeting between the two teams since they played on Nov. 16, 1979 - CU’s season opener. CU opened with Colorado State three times in a five-season span from 1975-79.
Kathy McConnell-Miller is 3-2 against Colorado State has a head coach, including an 2-1 mark with CU.
COLORADO AND COLORADO STATE, LAST 10 GAMES:
Date Result Date Result
12/1/07 (A) W, 82-47 12/12/02 (H) W, 65-51
11/29/06 (H) W, 56-51 11/28/01 (A) L, 69-81
11/30/05 (A) L, 83-86 12/6/00 (H) L, 70-72
12/8/04 (H) W, 83-77 12/1/99 (A) L, 67-73
12/3/03 (A) W, 81-74 11/30/93 (H) W, 75-55
ON THIS DATE: Colorado is 6-1 in games played on Nov. 16, including a 5-0 mark at home.
Colorado is 100-29 all-time in the month of November, including an 80-13 mark at home. The Buffaloes went 3-2 last November with wins at San Francisco and home against Rice and Northern Colorado. CU lost to USC on the road and Siena at home last November.
BUFFS IN OPENERS: Colorado improved to 30-5 (.857) all-time in season openers and an outstanding 33-2 (.942) all-time in home openers. Colorado has never lost its overall season opener when played at home (23-0).
HOUSTON TO MISS SEASON, DALE OUT UNTIL LATE DECEMBER: Junior guard Whitney Houston will miss the 2008-09 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee on Sept. 24 during team individual workouts. She had successful surgery in October and will be able to use her redshirt season and have two years of eligibility remaining.
Houston has averaged 6.1 points and 1.8 assists for the Buffaloes in 59 games over the past two seasons. She was a starter in 20 of those and was in the mix for the starting point guard position once again. Houston was CU’s leader in scoring (4.3 ppg) and assists (1.4 apg) among those that primarily came off the bench in 2007-08 and averaged 6.5 points and just under two assists over the final 15 games.
Additionally sophomore guard Chelsea Dale underwent successful surgery to stabilize ligaments in her right ankle in early September. Dale, who saw action in 12 games as a true freshman in 2007-08, is currently in rehabilitation and is expected to return in December.
BUFFS PICKED 11TH...AGAIN: For the third straight season Colorado was picked to finish 11th in the annaul Big 12 Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
Oklahoma was picked to win the 2009 title with seven first place votes and 124 points overall. Texas, earning one first place vote, edged out Iowa State for second place with 95 points. The Cyclones, who actually claimed a pair of first place votes came in third with 93. Baylor was fourth with 89 (and one first place vote), followed by Texas A&M (85), Oklahoma State (79, and one first place vote), Kansas State (71), Nebraska (56), Kansas (41), Texas Tech (36), Colorado (18) and Missouri (15).
The Buffaloes have fared better than the Big 12 coaches preseason prediction each of the last three seasons under Kathy McConnell-Miller:
Season Preseason Actual
2008-09 11th ??
2007-08 11th 9th
2006-07 11th t-7th
2005-06 12th 11th
TOUGH SCHEDULE: Colorado once again faces a tough schedule with no less than 17 games against 2008 NCAA or WNIT tournament teams. Seven of CU’s opponents are ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Baylor, Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma State and Iowa State. Six of those seven are ranked in the first regular season Associated Press poll, with Iowa State the second team listed in the others receiving votes category. Kansas State, Nebraska, Texas Tech and Minnesota recevied votes in the coaches poll while K-State joined ISU in the AP receiving votes group.
HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 323-98 all-time record at the Coors Events/Conference Center (.767). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CECC in 20 of the previous 30 years including a 15-6 mark in 2007-08. The Buffaloes have enjoyed five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94) at the CECC.
BUFFS ON TV: Colorado’s schedule features seven games that will be televised either regionally or nationally, all at home and on FSN Rocky Mountain. The Buffaloes will host Nebraska on Saturday, Jan. 31 in a nationally televised contest on FSN. Other games on CU’s FSN Rocky Mountain schedule are Colorado State (Nov. 19), Baylor (Jan. 10), Oklahoma (Jan. 21), Texas Tech (Jan. 28), Iowa State (Feb. 7) and Missouri (Feb. 28).
UP NEXT: Colorado will face its first road test of the season as the Buffaloes travel to No. 16(AP)/11(WBCA) Virginia on Monday, Nov. 24, at 5 p.m. MST in Charlottesville, Va.
