Colorado University Athletics
MBB Travels to Stanford
FOR STARTERS (individual)... Cory Higgins is CUGÇÖs statistical leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals, minutes played. Higgins has led CU in rebounding three of the last four games and in scoring twice (one shared) ... Dwight Thorne II has made at least one three-pointer in every game this season, and in six consecutive games dating back to last season - a career long ... CU has four players who are shooting over 50 percent (min. of 15 attempts) ... Thorne II is shooting a team-best .643 percent from the field (18-of-28) ... Jermyl Jackson-Wilson has a blocked shot in every game and leads the team with five. JJW grabbed a career-best 11 defensive rebounds against Lafayette tallying his fifth career 10+rebounding game ... Coach Bzdelik won his 90th career collegiate game on Tuesday.
COMPLETE Notes located at the bottom of the page.
FOR STARTERS (team)... CU has placed four players in scoring double-digits in all four games ... The Buffs are shooting .508 from the field ... The game at Stanford is CUGÇÖs first and only road game until the Buffs head to Hawaii for the Rainbow Classic (Dec. 28-30). CU wraps up a home-and-home with SMU with a Jan. 5 game in Dallas ... CU has been outrebounded three of four games (except Harvard) ... CU starters are averaging 57.3 ppg., while the bench is adding 18 ppg. .... The Buffs will look for a 4-1 start to match the 2005-06 team that started 10-1 ... CU and Stanford each play two common opponents (Colorado State and Texas Tech) ... CU has made a 3-pointer in 199-straight games (spanning since the 2001-02 season) ... CU is 3-0 when shooting over 50 percent from the field ... CUGÇÖs 11 steals against Lafayette were the most thefts since getting 13 at NCAA Tournament bound Kansas State last year (Mar, 4, 2008).
STANFORD & PAC-10... CU is 3-6 all-time against Stanford and 38-39 versus the Pacific-10. Last year in Boulder, the Cardinal held a 38-21 rebounding edge, shot 48 percent from the field and broke open a three-point halftime lead into a 42-21 second half surge for a 67-43 win. Stanford sent three players in double-figures, while CU countered with a pair most notably Cory Higgins with 10 points and six rebounds (all defensive).
STANFORD UPDATE... The Cardinal are 3-0 on the season with a pair of home against CSU-Northridge (103-85) and Air Force (76-57), played on Wednesday. Stanford opened the season with a 75-67 winner at Yale. The Cardinal returns seven letterwinners and three starters from last yearGÇÖs 28-8 Sweet 16 team. First-year head coach Johnny Dawkins (Duke ?86) is the second former Blue Devil-turned college coach that the Buffs will play in a week (Harvard coached by Tommy Amaker, Duke ?87). Dawkins was the 1986 National Player of the Year and the schoolGÇÖs all-time leading scorer.
ON THIS DAY (Nov. 29)...CU is 8-3 on this date in history having last played at UNC Wilmington during the 2006-07 season. CU lost 67-55. Prior to that game, the Buffs had won eighth straight. They are also 1-2 on the road.
LAST GAME RECAP... Sophomore guard Cory Higgins scored a career-high 24 points, and junior Dwight Thorne II added 14 points leading CU over Lafayette, 73-59, Tuesday. The Leopards, who never led, have lost three in a row falling to 2-3. CUGÇÖs win was their first-ever victory against Lafayette and the Patriot League. For the fourth straight game, CU (3-1) received balanced scoring. Freshman Austin Dufault added 11 points ? his fourth consecutive game with 10 or more points, in addition to point-guard Nate Tomlinson with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jermyl Jackson-Wilson grabbed a career-high 11 defensive rebounds. CU shot 22-of-43 (51.2 percent) from the field and hit 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) from the free throw line, while Lafayette only managed 35.1 percent from the field (20-of-57). The Buffs also capitalized on their quickness racking up a season-high 11 steals compared to LafayetteGÇÖs four.
CECC RECORD...maybe a school record? Sophomore guard Cory Higgins was the first CU student-athlete to lead the team in rebounds AND assists the first two games of any season since 1973-74. ItGÇÖs a Coors Events Conference Center mark (building opened in 1979). The research was stopped at the 1972-73 season because assists were not kept. So, in the last 35 years, no CU player has led his team in rebounding AND assists in the first two games of the season.
3-POINT STREAK... Dating back to the 2001-02 season, CU has made a 3-pointer in 199 consecutive games. Last time they failed to make at least one trey was Jan. 16, 2002 against Iowa State in Boulder. The Buffs won 63-61.
MORE TEAM NOTES... CU shot 50% from the field in both halves against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Harvard and Lafayette - all wins ... The Buffaloes made 10 three-pointers from the new NCAA 3-point line of 20GÇÖ9" against Pine Bluff. The 10 treys the most since making 10 against Oklahoma State (Feb. 3, 2007) ... CU is playing a school-record eight home games before Christmas (previous high was seven set five times, most recently 1998-99) ... Entering the 2008-09 season, CUGÇÖs starting lineup may consist of freshmen and sophomores. It will be the schoolGÇÖs youngest starting five to play at one time since 1985-86 when four freshmen, one sophomore started three straight games ... For the 12th time in school history a CU team will have at least five freshmen on a roster ... CU plays nine non-conference home games, the most of any season since 1995-96 (nine). This season will be the first time playing Lafayette, Coppin State, George Washington (pending), Vermont (pending).
YOUTH MOVEMENT... A combination of 10 underclassmen (five freshmen and five sophomores) highlight the roster matching one of the youngest CU teams in history. Back in 2006-07, CU had 10 underclassmen (eight freshmen), in addition to the 1992-93 season (four freshmen, six sophomores).