Colorado University Athletics
MBB Hosts Cal State Northridge
GÇó Date: Tuesday, Dec. 22 GÇó Tipoff: 5:37 p.m. (MST) GÇó Television: FSN Rocky Mountain
GÇó Announcers: Drew Goodman (p-b-p), Ceal Barry (analyst), Alanna Rizzo (sideline)
GÇó Location: Coors Events Center (11,064)
GÇó CU Radio: 760-AM: Mark Johnson (p-b-p), Charles Johnson (analyst)
GÇó Series vs. Cal State Northridge: Colorado leads 2-0
Colorado Probable Starters
Pos/NoPlayer Ht Wt Yr Hometown PPG RPG APG
G 5 Marcus Relphorde 6-7 220 Jr. Chicago, Ill. 9.4 3.0 2.0
G 10 Alec Burks 6-6 185 Fr. Grandview, Mo. 16.1 4.3 1.8
G 11 Cory Higgins 6-5 190 Jr. Danville, Calif. 19.7 3.4 2.4
G 12 Dwight Thorne II 6-3 185 Sr. Arlington, Texas 7.4 2.3 1.6
F 33 Austin Dufault 6-9 230 So. Killdeer, N.D. 7.8 4.4 1.2
OFF THE BENCH
G 1 Nate Tomlinson 6-3 185 So. Sydney, Australia 6.5 3.3 4.4
F 34 Casey Crawford 6-9 245 Jr. Overland Park, Kan. 3.4 2.2 0.5
G 35 Keegan Hornbuckle 6-7 205 Fr. Westlake Village, Calif. 3.5 2.3 0.8
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE Probable Starters
Pos/NoPlayer Ht Wt Yr Hometown PPG RPG APG
G 3 Mark Hill 5-11 175 Sr. Los Angeles, Calif. 5.19 1.3 1.7
G 21 Raymond Cody 6-5 180 Jr. Lancaster, Calf. 6.4 1.9 1.3
F 5 Lenny Daniel 6-7 210 Jr. Richmond, Va. 10.7 7.3 1.0^
F 20 Kenny Daniels 6-4 210 Sr. St. Louis, Mo. 16.0 3.6 1.7
F 42 Michael Lizarraga 6-7 230 Jr. Dixon, Calif. 3.0 3.1 0.4
^ - blocks
QUICKLY: Colorado leads the series 2-0 against the Matadors with both wins coming in Boulder GÇó Last played Jan. 17, 1994 (100-85) and Nov. 23, 1990 (113-89) GÇó The last time the Buffs scored 100 points occurred Jan. 3, 2006 (116-52, Savannah State) GÇó CU is 5-0 at home to begin the season, the last time they began a home season 6-0 in Boulder was 2005-06 (7-0).
CSU NORTHRIDGE UPDATE: The Matadors are the defending Big West champions and bring a 4-6 record into Boulder, in addition to a three-game losing streak. They were selected to finish third overall in the Big West Preseason Poll behind Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. Cal State Northridge also brings an 0-4 road record into Boulder having lost at Purdue (89-64), Western Kentucky (68-67), Washington (88-76) and Denver (89-82). The Matadors have had nine different starters on the young season and return to their home state to begin conference play Jan. 2 at Pacific.
WHAT'S AHEAD: CU continues the non-conference portion of the schedule with three more games before opening the Big 12 season on the road at nationally ranked Texas (Sat., Jan. 9). After the Matadors, CU hosts Yale (Tue., Dec. 29), travel to Tulsa (Jan. 2) and host Miami-Ohio (Tue., Jan. 5).
TODAY'S POSTER FEATURE: Freshman guard Alec Burks takes a turn on the sixth game day poster of the season. The Grandview, Mo. native is second on the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 16.1 points and 4.3 rebound per game. He's shooting a team-best 57.4 percent from the field with 10 starts. Burks has five games where he has scored 18 or more points, including pair of 20+ point efforts. He has led CU in scoring four times (twice shared), three times in rebounding (one shared), steals and assists twice, and blocks once. After 10 games, Burks ranks as the second-best freshman in points per game average, only behind Chauncey Billups (17.9, 1995-96).
ON THE ROAD: Even though the NCAA determined the Buffaloes' 73-58 win over Chaminade at the EA Sports Maui Invitational was declared a road victory, the Buffs still have an 20-game skid against Division I opponents on the road. CU's last road win came on Dec. 22, 2007 at Colorado State, 73-70.
BROADCAST: All Colorado men's basketball games can be heard live on KKZN AM 760. Mark Johnson will deliver play-by-play with Charles Johnson color commentary. Live internet audio of all CU basketball games is available on BuffsRadio, a subscription service through CUBuffs. com. Live internet video streaming of Sunday's game is available on BuffsTV, also a subscription service through CUBuffs.com. Please note the BuffsRadio audio and Buffs TV video are separate subscriptions.
SUPER FRESHMAN: Alec Burks has started all 10 games and netted over 10 or more points in every game. With 161 points, he ranks third among other CU greats in their freshman year. Top of the list is Chauncey Billups (204, 1995-96) and Emmett Lewis (175, 1975-76). Only Billups, Roby and Lewis have at least made it to 10-straight games with 10 or more points. Lewis is the only one with 11-straight games.
TOP CU FRESHMEN: If the season ended today, freshman guard Alec Burks would rank second among freshmen scorers in the school's history. Here's the top-five to-date.
1. Chauncey Billups 17.9 1995-96
2. Alec Burks 16.1 2009-10
3. Richard Roby 15.8 2004-05
4. Emmett Lewis 15.0 1975-76
5. Donnie Boyce 14.9 1991-92
THREE-YEAR REVIEW: Coach Bzdelik has 102 career collegiate wins GÇó CU has scored 80 points in five of 10 games this season (previously 80+ five games in his first two years) GÇó Team has shot 50 percent or better in 12 of 20 halves GÇó have made 65 3-pointers, the most in three years after 10 games GÇó team is shooting .495, another three-year best.
CLOSE CALLS: During the last three plus years, the CU men's team has suffered 46 losses. If you take a closer look, 23 of those losses were by single-digits, an average of 4.6 points.
2009-10: 3 games (13 points, 4.3 ppg.)
2008-09: 11 games (three non-conference, eight Big 12 games): 50 points (4.5 ppg.)
2007-08: 9 games (three non-conference, six Big 12 games): 43 total points (4.8 ppg.).
HIGGINS UPDATE: Cory Higgins has led the team in scoring seven of 10 games (one shared); has six 20-plus scoring efforts with 28 points against Arizona, his third highest scoring game, in addition to 18 career 20-point efforts GÇó Scored 1,001 career points (26th at CU) GÇó Started every game as a Buff (73), ranking t-15th GÇó 13th in career steals (110) GÇó 15th in minutes played (2,548) GÇó 27th in assists (180) GÇó Last season , Higgins was one of 13 players nationally to lead team in 5 categories GÇó 2008-09 All-Big 12 Third Team; 1st Big 12-only steals (1.9 apg.).
10-GAME REVIEW: CU's 5-0 home start matches the 2005-06 season for wins at home to begin the season GÇó CU has made a three-pointer in 236 consecutive games (seventh overall in the Big 12) GÇó CU's 47 points in the first half against CCU set a season high for most points scored in the first half. The amount was a point less for first half points since Jan. 6, 2007 vs. Texas when they scored 48 first half points GÇó CU is 6-2 this season when leading at the half GÇó CU has scored at least 70 points in eight of 10 games GÇó CU has had at least 3 players in double digits in nine of 10 games (at Colorado State, two players).
MAUI INVITATIONAL WRAP: The Buffaloes lost a pair of close games in their first-ever visit at the EA Sports Maui Invitational falling to Gonzaga, 76-72 and Arizona, 91-87 (overtime). CU defeated Chaminade on day three, 73-58. In the first game against the Bulldogs, four players scored double-digits with Cory Higgins scoring a team-high 19 points with six rebounds. The following day, the Buffs, again placed four players in double-figures with Higgins and Alec Burks scoring 28 and 20 points, respectively. On day three, the Buffs received 13 points each from Burks and Marcus Relphorde against Chaminade.
BUFF NOTES (individual): Austin Dufault recorded his first career double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds); he's the first CU player to tally a double-double since Cory Higgins last year (Western State, 24 pts., 10 rebounds) GÇó Nate Tomlinson scored a career-best 20 points, he's the first CU player other than Higgins and Dwight Thorne to score 20 or more in a game since Richard Roby scored 22 at Oklahoma State (Feb. 6, 2008) GÇó Tomlinson had a career-high eight assists against Gonzaga and Chaminade, also had a career-best five steals against the Silverswords GÇó CU placed a pair of 20-point scorers against Arizona (Higgins 28, Tomlinson 20), that's twice this year with a pair w/ a least 20+ a game (the other, Texas Southern) GÇó Alec Burks tallied 19 points against Arizona, his second highest scoring game and seventh game over double-digits GÇó Associate Head Coach has replaced Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik four of the 10 games this season due to family concerns. McClain went 2-2, however Coach Bzdelik is credited with the wins/losses.