Colorado University Athletics
MBB To Play No. 5 Seed Texas in OKC
CU vs. texas... Texas leads the head-to-head series, 12-8 and a 2-1 edge on neutral courts (Big 12 Tournament games). Texas also leads 11-5 in Big 12 games (including neutral sites) and has won four in a row in the series. CU last defeated UT during the 2004-05 season, sweeping the ?Horns in Boulder & the Big 12 BB Championships in Kansas City, becoming the first No. 11 seed to beat a No. 6 seed.
vs. 5th seed Texas Longhorns (20-10, 9-7 Big 12 Conference)
Wednesday, March 11, 1 p.m. (MST.)
Arena: Ford Center (18,878). Television: Big 12 Network (Altitude Sports & Entertainment)
Announcers: Mitch Holthus (p-b-p), Stephen Howard (analyst).
Radio: KKZN 760-AM; Announcers: Mark Johnson (p-b-p), Charles Johnson (analyst)
Complete Notes with probable lineups and statistics at the bottom of page
SINGLE-DIGITS... CU has dropped 11 single-digit losses this season, including eight in the Big 12 (an average of 5.2 points). The 11 games lost in single digits is an average of 4.5 points. Two of those came against Texas and Kansas State in overtime. Last year, the Buffaloes dropped 10 games by single-digits (seven against Big 12 opponents).
ALL-BIG 12... Cory Higgins was named to the Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Conference third team. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, Higgins becomes the 14th CU player to be selected to either the first, second or third conference teams. He is the sixth third team selection and second straight in as many years to be named to the third team.
Higgins, a sophomore guard from Danville, Calif. leads the Buffaloes in a majority of categories including points, rebounds, steals, free throws/attempts, defensive and total rebounds and minutes played. He also ranks second in assists and blocked shots, and ranks third in three-pointers made. Throughout the 2008-09 season, Higgins was the only Big 12 player and a handful of Division I athletes to lead his team in four categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals).
LAST game vs. Texas (Feb. 14)... Cory Higgins scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds, however Texas managed to outscore the Buffaloes by a 13-4 margin in overtime to escape with a 85-76 win over CU in Boulder. Jermyl Jackson-Wilson and Dwight Thorne II each added 10 points, respectively. Freshman Austin Dufault played a season-high 42 minutes, scoring eight points with five rebounds. The Buffaloes trailed by as many as 15 points, tied the game at 72 when Jackson-Wilson sank two free throws with 7.6 seconds left. CU scored a good portion of their 76 points from the free throw line, tying a season-best 25 from the charity stripe, a 14-of-14 performance all in the second half.
LOOK AT thE longhorns... Texas is 3-3 since defeating CU on Valentine’s Day in Boulder with three wins at home and three losses on the road. Texas defended the home court in conference home games with a 6-2 record with losses to K-State and Mizzou by an average of four points. On the neutral court, Texas was 3-2 with wins over St. Joe’s, Oregon and Villanova; losses to Notre Dame and Michigan State by an average of 2.5 points.
head coaches... Wednesday’s matchup with Texas is also a matchup between CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik and UT’s Rick Barnes. Former assistants at Davidson (N. C.) from 1978-80, Barnes leads the head-to-head series having won at Texas last season 69-67 and in Boulder this season 85-76 (ot).
CONFERENCE LEADERS... Cory Higgins finished his sophomore season ranked among Big 12 leaders. Higgins finished ranked in seventh categories and Dwight Thorne in three of them.
Scoring 6th Higgins 17.7 ppg.
FG % 7th Higgins .456
FT % 7th Higgins .824
Steals 1st Higgins 2.1
t-13th Thorne II 1.2
3-pt FG% 5th Thorne II .424
Def. Reb. 11th Higgins 4.1
Minutes t-2nd Higgins 37.5
7th Thorne II 34.8
Rebounding t-19th Higgins 4.7
BUFF TIDBITS (team)... CU has lost 11-straight games, a first since the 1985-86 season when they lost their last 17 games of the season ... CU’s next loss will be a school-first, 22 losses in the 108-year history ... The Buffs ended the season with the Big 12 record 29 consecutive road losses. Previous mark was Baylor, 25 (2004-07) ... The Buffs have played three OT games this season, the most since playing three in the 2000-01 season (1-2). The last time they played four OTs in a season happened in 1959-60 ... In the 108-year history of CU basketball, the Buffs have lost 20 games in three-straight seasons .... CU has made a three-pointer in 225-consecutive games (7th in the Big 12) ... CU led at the half in their last two games (Texas A&M and at Kansas State).
BUFF TIDBITS (individual)... Cory Higgins played 600 conference minutes, nine short of trying Marcus Hall’s 609 school record set last year ... Higgins has 11 games this season over 20 or more points (a pair over 30 pts.) ... In Big 12 play, Cory Higgins has led the team in scoring nine times, Dwight Thorne (four times). Austin Dufault, Ryan Kelley, and Levi Knutson have led the team once ... Higgins has led his team in scoring and in rebounding in the same game 10 times this season ... Dufault, Higgins, Thorne II have started all 30 games; Tomlinson has started every game he has played in (27) and has missed three games due to injury (TCU, OSU, BU).
MOre TEAM NOTES... CU scored 29 bench points against Texas A&M, the second time in four games the bench has scored over 29+ points ... The CU bench scored 38 points compared to only 17 points by CU starters versus the Cowboys (Feb. 25) ... Against OSU, CU committed only eight turnovers, the sixth time the Buffs committed single-digit turnovers this season ... CU’s 46-41 loss at Nebraska was the lowest point total (87 pts.) since March 5, 1960 (CU 41, Oklahoma State 39 in Stillwater) ... CU made five 3-pointers in the first half at Nebraska, that’s a team-high in 12 conference games for three-pointers in the first half, second most behind six treys made against Arkansas-Pine Bluff ... The Buffs out-rebounded the Cornhuskers 35-25 (Feb. 18) and for the first time all conference season out-rebounded a Big 12 opponent and by double-digits ... CU’s 76 points scored against Texas (Feb. 14) was the most points scored by a CU team since netting 80 against Coppin State at the Rainbow Classic ... The Buffs were 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the second half against the Longhorns and finished 25-of-29 (.862). Shooting over 70 percent has happened 11 times in 16 league outings for the Buffs.
HIGGINS CAREER WATCH... Already in his second season, Cory Higgins ranks among the all-time leaders in school history...
14th 583 season points
34th 151 assists
45th 799 points
20th 92 steals
21st 2188 career minutes
22nd 62-starts
FT RECORD HOLDER... Cory Higgins reigns as the CU and the Big 12 free throw record holder with 45-straight made free throws over eight games. Since then, he rattled off another 23-straight over three games ending at Texas Tech.
40+MINUTES... Cory Higgins, Dwight Thorne, Nate Tomlinson and Austin Dufault are the only players to have played 40-plus minutes in a game this season. Higgins has done it five times this season, followed by once by Thorne II, Tomlinson and Dufault, all in overtime games.
35+MINUTE MEN... More impressively the same four players have recorded 35-plus minutes a number of times. Cory Higgins in 24 games; Dwight Thorne 15 games; Nate Tomlinson 12 times, and Austin Dufault seven games.
CU IN THE PRO WORLD... There is a number of CU basketball members with ties to the professional ranks. From head coach Jeff Bzdelik to the three student-athletes.
Coach Bzdelik: Head Coach of the Denver Nuggets (2002-05);
Casey Crawford: father, Steve played with the Boston Red Sox;
Austin Dufault: cousin-in-law, Fred Hoiberg played with the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Currently the Assistant General Manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Dwight Thorne II: cousin, Acie Law IV played for the Texas A&M Aggies and great uncle, Ernie Banks played with the Cubs.
Work in progress... Although Coach Bzdelik and his team have had their ups and downs in his second year and with the tough conference season ahead, let’s take a look at three of the school’s all-time winningest coaches in football, men’s and women’s basketball in their second season.
Football: Bill McCartney, 13 seasons (1982-1994), 93-55-5 (.624): 4-7 in second year.
Men’s BB: Sox Walseth, 20 seasons (1957-76), 261-245 (.516): 8-15 in second year.
Women’s BB: Ceal Barry, 22 seasons (1983-2005), 427-242 (.638), 6-22 in second year.
FG%... During non-conference play, the Buffs shot above 50 percent from the floor eight out of 14 games, going 6-2. That is the most .500 shooting games since the 2000-01 season when the Buffs recorded eight games of .500 or better shooting. The last time CU recorded more than eight games of shooting .500 or better from the floor in non-conference play was the 1985-86 season when they went 8-2 in 10 games. Ironically, the Buffs were also 8-6 after non-conference play in the 1985-86 season, Tom Miller’s first as Colorado’s head coach, unfortunately the Buffs finished the season on a 17-game losing streak going 0-15 in conference play (0-1 in the Big 8 Tournament).
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).
CU SINCE 1996-97... In the 13-year history of the Big 12 Conference, CU is shooting a team-best from the free throw line.
Years PPG FG % 3-Pt.% FT% To W’s
2008-09 63.2 .458 .350 .724 14.1 9
2007-08 62.4 .451 .343 .684 13.4 12
2006-07 69.1 .417 .313 .655 17.5 7
2005-06 76.8 .434 .342 .646 14.0 20
2004-05 71.6 .435 .353 .629 14.4 14
2003-04 74.2 .464 .372 .621 14.6 18
2002-03 75.2 .443 .326 .669 14.0 20
2001-02 79.7 .453 .357 .677 17.0 15
2000-01 80.6 .460 .359 .715 16.5 15
1999-00 75.2 .426 .339 .686 14.3 18
1998-99 73.1 .414 .344 .702 14.7 18
1997-98 71.4 .404 .346 .688 14.3 13
1996-97 73.1 .420 .362 .681 13.9 22
RAINBOW CLASSIC RECAP... CU went 1-2 over the three days with its lone win coming on the opening day against Coppin State. CU sophomore Cory Higgins was named to the All-Tournament team leading the Buffaloes in scoring in every game and averaging 18 points a game. He also recorded his first career double-double (21 pts., 10 rebs.) against Coppin State. CU averaged 66.3 ppg., shot .489 from the field (69-of-141) with an impressive .852 from the free throw line (46-of-54). All-Tourney Team: Cory Higgins, Colorado; Calvin Betts, Buffalo; Roderick Flemings, Hawai?i; Mike Trimboli, Vermont; Marcus Walker, Colorado State; Andy Robinson, Buffalo (MVP).
FALL 2008 SEMESTER... The team G.P.A. for the spring semester was 2.713 ranking as the second highest GPA for the men’s basketball team since the Spring of 1999 (Spring 2001 was the highest at 2.74). The CU men had nine student-athletes with a 2.9 grade point average or higher. The team also has four student-athletes with a 3.0 or better G.P.A. (Trent Beckley, Austin Dufault, Trey Eckloff, Levi Knutson).
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. It’s 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.
VOLUNTEERS... One Saturday, Dec. 6, the CU men’s basketball team and more than 150 community volunteers teamed up to deliver gift baskets to nearly 1,000 low-income families. The CU men’s team visited the Golden West senior residence in Boulder. The program was associated with RSVP of Boulder County.
HAWAII BOUND...AGAIN... The Buffaloes will be making another trip to the Hawaiian Islands playing in the 2009-10 Maui Invitational. The dates are Nov. 23-25 (Mon.-Wed.) of Thanksgiving week. It will be CU’s first-ever appearance in Maui hosted by Division II college Chaminade, and sponsored by EA Sports. The Buffaloes will be one of eight schools participating in the 26th edition of the tournament. Joining CU next year will be Arizona, Cincinnati, Gonzaga, Maryland, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin.
CU Assistants... Joining Coach Bzdelik on his staff for his second year is a trio of the finest basketball minds in the game today.
Steve McClain, Associate Head Coach
- 22 years of coaching experience
- Won 157 games in nine years as the head coach at the University of Wyoming;
recorded the most regular season victories (60) of any Mountain West Conference head coach
- Four NIT appearances, One NCAA Appearance
- Led Hutchinson to the Junior College 1994 National Championship and earned National JC Coach of the Year honors.
Derrick Clark, Assistant Coach
- Brings 11 years of coaching experience and his fourth season with Coach Bzdelik
- Helped direct Air Force to a 50-16 record during his two-years in Colorado Springs
- Assisted USAFA to the 2005-06 NCAA Tournament and 2006-07 NIT Final Four
- As an assistant at Metro State, helped the Roadrunners to a pair of NCAA Division National Championships.
Charles Baker, Assistant Coach
- Brings 20 years of coaching expertise
- Returns to the Big 12 Conference after
spending six years with K-State (2000-06)
- At K-State, helped assemble a trio of Top 25 recruiting classes and assisted the recruiting of three consensus Top-100 players
- Only head coaching stint, turned Shorter Junior College into a consistent winner lead
ing his teams to four consecutive Arkansas State Junior College championships, and four-straight 20-win seasons.
20012-13 CLASS... On Nov. 12, the CU mbb team announced that Alec Burks, Keegan Hornbuckle, and Shane Harris-Tunks officially signed National Letters of Intent.
“With the signing of these three young men, once again we have taken a major step toward creating the vision for this program,” Bzdelik said. “All three are highly skilled, highly intelligent and play with a competitive spirit.”
Burks is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Grandview, Mo., is a skilled left-handed player who is capable of playing point-guard and will fit CU’s system because of his ability to shoot from distance and slash to the basket. He committed to CU over Kansas State.
Hornbuckle is a 6-foot-6 small forward from Los Angeles, Calif., is a smooth shooter with deep three-point range and the ability to finish above the rim in transition. Hornbuckle helped Campbell Hall High to a 31-5 record as a junior in 2007. He is rated as the No. 34 small forward/shooting guard by Scout.com. Hornbuckle selected CU over Arizona and Arizona State.
Harris-Tunks is a 6-foot-11 center/forward from Sydney, Australia, will join current CU freshman guard Nate Tomlinson, who also hails from Sydney. Harris-Tunks is the third recruit to sign with the Buffaloes, selected CU over Vanderbilt and Gonzaga.
Harris-Tunks spent the last year and a half at the Australian Institute of Sport, a prestigious academy that has college like demands both athletically and academically.
2007-08 Review... Here are a few tidbits from last year’s team in case you missed it:
? Nine losses by an average of 4.8 points
? Defense allowed oppts. 64.4 ppg. ? lowest in 46 years
? 13.4 turnovers a game ? lowest in 28 years 12.9 turnovers in Big 12 play ? lowest by a CU team in 12-year history of the Big 12
? Conference-only games, finished third overall in FG% (.448)
? Team shot .684 percentage from the free throw line, team-best since 2000-01 (.715)
? In conference play/conference tournament, lost by: one point; two points; four points; five points; six points; seven points
? CU’s win over Baylor in the Big 12 Championship tournament marked the first time a No. 12 seed has defeated a No. 5 seed in the Big 12 tournament
? Shot over 50 percent from the field 11 times
? CU shot a season-best 62 percent from the field for the game at Texas A&M (school second-best .773 from the field in the second half)