Colorado University Athletics
MBB Hosts Longwood, Sunday Afternoon
COMPLETE NOTES ATTACHED
QUICKLY: Colorado has won 18-straight non-conference home games since the 2008-09 season including nine in a row at home dating back to last season GÇó The Buffs have won all their home games in 2010-11 season (6-0) GÇó If CU defeats Longwood, that will make five straight wins their longest since the 2005-06 season (nine-straight).
TEAM NOTES: Against The Citadel, CU shot a tied season-high in field goals made (34) and had a shooting percentage best 59.6 percent GÇó CU has won all six games when four players score 10 or more points GÇó CU has forced more turnovers than committed in all nine games and committed single-digit turnovers in five of nine games this season GÇó The Buffs are 6-1 when scoring 80 or more points GÇó CU shot a season-first 50 percent or better in both halves against The Citadel.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Andre Roberson became the first CU player to have a double-double this season (11pts., 10 rebs.) vs. The Citadel GÇó Austin Dufault reached the 500-point plateau of his career with eight points on Friday GÇó Austin Dufault reached the 500-point plateau of his career with eight points on Friday GÇó Cory Higgins tied Richard Roby for fifth place in career starts (102). Higgins moved past Donnie Boyce for fourth place in career minutes at 3540 minutes.
MORE INDIVIDUAL: Nate Tomlinson tied career-high eight assists against The Citadel (one turnover in 19 minutes) GÇó Alec Burks leads the team in scoring (18.2 ppg.); Andre Roberson leads on the glass (6.2 rpg.), steals (9 total), and blocks (7 total); Levi Knutson is shooting a team-best from the field (58.2 percent) GÇó In six home wins, Cory Higgins has 26 assists and 4 turnovers) and in three losses (2 assists, 11 turnovers) GÇó Against The Citadel and for the first time this season, Higgins did not lead the team in one of the five major stat categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) GÇó Burks is the only CU player to have scored in double digits every game this season GÇó Dufault and Marcus Relphorde are the only players to start every game GÇó Against The Citadel, it was the sixth time this season that Burks (19 points) and Higgins (18 points) finished one-two in scoring for the Buffs. The last time Higgins and Burks finished one-two was at Harvard (Nov. 28).
TODAY'S FEATURE is 6'10 junior forward Trey Eckloff. The Englewood, Colo. native has played in six games this season averaging 1.8 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. He is shooting 83.3 percent from the field (5-of-6). Last season he played in 15 games with one start (at Kansas State). Eckloff is a finance major and was named to CU's 4.0 GPA Club during the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 semesters.
SHARING THE BALL: For the first time since the 1996-97 season (and four other times before that), CU had two players with at least six or more assists in the same game in back-to-back contents. Against Texas-Pan American, Cory Higgins and Shannon Sharpe had seven and six assists, respectively. Last Saturday, against Oregon State, Marcus Relphorde recorded eight assists with Higgins adding six dimes. Upon further research, there was no record of two players having six or more assists in a single game in three consecutive games.
WINS/LOSSES: In six victories (all at home), the Buffs are averaging 87.3 points per game; shooting 52.7 percent from the floor, and outrebounding the opponent by five a game. Four players are averaging 10 or more points with a team average of 19.2 assists per contest. In three road losses, CU averages 73.7 points a game; shoots 41.2 percent from the floor, average only seven assists, and has two players in double digits (both over 20 a game).
SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Levi Knutson's six-3-pointers against Oregon State were the most since Richard Roby made six against Nebraska (Jan. 25, 2006). Knutson's eight FGs made ties a career-high GÇó Knutson is the first CU player other than Cory Higgins and Alec Burks to lead the Buffs in back-to-back scoring games since Dwight Thorne II led CU in scoring Jan. 31 (at Kansas) and Feb. 4 (Nebraska) during the 2008-09 season. Burks/Higgins have led CU in scoring outright 34 of the last 40 games.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS: With 1,544 career points, Cory Higgins is 22 points from seventh place on the school's all-time scoring list (Randy Downs: 112 games played, 1,566 pts., 1982-85). Here's a look at the other lists Higgins appears on: third in free throws made (445), fourth in career minutes (3,540), tied for fifth in game starts (102), sixth in steals (168) and FT attempts (547), and 14th in assists (252).
FIRST YEAR HELP: Freshman Andre Roberson leads the Buffaloes in rebounding (63) with 7.0 a game and blocked shots (12). He also leads on the offensive (21) and defensive glass (42). More impressively he has led the Buffs at the end of the game in a variety of categories: six times in blocks (twice shared), rebounding six times (three shared), three times in steals (once shared), and assists twice (both shared).
CHARITY STRIPE: Alec Burks and Cory Higgins have reached the free throw line 126 times combined after nine games. The pair have made 105 of them (83.3%). The rest of the team is 74-of-107 (69.2%).
2011-12 SEASON: The CU men's basketball team will be one of eight teams participating in the annual Honda Puerto Rico Tip-Off next season (Nov. 17, 18, 20) at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, in the cosmopolitan Hato Rey district of San Juan. The field for the fifth annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off includes CU, Alabama, Iona, Maryland and Wichita State, along with Purdue and Temple, which are ranked in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll at No. 8 and No. 22, respectively. The final team will be announced at a later date.