Colorado University Athletics
Men's Hoops Hosts Fresno State, Wednesday
Wednesday, Dec. 7, 7:02 p.m. (MST); Coors Events Center (11,043)|
Television: None. Live video can be seen on BuffsTV, a subscription service through CUBuffs.com
760 KKZN: Mark Johnson (pbp), Chris Lewis (analyst).
Satellite Radio: Sirius Channel 92; XM Channel 190
Series vs. Fresno State: Bulldogs lead the series, 2-1 and have not played against one another since 1974. FSU has won two straight.
CU vs. WAC: The Buffs are 28-18 against Western Athletic Conference and last played a WAC school, lost at New Mexico St., 75-71, Nov. 27, 2002.
QUICKLY: Colorado plays eight home games in a row with five non-conference throughout December and three Pac-12 Conference games during the first week of January GÇó CU has won 26-straight non-conference home games GÇó CU's three losses have all been by single digits (5.7 ppg.). CU's four-year total of single-digit losses is now 30 (3.6 ppg.) GÇó CU is shooting a 16-year best from the 3-point arc (39 percent) GÇó Excluding the home opener, the Buffs average win margin of three victories is 3.3 points, three losses are 5.7 points.
NATIONAL LEADERS: Andre Roberson is third nationally in rebounding (12.0 rpg.) only behind sophomore Mike Moser (UNLV, 12.6) and junior Thomas Robinson (Kansas, 12.1). Roberson also ranks 13th nationally in double-doubles (4). Nate Tomlinson is 75th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) and Carlon Brown is 173rd in FG% at 46.3 percent.
1940-41 REVISTED (71 years ago): That's the last season when CU played single-digit games in six of seven games at the start of the season. Frosty Cox' team went 4-3 with two of three losses by single-digits; all four wins by single-digits. That season Sox' team went 10-6 - with nine of the 10 victories coming in single-digits.
LOOKING FOR 20 POINTS: Last season the Buffs had at least one 20-point scorer in 29 of 38 games. CU's last three games they have not reached a 20-pointer scorer, matching a three-game span last year (K-State, KU, Texas Tech). The last time CU had four games in a row under 20 points occurred in 2006-07 during the conference slate (Texas A&M, ISU, NU, Mizz.).
FT WOES: CU has shot under 60.0 percent from the charity stripe in each of the past three games, the first time since the 2005-06 season (three straight against Mercer, Dartmouth, and Savannah State - all CU wins). The Buffs are No. 296th nationally out of 338 Division I teams. Denver is first at 83.2 percent.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Freshman guards Askia Booker and Spencer Dinwiddie are already paying dividends early in their career. Booker is averaging 10.5 points and 71.4 FT percentage over his last four games; Dinwiddie, a starter in all seven games, scored a game-high 16 points with seven rebounds in the home win over Georgia, and another 16-point, eight rebounds at CSU.
MAN ON THE BOARDS: After the win at Air Force game, Coach Boyle told AP one word that described Andre Roberson, "He is a madman." Averaging nearly a double-double (9.7 ppg., 12.0 rpg.) and looking to become CU's first double-double guy since Stephane Pelle in 2001-02 (12.8 ppg., 10.8 rpg), Roberson has nine career doubles, four this year. In addition to 18 games w/ 10 or more rebounds. Against Georgia, Roberson tied a career-best 15 rebounds.
AGAINST FRESNO STATE: The Bulldogs lead the series, 2-1 and have not played against one another since 1974. Fresno State has won two straight with the last meeting occurring Dec. 7, 1974: 78-75 in Boulder. CU/FSU are 1-1 in Boulder, while the Buffs are 0-1 in Fresno. The Buffs are 28-18 against the Western Athletic Conference and last played a WAC school in 2002 (lost at New Mexico State, 75-71, Nov. 27, 2002).
AGAINST WYOMING: The Cowboys lead the all-time series dating back to 1908, 40-35, however CU leads in Boulder, holding a 24-15 advantage. The two schools have not met since 2007 with Wyoming winning the last four in a row (2207, 2006, 1998, 1997). The Cowboys edged the Buffs, 76-73 in Boulder back on Nov. 26, 2006. Friday is CU's third match up with schools from the Front Range and Mountain West Conference (Air Force, Colorado State).
CU CONSECUTIVE HOME WINNING STREAKS (NON-CONFERENCE PLAY)
35 games: Dec. 4, 1976 -
Dec. 5, 1981
26 games: Dec. 10, 2008 - present
17 gms.: Dec. 22, 1997 - Dec. 15,
2000
17 gms.: Dec.
10, 1981 - Dec. 27, 1983
17 gms.: Dec. 5, 1966 - Dec. 11,
1969
17 gms:
Dec. 14, 1959 - Dec. 16, 1963
16
gms.: Jan. 8, 2004 - Jan. 3, 2006
CU/WYOMING: CU and the University of Wyoming announced that it will be adding a four-game series beginning in the 2011-12 season that will see the Buffaloes and the Cowboys play once a year for four consecutive seasons. The first game of the CU-Wyoming series will be played this season in Boulder. CU will travel to Laramie for a game during the 2012-13 campaign. The two teams will face each other again in Boulder during the 2013-14 season, and the four-game series will conclude in Laramie sometime during the Cowboys 2014-15 season. The exact dates of those games are yet to be determined. The CU-Wyoming series dates back to Jan. 13, 1908. The two schools have played a total of 75 times through the years, but they haven't played the past three seasons. The last meeting was a 73-64 Wyoming win on Dec. 8, 2007, in Laramie. Wyoming leads the overall series 40-35.
Future Games vs. Wyoming: 2012-13.........at Wyoming: 2013-14.........WYOMING; 2014-15.........at Wyoming
HOME COURT: With their 70-68 win against Georgia, CU has now won 26-straight home games in non-conference play. The Buffs were 12-0 last season; 8-0 in 2009-10; and won their last four in 2008-09. The streak is second all-time in school history. The Buffs won 35 in a row from Dec. 4, 1976 thru Dec. 5, 1981.
SCORING: Of the school-record 38 games played last season, Alec Burks led the Buffs in scoring 26 times, while Cory Higgins led six times. This year, CU has had a variety of leading scorers through seven games (Carlon Brown and Spencer Dinwiddie, twice; Austin Dufault, Andre Roberson, Nate Tomlinson each with one.
BETTER THAN LAST YEAR: Andre Roberson has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in six of seven games. With 84 rebounds already this year, compared to 48 boards after seven games last year, the 6'7 rebounding machine is averaging 12 a game. He's 42nd overall on the school's rebounding list (381, 8.5 rpg.).
ASSIST-TURNOVER RATIO: Point-guard Nate Tomlinson scored 16 of his team-high 19 points at Air Force with a career-tying four, three-pointers. Tomlinson leads the Buffs with 22 assists (10 turnovers). The senior from Sydney, Australia has a career 1.66 assist-to-turnover ratio ranking eighth all-time at CU.
NATE IN THE RECORD BOOKS: If Nate Tomlinson continues his three-point shooting, no doubt, he will crack the top-5 all-time at CU. With 126, he's moved into the top-10 standing tied for eighth with Mack Tuck (126, 1993-96). May 2011 graduate, Levi Knutson (2007-11) and Donnie Boyce (1991-95) are tied for sixth (129). In assists, Tomlinson has 319 assists over his four years (3.2 apg.) for 11th place in the CU record book. Cory Higgins is 10th (320); Billy Law is ninth (321).
BLOCKS: Andre Roberson is on the outside of the top-26 in career blocked shots. With 50 currently, he's three from tying Larry Vaculik (53, 1975-78).
IRON MAN: Senior forward Austin Dufault is CU's ironman having played a team-high 107 games, the most of any CU player on this year's team. That's t-26th all-time. With 101 career starts, that's seventh. On the boards, Dufault is steadily moving up the ladder with 409, good for 38th overall.
COUNTDOWN TO 1,000: Senior guard Carlon Brown scored 854 points in three years with Utah. Entering his final collegiate season, Brown has scored 100 points as a Buff (16.2 ppg.) giving him 954 career points. In 105 career games played, he is averaging 9.1 ppg.