Please use this thread for all of your commentary during tonight's game. (I have family in town and we're heading out to take my daughter to Zoo Lights, that is why I am posting this so early)
THE GAME: The University of Colorado will face Penn State University in the semifinal round of the 2015 Las Vegas Classic on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 8:30 p.m. MST at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
WATCH/LISTEN:
TV: None
Radio: 760 AM KKZN (Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Listen Online: CUBuffs.com, TuneIn, CU Gameday App
Live Statistics: CUBuffs.com
OPENING TIP: Colorado’s 10-game winning streak is currently tops in the Pac-12 Conference and tied for the third best active streak in NCAA Division I.
ABOUT PENN STATE: Penn State is 8-3 overall having won six of its last seven games. The Nittany Lions average 66.4 points per game while shooting 41 percent from the field. Defensively, Penn State has allowed opponents just 64.7 points per game while holding them just under 40 percent shooting.
Senior forward Brandon Taylor leads Penn State at 15.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Shep Garner tops the Nittany Lions in assists (2.8 apg), steals (1.8 spg) and 3-pointers (27) while averaging 14.6 points per game. Sophomore forward Payton Banks is averaging 11.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per outing.
Patrick Chambers is in his fifth season at Penn State with a record of 64-78. He is 106-106 in his seventh season as a collegiate head coach.
THE SERIES: This will be just the second meeting between Colorado and Penn State. The Buffaloes won the lone meeting in the series, 29-26, on Jan. 2, 1939 in Hershey, Pa. Colorado will face a Big Ten Conference school for the first time since a 57-49 loss to Illinois in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
NOTING STREAKS: Colorado’s 10-game win streak ties for the fifth longest in team history, and fourth-best during one season. The Buffaloes have a pair of double-digit win streaks that span over two seasons:
Colorado Win Streaks
Rk Wins Season(s) Notable
1. 14 1941-42 Won 1st 14, NCAA Final Four
2. 13 1928-30 Won last 9 in ‘28-29, 1st 4 of ‘29-30
3. 12 1939-40 NIT Champions; 1st NCAA Tourn.
12 1961-62 NCAA Regional Final
5. 10 2015-16 88.1 ppg during streak
10 2013-14 NCAA Second Round
10 1944-45 1st year back after 2-year WWII layoff
10 1920-22 8-0 in ‘20-21, won 1st two in ‘21-22
9. 9 2005-06 NIT First Round
Active NCAA Win Streaks
1. 12 Michigan State
2. 11 Xavier
3. 10 Colorado
10 South Carolina
10 Little Rock
6. 9 SMU
9 Fordham
THE RIGHT KIND OF GIVING: Colorado leads the Pac-12 in both assists (17.1 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2).
Sophomore Dominique Collier and Josh Fortune are ranked among the league’s best in both of those categories combining for 7.4 assists against just 4.4 turnovers per game. The duo has taken up a notch over the past few outings. Collier has 24 assists against just four turnovers over the last four games (6.0 a/t) while Fortune has 26 assists and four turnovers over the last five (6.5 a/t).
Colorado tied a season high with 23 assists in the win over Hampton and combined that with a season low six turnovers; the biggest disparity between those two categories (17) since the Buffaloes had 22 assists and five turnovers in an 89-68 win over Missouri on Feb. 22, 2003.
RAINING 3’s: Colorado leads the Pac-12 and ranks 19th in the nation in 3-point shooting at 40.8 percent. The Buffaloes are tied with USC for the Pac-12’s top spot in 3-pointers made at 8.8 per game.
Colorado had a season-high 13 3-pointers against Air Force and followed that up with 10 against Northern Colorado, giving the Buffaloes back-to-back games with at least 10 3-point field goals for the first time since December 2010 when the Buffaloes had 10 vs. The Citadel and 10 vs. Longwood. The 23 3-pointers in two games are the most since the Buffs had 11 vs. Baylor and 12 at Oklahoma State Jan. 18-21, 2006. CU nearly made it three in a row, finishing with nine against Fort Lewis.
FREE SHOOTING: Colorado has been excellent at the line leading the Pac-12 Conference 74.5 percent. The Buffaloes hit a season-high 87 percent (20-of-23) against BYU. The back court duo of Xavier Talton and Dominique Collier have combined to make 33-of-35 foul shots (.943). Talton has made all 14 of his attempts this year while Collier is 19-of-21. Josh Scott, who leads Colorado in free throws made (55) and attempted (65) ranks fourth in the Pac-12 at 84 percent.
RALLY BUFFS: Colorado has come back from double-digits down in a game and rallied for the win four times this season. The Buffaloes trailed Nicholls by 10 late in the first half before outscoring the Colonels 52-30 in the second period. Colorado State held a 52-39 halftime lead before the Buffs stormed back in the second half for an 88-77 win. The Buffaloes trailed Omaha by 13 (45-32) at the 18:43 mark of the second half before prevailing 87-82. Colorado trailed Auburn by 15 in the first half before coming out on top 91-84. The Colorado State win marked the 19th time that Colorado has rallied from at least 13 points down to win since 1947. Colorado’s 15-point comeback against Auburn tied for the ninth biggest in team history.
LIGHTING IT UP AT AUBURN: Colorado shot a scorching 57.4 percent (31-of-54) in its win at Auburn its best mark in a true road game since shooting 61.7 percent (29-of-47) in an 86-69 loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 12, 2008. The Buffaloes also did well from the free throw line. CU shot 80 percent (21-of-26) and made its first 14 attempts of the second half; finishing 16-of-19 (.842).
BOYLE TAKES OVER WINNING PERCENTAGE LEAD: Tad Boyle took over the lead in career winning percentage on the Colorado bench (minimum two seasons) with the Buffaloes’ 95-71 win over Fort Lewis. Boyle, who has won 63.1 percent of his games at Colorado (118-69), has a narrow edge over CU Athletic Hall of Fame coach Forrest “Frosty” Cox who won 62.3 percent in 13 seasons between 1936-50 (149-89). Boyle is 174-135 in his 10th year as a collegiate head coach, marking his 300th game in the win over Auburn on Nov. 17.
SCOTT CLIMBING ALL-TIME CHARTS: Senior forward Josh Scott is on several Colorado all-time lists.
Scott is fifth in blocked shots (130), sixth in rebounding (794) and free throws made (413) and 11th in scoring (1,395).
During the Fort Lewis game he became the third player in team history to record 1,300 points, 700 rebounds and 100 blocks joining David Harrison (2001-04) and Cliff Meely (1968-71).
Scott is 33 points away from joining Colorado’s top 10 in scoring, trailing Michel Morandais who scored 1,428 from 2000-04.
His 130 blocks are one away from fourth place Poncho Hodges who had 131 from 1991-93. His 413 free throws are seven behind Spencer Dinwiddie for the fifth spot. Scott will sit in sixth in rebounding for awhile as he is 69 behind Jim Davis who had 863 from 1961-64.
BLOCK PARTY: Colorado’s veteran front line of Scott and junior Wesley Gordon are two of the premier shot blockers in the Pac-12. The frontcourt duo have 47 of Colorado’s 64 blocked shots. Gordon leads the team with 27 and is fourth in the Pac-12 at 2.5 per game. Scott is ninth at 1.8 per contest.
Scott ranked third in the Pac-12 in 2014-15 at 1.8 per game while Gordon was fifth at 1.4. Gordon led the season total at 47 with more games played while Scott had 46.
Gordon and Scott are the first CU teammates to have 40-plus blocks in back-to-back seasons since 1977-78 when blocks became an officially tracked statistic. In 2013-14 Gordon had 41 while Scott had 40. They are the fifth and sixth players, respectively, to accomplish the 40 blocks in back-to-back seasons.
Gordon’s 115 career blocks are seventh on CU’s all-time list. His seven blocks against Nicholls ties a career high, duplicating his effort against UCLA on Jan 2, 2015. Only David Harrison has more in one game; his school-record 11 against Nebraska on Mar 8, 2003, and 10 vs. Stetson on Nov. 24, 2002.
THE GAME: The University of Colorado will face Penn State University in the semifinal round of the 2015 Las Vegas Classic on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 8:30 p.m. MST at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
WATCH/LISTEN:
TV: None
Radio: 760 AM KKZN (Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Listen Online: CUBuffs.com, TuneIn, CU Gameday App
Live Statistics: CUBuffs.com
OPENING TIP: Colorado’s 10-game winning streak is currently tops in the Pac-12 Conference and tied for the third best active streak in NCAA Division I.
ABOUT PENN STATE: Penn State is 8-3 overall having won six of its last seven games. The Nittany Lions average 66.4 points per game while shooting 41 percent from the field. Defensively, Penn State has allowed opponents just 64.7 points per game while holding them just under 40 percent shooting.
Senior forward Brandon Taylor leads Penn State at 15.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Shep Garner tops the Nittany Lions in assists (2.8 apg), steals (1.8 spg) and 3-pointers (27) while averaging 14.6 points per game. Sophomore forward Payton Banks is averaging 11.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per outing.
Patrick Chambers is in his fifth season at Penn State with a record of 64-78. He is 106-106 in his seventh season as a collegiate head coach.
THE SERIES: This will be just the second meeting between Colorado and Penn State. The Buffaloes won the lone meeting in the series, 29-26, on Jan. 2, 1939 in Hershey, Pa. Colorado will face a Big Ten Conference school for the first time since a 57-49 loss to Illinois in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
NOTING STREAKS: Colorado’s 10-game win streak ties for the fifth longest in team history, and fourth-best during one season. The Buffaloes have a pair of double-digit win streaks that span over two seasons:
Colorado Win Streaks
Rk Wins Season(s) Notable
1. 14 1941-42 Won 1st 14, NCAA Final Four
2. 13 1928-30 Won last 9 in ‘28-29, 1st 4 of ‘29-30
3. 12 1939-40 NIT Champions; 1st NCAA Tourn.
12 1961-62 NCAA Regional Final
5. 10 2015-16 88.1 ppg during streak
10 2013-14 NCAA Second Round
10 1944-45 1st year back after 2-year WWII layoff
10 1920-22 8-0 in ‘20-21, won 1st two in ‘21-22
9. 9 2005-06 NIT First Round
Active NCAA Win Streaks
1. 12 Michigan State
2. 11 Xavier
3. 10 Colorado
10 South Carolina
10 Little Rock
6. 9 SMU
9 Fordham
THE RIGHT KIND OF GIVING: Colorado leads the Pac-12 in both assists (17.1 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2).
Sophomore Dominique Collier and Josh Fortune are ranked among the league’s best in both of those categories combining for 7.4 assists against just 4.4 turnovers per game. The duo has taken up a notch over the past few outings. Collier has 24 assists against just four turnovers over the last four games (6.0 a/t) while Fortune has 26 assists and four turnovers over the last five (6.5 a/t).
Colorado tied a season high with 23 assists in the win over Hampton and combined that with a season low six turnovers; the biggest disparity between those two categories (17) since the Buffaloes had 22 assists and five turnovers in an 89-68 win over Missouri on Feb. 22, 2003.
RAINING 3’s: Colorado leads the Pac-12 and ranks 19th in the nation in 3-point shooting at 40.8 percent. The Buffaloes are tied with USC for the Pac-12’s top spot in 3-pointers made at 8.8 per game.
Colorado had a season-high 13 3-pointers against Air Force and followed that up with 10 against Northern Colorado, giving the Buffaloes back-to-back games with at least 10 3-point field goals for the first time since December 2010 when the Buffaloes had 10 vs. The Citadel and 10 vs. Longwood. The 23 3-pointers in two games are the most since the Buffs had 11 vs. Baylor and 12 at Oklahoma State Jan. 18-21, 2006. CU nearly made it three in a row, finishing with nine against Fort Lewis.
FREE SHOOTING: Colorado has been excellent at the line leading the Pac-12 Conference 74.5 percent. The Buffaloes hit a season-high 87 percent (20-of-23) against BYU. The back court duo of Xavier Talton and Dominique Collier have combined to make 33-of-35 foul shots (.943). Talton has made all 14 of his attempts this year while Collier is 19-of-21. Josh Scott, who leads Colorado in free throws made (55) and attempted (65) ranks fourth in the Pac-12 at 84 percent.
RALLY BUFFS: Colorado has come back from double-digits down in a game and rallied for the win four times this season. The Buffaloes trailed Nicholls by 10 late in the first half before outscoring the Colonels 52-30 in the second period. Colorado State held a 52-39 halftime lead before the Buffs stormed back in the second half for an 88-77 win. The Buffaloes trailed Omaha by 13 (45-32) at the 18:43 mark of the second half before prevailing 87-82. Colorado trailed Auburn by 15 in the first half before coming out on top 91-84. The Colorado State win marked the 19th time that Colorado has rallied from at least 13 points down to win since 1947. Colorado’s 15-point comeback against Auburn tied for the ninth biggest in team history.
LIGHTING IT UP AT AUBURN: Colorado shot a scorching 57.4 percent (31-of-54) in its win at Auburn its best mark in a true road game since shooting 61.7 percent (29-of-47) in an 86-69 loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 12, 2008. The Buffaloes also did well from the free throw line. CU shot 80 percent (21-of-26) and made its first 14 attempts of the second half; finishing 16-of-19 (.842).
BOYLE TAKES OVER WINNING PERCENTAGE LEAD: Tad Boyle took over the lead in career winning percentage on the Colorado bench (minimum two seasons) with the Buffaloes’ 95-71 win over Fort Lewis. Boyle, who has won 63.1 percent of his games at Colorado (118-69), has a narrow edge over CU Athletic Hall of Fame coach Forrest “Frosty” Cox who won 62.3 percent in 13 seasons between 1936-50 (149-89). Boyle is 174-135 in his 10th year as a collegiate head coach, marking his 300th game in the win over Auburn on Nov. 17.
SCOTT CLIMBING ALL-TIME CHARTS: Senior forward Josh Scott is on several Colorado all-time lists.
Scott is fifth in blocked shots (130), sixth in rebounding (794) and free throws made (413) and 11th in scoring (1,395).
During the Fort Lewis game he became the third player in team history to record 1,300 points, 700 rebounds and 100 blocks joining David Harrison (2001-04) and Cliff Meely (1968-71).
Scott is 33 points away from joining Colorado’s top 10 in scoring, trailing Michel Morandais who scored 1,428 from 2000-04.
His 130 blocks are one away from fourth place Poncho Hodges who had 131 from 1991-93. His 413 free throws are seven behind Spencer Dinwiddie for the fifth spot. Scott will sit in sixth in rebounding for awhile as he is 69 behind Jim Davis who had 863 from 1961-64.
BLOCK PARTY: Colorado’s veteran front line of Scott and junior Wesley Gordon are two of the premier shot blockers in the Pac-12. The frontcourt duo have 47 of Colorado’s 64 blocked shots. Gordon leads the team with 27 and is fourth in the Pac-12 at 2.5 per game. Scott is ninth at 1.8 per contest.
Scott ranked third in the Pac-12 in 2014-15 at 1.8 per game while Gordon was fifth at 1.4. Gordon led the season total at 47 with more games played while Scott had 46.
Gordon and Scott are the first CU teammates to have 40-plus blocks in back-to-back seasons since 1977-78 when blocks became an officially tracked statistic. In 2013-14 Gordon had 41 while Scott had 40. They are the fifth and sixth players, respectively, to accomplish the 40 blocks in back-to-back seasons.
Gordon’s 115 career blocks are seventh on CU’s all-time list. His seven blocks against Nicholls ties a career high, duplicating his effort against UCLA on Jan 2, 2015. Only David Harrison has more in one game; his school-record 11 against Nebraska on Mar 8, 2003, and 10 vs. Stetson on Nov. 24, 2002.
