Colorado definitely came out better than their previous road losses, but still couldn't get its first crucial road win as they lost to Arizona 71-57. The Buffaloes kept up with the Wildcats till the latter part of the second half, when Arizona was able to pull away. Colorado couldn't stop Arizona's inside presence and committed way too many lazy fouls. Andre Roberson had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Carlon Brown added 11 points for the Buffaloes. However, Colorado was unable to stop the inside presence of Jesse Perry and Solomon Hill who combined for 33 points. Overall, it was an expected rough game for the Buffaloes, and they will need to be able to rebound with a win against Arizona State to stay near the top of the Pac-12 conference.

Things the Buffaloes did well: The Buffaloes shot the ball well from inside the three point line and didn't come out in the second half and completely fall apart like their games at UCLA and at Stanford. Andre Roberson had a good game and was the only bright spot defensively. There just wasn't any consistent play for the Buffaloes as they couldn't beat Arizona's strong defensive and were unable to hit any three pointers early to spread the floor.

Continue reading this post »

The Colorado Buffaloes and second year head coach Tad Boyle sit at a crossroads heading into tonight's game against the Wildcats in Tucson, Arizona. Win a road game against a high-quality opponent for the first time since beating Kansas State in January of 2011 and the Buffs will no longer be ignored as a legitimate threat to win the Pac-12 regular season. That win, combined with a home win for Oregon over Washington tonight would leave the Buffaloes tied with the Huskies and Golden Bears for first place, with the tie-breaker with UW and a home game against California that would even the slate. A win would give the NCAA Tournament Committee the validation that they need to consider Colorado as one of the two or (hopefully) three teams that head to the tourney from the Pac-12 conference. A win would announce that this team isn't just building for the future, it's built for the now.

Brooks: Buffs Tough, But Road Tough Is The Objective

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves (as if I haven't already). A loss does not taint this year's progress. Win or lose, the next two games, on the road against Arizona State and Utah are absolute must wins for this team and getting both may actually be more important to the teams tournament chances. No matter what happens tonight, the Buffaloes still have a 4-game gauntlet to close the regular season, home games with Stanford and Cal before hitting the road to take on both Oregon schools.

Continue reading this post »

Welcome to our weekly look at Pac-12 basketball. We take a quick look at what happened in the past week and breakdown the best games in the week to come.

Top 3 upcoming games: This week will make the Pac-12 race much more clear as four of the top five teams face off and California faces a tough road match-up against UCLA. The two games on Thursday night is the best combo that the league has had all season. For as much good as a win in Tucson would do for the Buffaloes, a loss against Arizona State would pretty much derail any hope CU has for making the NCAA Tournament without win the conference tourney.

Colorado Buffaloes at Arizona Wildcats, Thursday, 7:00 p.m., ESPN: This is the biggest game of the year so far for the Buffs. A national television audience will watch a CU team that has won five of it's last six games, but is primed to hit the road for five of their last seven in the regular season. The Wildcats did last week what no one else has been able to do this season in winning at both California and Stanford and has been playing much better since their loss in Boulder.
Washington Huskies at Oregon Ducks, Thursday, 9:00 p.m., Root Sports: The Huskies have been on fire of late, winning eight of their last nine to take over the top spot in the conference. Now they have to head to Eugene to face a Ducks team that is still reeling from a controversial, last second loss in Boulder.
California Golden Bears at UCLA Bruins, Saturday, 2:00 p.m., Fox Sports Prime Ticket: The Bruins have been playing better lately, but haven't been able to get over the hump as they fell in some tough, close losses. California needs to make up for a home loss to Arizona in LA.

A look at each team after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

The Buffaloes were pushed to the brink tonight, but they still were able to win at the last second, 72-71. A questionable call called on Nate Tomlinson with the game tied and one second left gave the Buffs the margin they needed to get the win. While the foul could have gone either way, Tomlinson's effort to get to the bucket could not. Great play to win the game by Nate.

Foul trouble hurt the Buffaloes all game, yet other players stepped up and contributed to the Buffaloes' win. Askia Booker had another great game off the bench leading the way with 17 points. Also, Andre Roberson added 7 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks.Overall, the Buffaloes played well and overcame their mistakes leading to their victory.

Things the Buffaloes did well: There were some questionable calls from the referees, but the Buffaloes didn't let that affect their game. Askia Booker had another great game and whenever Colorado needs to beat a zone, he is always there cutting and attacking the zone. Spencer Dinwiddie added his usual points; a good thing about his game is that he never forces it. Carlon Brown had a rough game, but was key down the stretch. Additionally, the Buffaloes continue to get better attacking the zone and have become much more patient, which is a necessity for beating zone defense.

Continue reading this post »

The Oregon State Beavers came out in zone and half-court trap sets all game, however, the Buffaloes kept pushing the ball and they were able to win easily 82-60. The Buffaloes shot 53% from the field and had 10 steals while forcing 16 turnovers. Andre Roberson led the way with 16 points and had 15 rebounds, while Booker added 15 points and 7 rebounds. Overall, it was a good rebound for the Buffaloes after their sluggish performance at UCLA this past Saturday.

Things the Buffaloes did well: This was the best game for the Buffaloes in terms of pushing the ball. Colorado ran Oregon State off the floor. It was clear the Buffaloes were going to keep playing the transition game until they could be stopped and they never were. Also, the Buffaloes cut down on their mistakes and were more patient against the zone and trap unlike previous games. Askia Booker did a good job all game long cutting and penetrating the zone, which kept Oregon State off balance. Andre Roberson had another great game getting the easy points and had some highlight dunks. When he stays out of foul trouble, he gets consistent minutes on the court and plays much freer. Down the stretch, if he can continue to stay out of foul trouble the Buffaloes will have more and more success. Austin Dufault keeps improving his game as he had 14 points. He continues to hit his outside shot successfully and has finally found some go to post moves. Furthermore, it was a dominant performance for the Buffaloes and they continue to look like a different team at home.

Continue reading this post »

The Ralphie Report sat down with the great Oregon State blog on SBNation, Building The Dam, to discuss tonight's game in Boulder. Thanks to Andy for the answers.

You can check out Parker's answers to their questions here.

Give us the recap of the Oregon State season so far. They seemed to start fast and then hit a bit of a wall, but they got a huge win over the Ducks last week. Are fans happy with the performance to date?

The Beavers got off to a fast start, though some of that was at least partially a product of a relatively soft non-conference schedule. However, they hadn't been able to handle such a schedule in the past, so it wasn't a bad choice. However, they are a young team, sometimes prone to slow starts, which got them beat in the conference openers in the state of Washington.

There were also issues with defending outside shooters if teams would make 2-3 passes, and once better competition in the conference came along, it caught up with them a little. The Beavers missed multiple chances to win the 4 overtime game against Stanford, and then again in overtime at Arizona the next game out.

Fans are a little frustrated with some of the mistakes the team has made, as much as the losses, but most recognize that the team is still going through some learning moments. A good finish will mean a season most Beaver fans will consider a success.

Is Jared Cunningham the biggest scoring threat on this Beaver team? Who else do the Buffs need to watch out for on Thursday?

Cunningham is without a doubt Oregon St.'s best threat, both offensively and defensively, and leads the Pac-12 in scoring. Devon Collier has emerged as the Beavers' best front-court scoring threat, and leads the conference in fg%. Point guard Ahmad Starks is a streak shooter, and is second on the team, just ahead of Collier, in points scored. If Starks gets hot, he can really light it up with 3 pointers. However, he can go really cold from outside as well.

Eric Moreland isn't usually a major scorer, but he leads the conference in blocked shots, and is 5th in the Pac-12 in rebounding. He has a 7'5" wing span, and can get to balls you wouldn't think he has any chance to get a finger on.

Continue reading this post »

We have plenty more signing day coverage coming your way, but I wanted to take a quick moment and highlight the good news that came today on the basketball front. The University of Colorado Board of Regents today approved contract extensions for the men's and women's basketball coaches Tad Boyle and Linda Lappe. The extensions will keep them on the University's books until April 30, 2016 (and hopefully much longer) and have plenty of bonuses and escalators for success on and off the court. So far, both hires have fantastic and have helped both programs on an upward trajectory in the Pac-12.

CU is proposing that Boyle earn a 3 percent merit raise, increasing his base salary to $165,830. His compensation package is unchanged and amounts to nearly $429,000, which includes, for example, $180,000 for radio, television and public apperances.

Beginning in 2013, Boyle can also earn up to $200,000 annually for incentive compensation, which includes benchmarks such as academic progress for student-athletes. In 2012, his annual incentive compensation can amount to $100,000.

The new agreement also increases performance incentives, with a sliding scale of bonuses for winning records and making it to post-season tournaments. For example, if the team wins 21 regular season games, Boyle will get a bonus of $30,000, which is up from his previous contract that offered $10,000. If he's named "Conference Coach of the Year," he can earn $30,000, up from $10,000. A Buffs' NCAA Championship would net him $750,000, up from his previous incentive of $250,000.

Roll Tad and eh, go Linda (guess we need a nickname there too). A great day for the University of Colorado continues.

The Buffaloes had another disappointing road loss today as they lost to UCLA 77-60. Colorado played well in the first half, but couldn't keep their performance up at all in the second half. There were too many lazy passes, and the Buffaloes were very weak defensively all game. Although UCLA shot well, they had way too many open shots. This was the case for the Buffaloes when they played Arizona, but Arizona didn't make their open shots. For the Buffaloes, Askia Booker led the way with 13 points and Andre Roberson added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Overall, it was a disheartening performance by the Buffaloes and they were outplayed in every facet of the game.

Things the Buffaloes did well: In the first half, the Buffaloes stayed with the Bruins and were efficient on offense. They were patient against UCLA's defense and they waited for their shots. Colorado shot 46% from the field and 46% from the three point line throughout the game. Although the Buffaloes had good stretches of offense in the game, they couldn't do anything else efficiently.

Continue reading this post »