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Colorado never relented against Air Force and won easily today on the road 81-57. It was arguably the Buffaloes' best and most complete performance of the season. They rushed out to a 10-2 lead and were up 34-24 at halftime and continued to stretch that lead in the second half. Josh Scott led the way with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Askia Booker added 13 points. The Buffs have now won seven consecutive games since their season opening loss to Baylor and are 7-1.
Things the Buffaloes did well:
They were superb defensively in both halves and caused problems for Air Force all game. The Falcons committed 18 turnovers and the press started to pay off as the Buffs forced two ten second violations. Air Force was 6-of-22 from three and were unable to get many second chances against Colorado as they only had four offensive rebounds. Offensively, the Buffs fared better from beyond the arc and were 9-of-24. They were great moving the ball around the perimeter and Air Force's attempts at a zone and man defense had little effect. As a team, Colorado had 20 assists on 27 made field goals and also used their size advantage for multiple second chances and had 14 offensive rebounds.
The offense showed its versatility today. Spencer Dinwiddie, the team's leading scorer, only had seven points, but finished with five assists. Josh Scott exploited Air Force inside with 16 points and Xavier Johnson had one of his better games today as well. Johnson finished with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and was a force rebounding the ball and picked up eight rebounds. Askia Booker matched his scoring output at 13 with 13 attempted field goals, but was key early for the Buffs as he had eight of Colorado's first 10 points. Off of the bench, Jaron Hopkins was effective from beyond the arc and was 3-of-5. He finished with nine points.
Things the Buffaloes struggled with:
Not much went wrong today, but against an inferior opponent, it'd be nice to see Colorado turn the ball over less. They had 14 total turnovers.
Up Next:
Colorado plays Colorado St. on Tuesday on the road at 7:00. This is the Buffaloes' last game before their showdown against Kansas. The Rams have a lot less talent than years past, but Colorado has to play like they did today to win. They need to get off to a good start and let their defense propel them to a victory.