Colorado
Brigham Young
Buffs Visit Provo For First Time In 61 Years Saturday
December 09, 2016 | Men's Basketball
THE GAME: The University of Colorado returns to the road to take on Brigham Young University on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. MT, at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.
WATCH/LISTEN:
TV: ESPN2 (Beth Mowins, Brad Daugherty)
Radio: Newsradio 850 AM & 94.1 FM (Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Watch Online: WatchESPN
Listen Online: CUBuffs.com, CU Gameday App
Live Statistics: CUBuffs.com
OPENING TIP: Colorado is averaging 41.2 points in the second half of games this season shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from 3-point range. In the first half the Buffaloes average 33.7 points while shooting 40.1 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 7-2 overall, has won two straight and four of its last five. The Buffaloes are coming off their biggest win of the season, a 68-66 decision over Xavier, ranked No. 13 (Associated Pres)/No. 14 (USA Today Coaches) in the latest Top 25 polls.Â
Colorado ventures away from Boulder for the third time this season, and its second true road contest. The Buffaloes picked up their first road win over another West Coast Conference team, a 76-63 triumph over Portland on Dec. 3.
Colorado is averaging 74.9 points per game while shooting 43 percent from the field. The Buffaloes are outrebounding their opponents by just under eight boards per game. Defensively, Colorado has held the opposition to 64.7 points per game. The Buffaloes are second in the Pac-12 Conference in 3-point defense (.273) while ranking third in offensive rebounds (13.6 orpg) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.376), rebounding margin (+7.3) and rebounding offense (42.4 rpg).
Depth and balance have been a key for Colorado. Three Buffaloes are averaging double-digits in scoring while four more are averaging between five and 10 an outing. Four players have at least four rebounds per game while five have at least eight assists.
Senior Derrick White is averaging 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while hitting a team-best 52.0 percent from the field. White had a game-high 23 points along with six rebounds and four assists in the win over Xavier. He was named to the Legends Classic All-Tournament team averaging 18.0 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds, shooting 54 percent against Notre Dame and Texas. He scored 20 points and dished out a team-season high nine assists against the Fighting Irish. The nine assists are the most by a Buffalo since Askia Booker had 12 against UCLA on Feb. 13, 2014. White had a team-high 16 points with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks against Texas.
White is seventh in steals, 10th in assists 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) and 15th in scoring and field goal percentage on the Pac-12 charts.
Xavier Johnson is second on the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game while ranking third in rebounds at 6.3 an outing. Johnson had 18 points and seven rebounds in the win over Xavier, hitting 7-of-11 from the field including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. His second 3-pointer against the Musketeers was the 100th of his career. Johnson has made 12 of his last 22 field goal attempts (.545).
He averaged 19 points over three-game span which included the Legends Classic and Wofford, putting in a pair of 20-point performances. Johnson matched a career high with a team season-best 27 points against Wofford. He also had a season-high 12 rebounds against the Terriers, logging his seventh career double-double. Johnson had a game-high 23 points in the Legends Classic semifinal against Notre Dame.
On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Johnson ranks eighth in 3-point percentage, 17th in scoring and 20th in rebounding.
George King is third on the team in scoring at 11.2 points per game and second in rebounding at 7.1 per contest. King recorded his third double-double of the season, and fourth of his career, with 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds against Xavier. His three double-doubles have come in the last six contests.
King had a fantastic Legends Classic, recording back-to-back double-doubles and averaging 14.5 points and 13.0 rebounds over the two-day series. He tallied a personal-best 13 rebounds in both contests. King scored 17 points against Notre Dame while pitching in 12 in the win over Texas. He had 10 rebounds in the first half alone against Texas.
King is 15th in defensive rebounds (5.2 drpg) and 17th in overall rebounds on the Pac-12 leaderboard.
Guard Josh Fortune is Colorado's fourth leading scorer at 9.4 points per game. He tied a season-high with 14 points at Portland. He leads the Buffaloes and ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in free throw shooting at 88.6 percent, hitting on 31-of-35 attempts. Fortune saw his consecutive free throws made streak end at 19 against Portland. That streak included a perfect 10-of-10 game against ULM, the program's best performance without a miss since Askia Booker was 14-of-14 against DePaul on Dec. 22, 2014.
Wesley Gordon tops Colorado in rebounding at 8.9 per game. Gordon is pitching in 6.9 points per game while leading the squad in blocks (12) and ranking third in assists (18). After being held to three blocks in his first four games, he has nine in the last five, allowing him to climb into sole possession of second place on CU's all-time list at 168.
He has corralled at least nine rebounds in 7-of-9 games with his averaging upping to 10.3 over those contests. Gordon recorded his 11th career double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds against Seattle U. He hit double-figures in rebounding for the 23rd time in his career with 10 at Portland.
On the Pac-12 charts, Gordon is third in offensive rebounding (3.1 orpg), eighth in overall rebounding, 10th in defensive boards (5.8 drpg) and 11th in blocked shots (1.3 bpg).
Sophomore Thomas Akyazili is second on the team in assists (2.3 apg) while scoring 3.4 points per contest. He had five points and dished out two assists against Colorado State. Akyazili dished out a career-best six assists in the season-opener against Sacramento State.
ABOUT THE COUGARS: BYU is 6-3 overall having dropped three of its last five after starting the season out at 4-0. The Cougars have won 4-of-5 at home, including a 77-66 decision over Weber State on Dec. 7. BYU is averaging 86.6 points per game, leading the West Coast Conference and ranking 18th in the nation. The Cougars are second in NCAA Division I in rebounding, corralling 46.6 boards per game. BYU allows its opponents 76.1 points per game on 39.3 percent shooting.
Sophomore forward Eric Mika leads BYU at 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Mika, a Preseason All-WCC selection and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award candidate, is coming off a 26-point, 10-rebound effort against Weber State. Sophomore guard Nick Emery is averaging 15.3 points and leads BYU in 3-pointers with 21. Freshman guard TJ Haws is pitching in 11.8 points and 2.7 assists an outing.
Dave Rose is in his 12th season at BYU with a record of 289-102. His .739 winning percentage is a Cougars' record and is 10th among active NCAA coaches.
THE SERIES: This will be the 24th meeting between Colorado and BYU, but just the second in 61 years. The Buffaloes hold a 17-6 edge, claiming a 92-83 decision on Dec. 12, 2015, at the Coors Events Center. Colorado makes its first trip to Provo, Utah, since BYU won on
back-to-back dates Dec. 16-17, 1955. Colorado is a perfect 10-0 against BYU in Boulder as the Cougars come to the base of the Flatirons for the first time since back-to-back games on Dec. 4 & 6, 1954. The series is tied 6-6 in Provo where the Cougars have won the last three. Colorado's last win at BYU came on Feb. 16, 1946, a 65-53 decision.
Tad Boyle is 1-0 against BYU as a head coach. Dave Rose is 0-1 against Colorado has a head coach.
RIGHT AT HOME: Colorado has won 13 of its last 14 and 23 of 25 in the friendly confines of the Coors Events Center.
The Buffaloes had a streak of 14-straight home wins against non-league opponents snapped in the loss to Colorado State. When Pac-12 play begins, Colorado will bring an eight-game win streak against league opposition at home, tied for the 12th best run in team history.
In the Tad Boyle era, Colorado is a sparkling 93-16 at the Coors Events Center (.853). The Buffaloes are 406-167 (.709) all-time at the CEC, picking up win No. 400 in style as Colorado defeated No. 9/10 ranked Arizona 75-72 in front of the third-largest crowd in facility history (11,309) on Feb. 24, 2016.
BOYLE IN WINNING PERCENTAGE LEAD: Tad Boyle has hovered right around the school's all-time winning percentage lead since the early portion of the 2015-16 season (minimum two seasons), Boyle, who has won 62.6 percent of his games with Colorado (137-82), is just ahead of CU Athletic Hall of Fame coach Forrest "Frosty" Cox who was 147-89 (.623) in 13 seasons between 1936-50. Boyle is 193-147 in his 11th year as a collegiate head coach.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Colorado has won two straight and three of its last five against ranked opponents. This is the first season with two wins over ranked teams since 2013-14 (2-6 overall).
The Buffaloes have back-to-back wins against ranked opponents for the first time since winning three straight in February-March 2013:Â Feb. 7 at #19/19 Oregon (48-47), Feb. 14 vs. #9/9 Arizona (71-58), March 7 vs. #19/25 Oregon (76-53).
With its win over No. 13/14 Xavier, Colorado defeated its highest ranked nonconference opponent since its 75-72 win over No. 6/7 Kansas on Dec. 7, 2013. Colorado claimed a win in its first game against a ranked opponent this season with its 68-54 win over No. 22/21 Texas on Nov. 22. It was Colorado's first win over a ranked opponent away from Boulder since a 76-53 win over No. 19 Oregon on March 7, 2013.
Colorado's 14 wins over ranked opponents in Boyle's six-plus seasons is by far the best streak in team history. In fact Boyle coached teams, with a record of 14-24, have accounted for 24 percent of wins over ranked opponents (58) since 1949-50.
