Colorado Buffaloes
Pac-12 (21-11, 10-8)
Under Coach Tad Boyle Colorado has been a bit of surprise. Back in 2011 Colorado made a nice run in the NIT. Last season they reached the NCAA Tournament and pulled off an upset over UNLV. Being a surprise team is one thing, but keeping it up is another. This season the Buffaloes kept playing solid basketball even though the rest of the Pac-12 knew that they were not a team to be taken lightly.
Big Wins: 12/05 Colorado State (70-61), 2/14 Arizona (71-58), 2/28 at Stanford (65-63)
Bad Losses: 1/06 at Arizona State (56-65), 2/02 at Utah (55-58), 3/09 Oregon State 58-64)
Coach: Tad Boyle (3 seasons at Colorado)
Why They Can Surprise:
With Andre Roberson leading the way, Colorado can beat anybody. The 6-7 junior is a double-double machine, averaging 10.9 points and 11.3 rebounds. He is a good enough outside shooter to keep the opposition honest, but will do most of his scoring inside the arc. Roberson even spearheads the Buffaloes defensive effort, averaging 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks. Roberson is an offensive threat, but Josh Scott, Askia Booker, and Spencer Dinwiddie are all double-digit scorers too. Scott, a 6-10 freshman, has lived up to his hype and emerged as a solid interior scorer and a nice secondary rebounder to go along with Roberson. Booker and Dinwiddie are the shooters on the team. Booker will take a few too many shots on occasion, but he is not a bad guy to have taking shots. Dinwiddie is more efficient and leads the team with 15.6 points per game.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Buffaloes have a lot of scorers, but they have a habit of not working well together. They only dish about ten assists per game. Nobody will, or should, complain when Roberson uses his agility and size to get to the basket, yet an extra pass here or there could go a long way. Dinwiddie was supposed to step into the point guard role and he has done that, yet he is also important to the team as a shooter where spending more time off the ball is helpful. Sebatino Chen and Booker can handle the ball a bit too. No matter who brings the ball up the court, Colorado could do much better in the passing department. Whether it be kicking it out from the paint or driving and dishing, the Buffaloes have enough offensive threats that an extra pass to an open teammate is going to pay off.
Probable Starters:
Sabatino Chen, Senior, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 1.3 apg, 2.2 rpg
Askia Booker, Sophomore, Guard, 12.4 ppg, 2.2 apg, 3.5 rpg
Spencer Dinwiddie, Sophomore, Guard, 15.6 ppg, 3.0 apg, 3.2 rpg
Andre Roberson, Junior, Forward, 10.9 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 2.2 spg
Josh Scott, Freshman, Forward, 10.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Jeremy Adams, Junior, Guard, 2.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg
Xavier Johnson, Freshman, Forward, 9.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.9 (162nd in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 63.1 (89, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.8 (147, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.2 (58, 3)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.4 (253, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.3 (149, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.1 (212, 9)
Rebound Margin: 3.1 (83, 4)
Assists Per Game: 10.1 (323, 12)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.3 (181, 9)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over UNLV
2012 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Baylor
2011 NIT First Round win over Texas Southern
2011 NIT Second Round win over California
2011 NIT Quarterfinal win over Kent State
2011 NIT Semifinal loss to Alabama
2006 NIT First Round loss to Old Dominion
2004 NIT First Round loss to Oregon
2003 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Michigan State
*all team stats through 3/10
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
