Buffs At Cyclones For Regular Season Finale
THE GAME: The University of Colorado (9-19, 3-12 Big 12) will wrap up its regular season schedule against Iowa State University (15-11, 6-9 Big 12) on Thursday, March 2, at 6 p.m. MST at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
BROADCAST: Thursday's game will be broadcast live on KKZN 760AM with Tim Smile will handling play by play duties. Internet audio streaming of the game will be available through Yahoo! Sports.
OPENING TIP: Cemented into the No. 11 spot for the upcoming Big 12 Championship, Colorado looks to claim its first two-game win streak since the end of the 2004-05 nonconference schedule when the Buffaloes won five straight. Iowa State is looking to reclaim its offensive fire power. Since recording 86 points in their first meeting with CU in January, the Cyclones have only one game with 70-plus points in the last 10. Success at the line could be key for Colorado, but they face a daunting task against Iowa State. The Buffaloes lead the Big 12 in free throws made, attempted and percentage while Iowa State tops the nation in fouls at just 11.6 per game.
THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is in 11th place in the Big 12 at 3-12, and has clinched the No. 11 seed for the 2006 Big 12 Championship which begins on Tuesday, March 7, at Reunion Arena in Dallas. The Buffaloes will play on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. MST against the No. 6 seed which will be either Texas, Kansas State or Nebraska, all of which are currenly tied for sixth at 7-8.
If the three teams remained tied for the sixth spot, CU would play Texas based on the Longhorns' wins over both NU and K-State. The scenerio remains the same if Iowa State joins the group for a four-way tie for sixth as UT owns a win over the Cyclones as well. A tie for sixth between Kansas State and Nebraska would give the Cornhuskers the sixth spot, based on a better divisional record, and a date with CU. Finally, a Kansas State win and losses by Texas and Nebraska would set a Wildcats-Buffaloes match up.
The Buffaloes ended their five-game slide in Big 12 games with a 73-62 win over Oklahoma State and in the process also matched their win total from the 2004-05 season. Colorado is 1-8 on the road this season with its lone win coming at Kansas on Feb. 1.
CU has allowed 78.2 points per game on the road this season, while averaging just 62 points on the offensive end. The Buffaloes are shooting 42 percent on the road, slightly above their home average of 41.8 percent. Opponents have shot a stellar 48.2 percent on their home floor against the CU defense. Turnovers have hampered Colorado on the road as the Buffaloes average 20 turnovers a contest in road games which in part has resulted in opponents gaining 10 more field goal opportunities per game (62.0-52.1).
Sophomore Jackie McFarland leads Colorado in scoring (17.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg), just under a season-long double-double. McFarland has 14 games of 10-plus rebounds, the fifth-best, single-season performance in team history. Junior Jasmina Ilic is second in scoring (14.7 ppg) and leads CU with 50 3-point field goals. Ilic has eight games of 20-plus points including a Big 12 season-best 36 against Nebraska on Jan. 4. Junior Anna Nedovic has started all 28 games for the Buffaloes averaging 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Nedovic scored her second double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Northern Colorado.
CU's back-court trio of senior Whitney Law and sophomores Lauren Lubin and Yari Escalera have put up some impressive numbers. Law, who had a career-best 27 points against OSU, shot a "perfect game" against UNC, 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the line, and has ranked among the Big 12's top 15 in assists and assist/turnover ratio all season. Escalera, the fourth-best foul shooter in the Big 12 at 81.9 percent, has scored in double digits in five of the last 10 games and has 22 3-pointers in the last 11. Lubin, who started 11-straight games before being sidelined with a mild concussion, has hit 44 percent of her 3-point attempts this season (12-of-27) and is fourth on the team in assists. Escalera (.819), McFarland (.810) and Ilic (.792) each rank among the top 10 free-throw shooters in the Big 12 for the league's best free-throw shooting team (.742).
NOT JUST FRESHMAN ANYMORE: Colorado's freshman duo of forward Caley Dow and guard Hannah Skildum have played key roles off the bench this season. In CU's road win over Kansas, the duo combined for 22 points on 9-of-12 from the field and 16 rebounds. Dow, who has a pair of double-doubles this season, is CU's second-leading rebounder at 5.3 per game and has increased that number to 7.5 per game over the last eight contests. Skildum, averaging 3.8 points and 3.1 rebounds, has three games of double-digit points this season, all of them on the road against Big 12 teams.
LAST TIME OUT: Senior Whitney Law scored a career-high 27 points to lead Colorado to a 73-62 win over Oklahoma State Sunday afternoon, on senior day at the Coors Events/Conference Center.
Law hit 8-of-11 from the field and 10-of-11 from the line as she hit the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season and surpassed her previous best of 22 set at Colorado State on Nov. 30. Law also had a game-high six assists while adding five rebounds and two steals.
Junior Jasmina Ilic pitched in 22 points and Jackie McFarland recorded her 14th double-double of the season by adding 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Buffaloes (9-19, 3-12 Big 12). The win broke a 13-game Colorado losing streak against the Big 12 Southern Division and gave head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller her 100th career victory.
Whitney Pegram led the Cowgirls (6-20, 0-15) with 17 points while Catherria Turner chipped in 16. OSU dropped its 21st consecutive Big 12 contest and its 30th straight on the road.
Law scored 18 of her 27 points in the second half, including a perfect 9-of-9 from the line, to help the Buffaloes pull away late in the game. Trailing 48-47 with just over 11 minutes left, Ilic put CU up for good with a 3-point field goal, one of four on the afternoon for the junior. The Buffaloes proceeded to outscore the the Cowgirls 27-15 in to end the game.
Law began her career night early as she took a pass from McFarland on the Buffs first position and laid it in. The Buffaloes teamwork continued as their first three field goals were assisted as the team built a 9-5 lead.
The Cowgirls, fighting for their first Big 12 victory, stayed close throughout the opening half taking the lead on four occasions including once with just 52 seconds remaining that capped an 11-3 run. With just five seconds remaining in the half, Law dribbled the length of the court for the tying lay up.
McFarland was 6-of-11 from the field and added five blocks and four assists. McFarland, who needs just eight points to become the third player in CU history to record 500 points and 250 rebounds, notched her fifth 15-plus rebound performance of the season. Ilic recorded her seventh 20-plus point performance of the year, and her highest since her league-best 36-point outburst against Nebraska on Jan. 4.
ABOUT THE CYCLONES: Iowa State is 15-11 overall and resides in ninth place in the Big 12 standings at 6-9, one game behind Texas, Nebraska and Kansas State who are all tied for sixth at 7-8. The Cyclones have lost three straight and have won just three of their last 10 since defeating Colorado 86-71 in Boulder on Jan. 21. Iowa State is shooting just 37 percent over its last four games, 20 percent from 3-point range, and is coming off a season low 31 percent at Texas A&M on Feb. 26. Junior guard Lyndsey Medders leads the nation in assists (7.9 apg), ranks 13th in free-throw percentage (.887) and also paces the Cyclones in scoring at 17.1 points per outing. Senior Brittany Wilkins, who had 21 points and nine rebounds against CU in January, averages 14.8 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds per game. Iowa State leads the Big 12 and ranks ninth in the nation in 3-point field goals with 7.4 per game. The Cyclones also top the Big 12 in field-goal percentage defense (.365). ISU is third in the league in free-throw percentage (.732) and leads the nation in fouls given up per game at 11.6.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 56th meeting between Colorado and Iowa State with the Buffaloes holding a 35-20 series lead. The Cyclones have won the last four matching a Buffs win streak in the series from 2003-04. Colorado had won two straight in Ames before Iowa State took a 103-76 win in Ames last February. The Buffaloes hold a slight 12-10 series edge over Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum. Colorado's last win over ISU came in Boulder, 72-67, on Feb. 11, 2004.
CU'S LAST 10 GAMES AGAINST IOWA STATE IN AMES
Date Result Date Result
2/2/05 L, 76-103 2/5/00 L, 64-82
1/25/04 W, 62-51 2/13/99 L, 70-86
2/26/03 W, 79-71 2/11/98 L, 43-58
2/9/02 L, 75-85 1/18/97 W, 68-66 2OT
1/27/01 L, 61-95 2/18/96 W, 62-54
Kathy McConnell-Miller is 0-1 against Iowa State as a head coach.
No. 100 FOR McCONNELL-MILLER: Kathy McConnell-Miller recorded career win No. 100 as a head coach with CU's 73-62 win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 26. McConnell-Miller, now 100-107 overall in her seventh season, also recorded career win No. 1 against Oklahoma State while with Tulsa in 1999.
SOUTHERN DROUGHT GONE: Colorado snapped a 13-game losing streak against Big 12 Southern Division opponents with its win over Oklahoma State. CU's previous win over a Big 12 South team had also come against OSU, a 72-57 decision in Boulder on Feb. 21, 2004.
RARE LATE BREAK FROM CONFERENCE ACTION: CU's Feb. 13 win over Northern Colorado marked the first time the Buffs have taken a break in the middle of league play for a non conference game since participating in the 1997 Big 12/ACC Challenge. CU hosted North Carolina State on Feb. 1, 1997, coming away with a 67-62 win. It was also the latest in the season the Buffaloes have ventured out of conference for a regular season game since CU defeated Colorado College, 83-58, on Feb. 15, 1983, at the Coors Events Center.
RECORD NIGHT FROM ?3': Colorado entered its game at Kansas shooting just 30 percent from 3-point range for the season, but on a night when everything seemed to go right, the Buffaloes set a single-game team percentage record (minimum eight attempts) from downtown by hitting 6-of-8 (.750) against the Jayhawks. The previous best was a 69.2 percent performance (9-of-13) against Oklahoma on Mar. 8, 2001.
ILIC HITS 30 TWICE: Jasmina Ilic's 36 point performance against Nebraska is the best individual total in the Big 12 Conference this year and third on CU's all-time single game list just behind co-record holders Susan Horner who had 38 against Weber State on Mar. 10, 1979, and Tracy Tripp who also had 38 at Oklahoma State on Feb. 4, 1987. Ilic is the first player in team history to score 33 or more points twice in the same season as she had 34 points in CU's season-opening win over Cal State-Fullerton.
McFARLAND SCORING AND REBOUNDING: Jackie McFarland is tied with Lisa Van Goor (1982-83) for ninth on CU's single-season scoring list with 492 points. She needs eight points to become just the eighth player in CU history with 500 points in one season. McFarland leads Colorado in scoring at 17.6 points per game and her current average would place her seventh in school history. She is the first player in CU women's basketball history to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds over the first seven games of a season.
CU SINGLE SEASON SCORING LEADERS:
Name Season Points
1. Lisa Van Goor (36 games) 1981-82 678
2. Jamillah Lang (32 games) 1993-94 615
3. Lisa Van Goor (33 games) 1980-81 610
4. Tera Bjorklund (32 games) 2002-03 592
5. Erin Scholz (35 games) 1995-96 544
6. Tera Bjorklund (30 games) 2003-04 542
7. Isabelle Fijalkowski (32 games) 1994-95 516
8. Diane Hiemstra (28 games) 1983-84 493
9. Jackie McFarland (28 games) 2005-06 492
9. Lisa Van Goor (29 games) 1982-83 492
CU SINGLE SEASON SCORING AVERAGE LEADERS:
Name Season Average
1. Jamillah Lang (32 games) 1993-94 19.2
2. Lisa Van Goor (36 games) 1981-82 18.8
3. Tera Bjorklund (32 games) 2002-03 18.5
4. Lisa Van Goor (33 games) 1980-81 18.5
5. Tera Bjorklund (30 games) 2003-04 18.1
6. Diane Hiemstra (28 games) 1983-84 17.6
7. Jackie McFarland (28 games) 2005-06 17.6
8. Lisa Van Goor (29 games) 1982-83 17.0
9. Jeannie Raikes (26 games) 1976-77 16.9
10. Diane Hiemstra (29 games) 1982-83 16.7
McFarland's 263 rebounds ranks 14th on CU's single-season list, needing 13 more to break the into the top 10. Her season averge of 9.4 would rank eighth if the season ended today.
CU SINGLE SEASON REBOUNDING AVERAGE LEADERS:
Name Season Average
1. Linda Gehrke (32 games) 1977-78 12.3
2. Lisa Van Goor (33 games) 1980-81 11.0
3. Lisa Van Goor (29 games) 1982-83 10.3
4. Cathy Lanky (32 games) 1977-78 10.3
5. Lisa Van Goor (36 games) 1981-82 10.1
6. LeaAnn Banks (30 games) 1985-86 9.8
7. LeaAnn Banks (28 games) 1984-85 9.6
8. Susan Horner (32 games) 1977-78 9.4
8. Jackie McFarland (28 games) 2005-06 9.4
10. Erin Scholz (32 games) 1993-94 8.7
McFARLAND NEARS 500-250-50 CLUB: Jackie McFarland needs eight points to become just the second player in team history to record 500 points, 250 rebounds and 50 assists in one season. She would join Erin Scholz who had 544 points, 279 rebounds and 80 assists in 1995-96. She would also be only the third different player in CU history to record 500 points and 250 rebounds on one season joining Scholz and Lisa Van Goor who did it twice with 678 points and 365 rebounds in 1981-82 and 610 points and 363 rebounds in 1980-81.
LUBIN BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLES: With her performances against Utah State and Colorado State sophomore guard Lauren Lubin became just the fifth true guard in team history to record two or more points-rebounds double-doubles in a career and only the second to do it back-to-back games. Former Big Eight Conference MVP Bridget Turner did it in back-to-back games during the 1988-89 season and leads all CU guards with nine total points-rebounds double-doubles. Lubin joins three other guards with two points-rebounds double-doubles and included in that list is teammate Whitney Law who had a pair last season. Lubin had 13 points and 13 rebounds against Utah State and had 15 points and 10 rebounds at CSU.
McFARLAND DOUBLES: Sophomore forward Jackie McFarland has 14 double-doubles this season, the fourth-best single-season mark in team history. She is just the second individual to achieve the feat as CU Hall of Famer Lisa Van Goor recorded the other three instances. McFarland, who currently ranks third in the Big 12 in double-doubles, has 19 for her career, which ties Britt Hartshorn (1998-02) on CU's all-time list.
Speaking of doubles, McFarland has 19 career double-digit rebounding games, seventh on CU's all time list.
CLIMBING THE ?3' LADDER: Jasmina Ilic had four 3-point field goals against Oklahoma State to move her season total to 50, the 16th best single-season mark in team history. She is CU's active leader in 3-point field goals and ranks eighth on the Buffs' career chart with 89.
Sophomore Yari Escalera is12th on the career list with 52, junior Anna Nedovic is 15th with 47, while senior Whitney Law is 19th with 37.
BLOCK PARTY: Jackie McFarland is ninth on CU's all time list for blocked shots with 62. She has 39 this season -- 15 more than her freshman season total -- including a school-record tying eight in one game against South Dakota State on Dec. 28. Her 39 blocks are 13th on CU's single-season list.
SOPHOMORE SENSATION: Jackie McFarland is having one of the top sophomore seasons in team history. Her 492 points as a sophomore trails only Lisa Van Goor who scored an overall school record 678 in 1981-82. McFarland's 39 blocked shots ranks third on the CU sophomore charts and her 263 rebounds are fourth. She needs just four rebounds to pass Erin Scholz (1994-95) on the sophomore rebounding list.
GETTING TO THE LINE: Jackie McFarland has 141 free-throws made this season, ranking fifth on CU's single-season list. She needs 14 more free throws to break the school single-season record of 154 set by Bridget Turner in 1988-89. McFarland, shooting 81 percent from the line this season, has hit 46-of-51 (.902) over the last nine games.
FREE THROWS MADE SINGLE SEASON:
Player (Season) FTM
1. Bridget Turner (1988-89) 154
2. Bridget Turner (1987-88) 153
3. Mandy Nightingale (2000-01) 150
4. Erin Scholz (1995-96) 148
5. Jackie McFarland (2005-06) 141
6. Tera Bjorklund (2002-03) 134
7. Debbie Descano (1979-80) 128
8. Shelley Sheetz (1992-93) 123
9. Tera Bjorklund (2003-04) 120
10. Mandy Nightingale (2001-02) 119
Colorado is the top free-throw shooting team in the Big 12 at 74.2 percent, and ranks 30th in the nation (through games of Feb. 27). CU has five players with 30 or more free throws made hitting 73 percent or better. Yari Escalera leads the way at 81.9 percent followed by McFarland (.810), Jasmina Ilic (.792), Lauren Lubin (.780) and Whitney Law (.739).
Colorado's 471 team free-throws made are more than six Big 12 teams have attempted for the season. The nearest team to CU in terms of free throws made is Baylor with 420. Colorado has attempted 635 free throws, 42 more than second place Baylor.
Colorado's season mark of 74.2 percent would rank the eighth-best in team history if the season ended today.
FT SUCCESS UNDER PRESSURE: Colorado's success at the free-throw line in 2005-06 increases as games draw closer to the final buzzer. The Buffaloes have shot 70.8 percent from the line in the first half (172-of-243) and that number grows by percentage, and quantity, in the second 20 minutes. CU has shot 76.7 percent (293-of-382) in the final 20 minutes of games this year.
In the final minutes of games, the Buffs are hitting 76.2 percent (125-of-164) and 77.8 percent (63-of-81) in the final two minutes. Jackie McFarland leads the way at 88.9 percent in the final five minutes (32-of-36) and 91.7 percent in the final two (11-of-12).
MILESTONES GALORE IN SEASON OPENER: Several milestones were reached in Colorado's season-opening 100-71 win over Cal State-Fullerton.
Junior Jasmina Ilic and sophomore Jackie McFarland each had 34 points, both career highs, marking the first time in team history two players hit the 30-point mark in the same game. McFarland recorded her sixth career double-double, grabbing a personal-high 15 rebounds. Ilic also had a personal-best 12 field goals and tied a career mark with 10 rebounds.
Whitney Law dished out a school record 15 assists, breaking the previous record of 14, which was done twice, last by La Shena Graham vs. Missouri in 1998. She also had nine assists in the first half, breaking a 26-year old school record. Sandy Bean recorded eight assists in a half against Northern Colorado on Feb. 1, 1979.
Colorado recorded its first 100 point game since a 114-52 win over St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 28, 1994. CU's 58 first-half points tied for the sixth-most in team history, a feat also achieved against TCU on Dec. 7, 1993 and vs. St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 28, 1994.
CLASSIC IN REVIEW: Colorado placed third in the 19th Annual Coors Classic Tournament Nov. 25-26 at the Coors Events Conference Center. The Buffaloes fell to Northern Iowa, 74-65, in overtime marking the first time in Coors Classic history that CU lost a first round match up. Colorado rebounded to take the consolation game from Utah State, 73-56. Northern Iowa would go on to take the tournament title by defeating Illinois 71-47.
Jackie McFarland was named to the All-Tournament team as she averaged 18 points, 8.5 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Northern Iowa senior center Cassie Hager, who had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against CU, was the tournament MVP.
RICHARDS WILL REDSHIRT: Sophomore center Kara Richards, who has not played in a regular season game this season due to a broken foot, will miss the remainder of the year and use this as her redshirt season CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller announced on Jan. 10.
Richards suffered a Jones fracture ? a fracture to the fifth meta-tarsal ? in her left foot on Nov. 15, just three day's before CU's season opening win over Cal State University-Fullerton. She underwent surgery on Nov. 16 and the initial diagnosis had her missing anywhere from four to eight weeks. Richards was in a cast until Dec. 28, and returned to light practice the next week, but was not making the progress needed to return to the line up in the near future as soreness from her injury continues.
Richards will be a sophomore in eligibility for the 2006-07 campaign. She did appear in CU's two exhibition games in November averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds.
A native of Graham, Texas, Richards started in 26 of 28 games for the Buffaloes as a true freshman last winter, averaging nine points, 5.3 rebounds and one block per game. She earned a spot on the Waco Tribune-Herald's All-Big 12 Conference Freshman team in 2004-05 and was named the Buffs' Rookie of the Year.
WALLACE ACTIVATED: Junior forward Courtney Wallace has waited more than a year to put on the Buffaloes uniform and now laces them up with the rest of the squad. Wallace, a walk-on transfer from CU-Colorado Springs, was officially added to the active roster on Nov. 17. Wallace practiced with the Buffs for most of last season as she sat out her NCAA mandated redshirted year after transferring from the Springs campus. She has been practicing and conditioning with the Buffaloes since the start of the school year. Wallace played two years for the Mountain Lions and was a two-year letterwinner for Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs, graduating in 2004.
McCONNELL-MILLER 100 IN DEBUT: Kathy McConnell-Miller led Colorado to the century mark in her first game as head coach, by far the best total of any current Big 12 Conference coach in their debut at their school. Bill Fennelly of Iowa State was the closest as he led the Cyclones to an 82-55 win over Idaho State in his debut in 1995. Ironically, McConnell-Miller is not the first Colorado women's coach to debut with a 100-point performance. Sox Walseth led the Buffs to a 107-73 win over Colorado Women's College in his first game as women's head coach on Nov. 18, 1980. Here is the list of current Big 12 coaches and their first games:
Coach, School Opponent Date W/L Result
Kathy McConnell-Miller, Colorado Cal State Fullerton 11/18/05 W 100-71
Bill Fennelly, Iowa State Idaho State 11/24/95 W 82-55
Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech Abilene Christian 11/19/82 W 78-64
Kim Mulkey-Robertson, Baylor Miami (Ohio) 11/18/00 W 75-62
Cindy Stein, Missouri Bradley 11/19/98 W 73-57
Jody Conradt, Texas McLennan CC 11/22/76 W 72-58
Kurt Budke, Oklahoma State Texas State 11/19/05 L 69-77
Deb Patterson, Kansas State Memphis 11/22/96 W 68-60
Connie Yori, Nebraska Grambling State 11/22/02 W 63-40
Sherri Coale, Oklahoma Oral Roberts 11/22/96 W 62-50
Gary Blair, Texas A&M La Salle 11/22/03 L 62-67
Bonnie Henrickson Texas-Arlington 11/21/04 L 49-53
BUFFS IN OPENERS: With its win over Cal State-Fullerton, Colorado moved to 27-5 (.844) all-time in season openers and a whopping 31-1 (.969) all-time in home openers. CU has won six straight season debuts and 19 of its last 20 with the lone loss in that span coming at Denver on Nov. 19, 1999.
BUFFS IN PRESEASON: With its win over Northern Colorado, CU wrapped up the non conference schedule with a 6-7 record, meaning the Buffaloes string of five straight seasons of .500 or better during non conference action has ended. It is only the third time CU has finished below .500 during the nonconference schedule in the Big 8/Big 12 era going 5-6 in 1999-2000 and 4-9 in 1984-85.
BUFFS PICKED 12TH: Colorado was picked to finish 12th in the annual Big 12 Conference Coaches Preseason Poll. CU received 14 points meaning no less than eight Big 12 coaches picked the Buffaloes to finish in the 12th spot (coaches do not vote for their own teams). It is the first time the Buffaloes have been picked lower than eighth since the coaches poll began in 1997. Defending NCAA champion Baylor was picked to win its second consecutive Big 12 title, landing six first place votes and 113 total points to edge out second place Texas with two first place nods and 110 points. Texas Tech was a close third with the four remaining first place votes and 108 points. Oklahoma was fourth (91), followed by Nebraska (70), Kansas (66), Texas A&M (59), Kansas State (56), Iowa State (45), Missouri (37), Oklahoma State (23) and CU.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: Colorado's schedule has featured 14 games against 2005 NCAA or WNIT tournament teams. Oklahoma, who was ranked No. 16 in the coaches poll and No. 18 in the AP poll against CU in January, has climbed to No. 8 in the coaches poll and No. 9 in the AP poll. Defending national champion Baylor checks in at No. 10 in both polls. Texas A&M, who was unranked when the teams met in January, is currently No. 25 in the AP poll and just outside the top 25 in the coaches poll. Missouri and Wyoming are receiving votes in both polls.
HOME AT THE CECC: Colorado is traditionally tough at home with a 296-87 all-time record at the Coors Events/Conference Center (.773). The Buffaloes have won 10 or more games in a season at the CECC in 18 of the previous 28 years including five undefeated seasons (1980-83, 1992-94). At 7-9, CU finished its home season with a below .500 mark for just the third time in the 28-year history of the CECC.