Buffs Continue Pac-12 Trip At Oregon Monday
THE GAME: The University of Colorado travels to face the University of Oregon on Monday, Feb. 10, at 6 p.m. MST at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.
BROADCAST: Monday's game will air live on KKZN AM 760. Mike Rice will handle play-by-play duties and will be joined by Carol Callan of USA Basketball with the color commentary. A live video stream of the game will be available on Oregon's Pac-12 video player at: http://pac-12.com/videos/university-oregon-2
OPENING TIP: Colorado, which leads the Pac-12 in 3-point defense at 27 percent, faces the top 3-point team in Oregon who leads the Pac-12 with 208 3-pointers (9.5 3mpg).
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 13-9 and tied with Utah for 10th place in the Pac-12 at 3-8, just one behind Monday's opponent, Oregon, and two out of seventh. The Buffaloes are coming off a 75-63 setback at Oregon State on Saturday. It was Colorado's fourth straight road loss, its longest away from home in two years (Feb. 2012).
Colorado is averaging nearly 70 per game while hitting 41 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free-throw line. Colorado has three players averaging double-digits and eight players scoring at least five per contest.
The Buffaloes lead the Pac-12 in 3-point defense (.275) while ranking second in scoring defense (61.7) and third in free-throw percentage (.700), field-goal percentage defense (.365), blocked shots (3.9 bpg) and scoring margin (+8.0).
Sophomore forward Arielle Roberson leads Colorado in scoring, at 12.8 points per game, and rebounding at 7.8 per contest. She led Colorado in scoring against Oregon State with 12 points while grabbing six rebounds. She ranks sixth in offensive rebounds (3.3 orpg), 10th in overall rebounds, 15th in blocked shots (0.8 bpg) and 19th in scoring on the Pac-12 charts.
Last season's Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, Roberson has a team-best four double-doubles on the season which all occurred within the final five nonconference games, including the Southern Utah contest where she scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. She recorded three straight double-doubles (Wyoming-Illinois-Denver), becoming the first Buff to do that since Chucky Jeffery had three in a row from Feb. 3-Feb. 10, 2013 (at USC, vs. Oregon State, vs. Oregon). She had a season-high 22 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Denver. In that game she established team-season and career-highs in free throws made (13) and attempted (17).
Roberson was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for Dec. 2-8 averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds while hitting 48 percent from the field in the wins over Wyoming and Illinois.
Junior forward Jen Reese leads Colorado and ranks eighth in the Pac-12 in field-goal accuracy at 48.6 percent. She is the Buffaloes' second leading scorer and rebounder at 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds an outing. Reese had a team-high seven rebounds in the loss at Oregon State while pitching in 10 points. She played well all around in the home win over Utah hitting 3-of-5 shots (7 points) while collecting six rebounds.
Reese had an outstanding weekend against the Arizona schools averaging 22 points and 7.5 rebounds on 55 percent from the field and 91 percent from the free-throw line. In the win over Arizona she tied her career-best with 22 points, hitting 62 percent from the field and 86 percent from the free-throw line. Reese matched her scoring output on Jan. 26 against No. 14/23 Arizona State for her third career 20-point outing, two of which came over the weekend. She established career-highs in field goals made (9), attempted (18) and minutes played (36) while hitting a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line and pulling down eight rebounds.
She has scored in double-figures in 14 of her 21 games including four straight prior to the Utah series, averaging 18.0 during that span. Reese recorded the second double-double of her career with 14 points and a team season-best 14 rebounds at Louisville. Her 14 rebounds also matched her career high which she also achieved against UCLA in 2011.
Senior guard Brittany Wilson leads the team in assists (71) and steals (27) while ranking third in scoring (11.2 ppg). She averaged 16 points and 5.5 rebounds in the Utah series, including a game-high 22 points in Salt Lake City. She was 8-for-8 from the foul line in that game, a team-season best in terms of free throws without a miss. Wilson, who leads Colorado in scoring during Pac-12 play (12.1 ppg), is averaging 13.7 points and 4.7 assists over the last six games. She nearly recorded her second career double-double with 12 points and a career and team season-high nine assists in the win over Arizona. On the overall Pac-12 charts, Wilson ranks 12th in assists, 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) and 24th in scoring.
Wilson is third in the Pac-12 in free-throw accuracy during league games at 84.9 percent hitting 45-of-53. She has made 40-of-44 over the last eight games (.909) and 26-of-29 in the last four alone (.897). Her 3.6 assists average during Pac-12 play ranks sixth on the league charts.
Sophomore forward Jamee Swan has started eight of the last 12 contests and is averaging 6.0 points on 48 percent from the field and 78 percent from the line. She leads the Buffaloes and ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in blocked shots (1.0 bpg). Swan recorded 15 points, nine rebounds and a season-high three blocked in the loss at Utah. Swan recorded her second career double-double in the Stanford game with career-highs in points (20) and rebounds (13). She hit 9-of-17 from the field and dished out a personal best five assists.
Senior guard Ashley Wilson registered seven points, six rebounds and a pair of assists against Oregon State. She was in the starting lineup for the second-straight game. Wilson hit her seventh career 3-pointer against the Beavers, her second of the season. She has hit 77.4 percent from the free-throw line this season ranking seventh on the Pac-12 leaderboard. Wilson's status is even better in league only games, ranking sixth at 80.5 percent. She scored 12 points off the bench, including a career-high tying six free throws against Arizona State, her third double-digit effort of the season.
Wilson scored a career-best 14 points in the win over Southern Utah, and then backed up that performance with 12 points and six rebounds against USC. Her back-to-back double-figure scoring games are a first for her, in fact she only had two double-figure scoring games in her first 97 career outings.
Freshman guard Lauren Huggins has provided a nice scoring punch off the bench. Huggins leads Colorado from 3-point range with 29 on the season with multiple 3-pointers seven games. She tied her own career and team season high with five 3-pointers in the win over Arizona, finishing with 15 points. She made 5-of-8 from downtown after making only one of her previous 10 and 2-of-16 during her first six Pac-12 games. Huggins also played great defense against the Wildcats recording a personal-best two blocked shots while also coming up with three rebounds and two steals. Huggins ranks 14th in the Pac-12 in 3-pointers made (1.5 3mpg).
Freshman Haley Smith has started the last eight games for the Buffaloes, putting together one of the best all-around efforts of her young career against Utah. She recorded career-bests with eight points, eight rebounds and dished out four assists against the Utes. After grabbing a total of only 12 rebounds in her first 14 games, she's become more of a presence on the boards, averaging 4.0 over the past six games.
Junior guard Lexy Kresl, returned to game action against Utah after missing three games with an injury to her right leg. She started the first 16 games and had been running a solid point prior to her injury averaging 9.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Kresl continues to lead the Pac-12 in free-throw accuracy at 88.2 percent (45-of-51) while ranking 10th in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4).
Kresl was the MVP of the 2013 Omni Hotels Classic averaging 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. She dished out a career-high six assists, with no turnovers, and added 12 points in the first round win over South Alabama. Kresl scored 19 points in the championship game, just one point off her career high, hitting 7-of-14 from the field and adding four assists, five rebounds and three steals.
Junior guard Jasmine Sborov started the first 14 games averaging 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game but is sidelined with a broken bone in her right foot. Over her last four games she averaged 7.0 rebounds which included her first career double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing a career-best 10 rebounds against Southern Utah. Sborov was solid in the UCLA game, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 from the field along with eight rebounds. She played a career-high 33 minutes against the Bruins and also matched her personal best by drilling a pair of 3-pointers.
Sborov has hit 72.4 percent from the foul line, delivering a pair of clutch performances on the road. She hit two foul shots at Colorado State with under a minute left to give Colorado a three point lead. In the win over Wyoming, she iced the game for the Buffaloes with another two free throws that provided the final margin, 63-59, with five seconds remaining. She has scored in double-digits in seven games, including a career-high 13 points in the season opening win over Colorado State. She came into this season with just three double-figure scoring games over the first 62 games of her career.
ABOUT THE DUCKS: Oregon is 13-9 overall and in ninth place in the Pac-12 at 4-7, one game head of Colorado and Utah. The Ducks have won four of their last five games since beginning the Pac-12 season at 0-6. Oregon leads the nation in scoring at 95.2 points per game and has broke the century mark eight times this season, but just once since the beginning of the conference season. Oregon also leads the Pac-12 in free-throw percentage (.729), rebounding offense (51.7 rpg), steals (11.5 spg), turnover margin (+3.9), and 3-pointers made per game (9.5). On the flip side, the Ducks give up 87.8 points per game and allow opponents 44.9 percent shooting, both numbers ranking last in the Pac-12.
Oregon sports two of the top three scorers in the Pac-12. Freshman guard Chrisae Rowe leads the Ducks at 23.0 points per game. She has 57 3-pointers on the season and ranks second in the Pac-12 in steals at 2.7 per game. Sophomore forward Jillian Alleyne leads the Pac-12 in rebounding at 15.6 per game while scoring 21.4 points an outing on 55.8 percent from the field. Ariel Thomas ranks sixth in the Pac-12 in assists at 4.1 per game while pitching in 10.8 points per contest. Katelyn Loper averages 12.8 points per game and ranks second in the Pac-12 with 59 3-pointers.
Paul Westhead is in his fifth season as head coach at Oregon with a record of 63-85.
THE SERIES: This will be the 16th meeting between Colorado and Oregon with the Ducks holding a 10-5 edge in the series. The Buffaloes swept the season series in 2012-13, Colorado's first two wins over the Ducks as members of the Pac-12. Prior to last year, the Ducks had won six straight over CU. Colorado's 60-49 win at Oregon on March 1, 2013, was its first in Eugene in five tries.
Colorado head coach Linda Lappe is 2-2 against Oregon. Paul Westhead is 2-2 against Colorado.
CONNECTIONS: Colorado sports one Oregon native on its roster, junior forward Jen Reese hails from Clackamas, and was a two-time Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year. Oregon has one Colorado native on its roster, junior center Megan Carpenter who is from Longmont. Oregon head coach Paul Westhead spent two years as head coach of the NBA's Denver Nuggets (1990-92).
REBOUNDING FOR THE WIN: Colorado had one of its best rebounding efforts of the season in the 61-45 win over Utah on Super Bowl Sunday. The Buffaloes tied a season-high with 51 rebounds (Illinois, Southern Utah) and their plus-16 margin over the Utes was their best in the Pac-12 this season and tied for the second-best mark overall (+21 vs. Illinois, +16 vs. Rice & Alcorn State).
Colorado outrebounded the Utes 27-12 in the first half. That plus-15 margin is Colorado's best of the season for a half and Utah's 12 rebounds was an opponent low.
Six players had at least five rebounds for Colorado led by Arielle Roberson and Haley Smith who both had eight. The last time Colorado had six players with at least five rebounds was during its 65-49 win at USC on Feb. 3, 2013 which was also played on Super Bowl Sunday.
The Buffaloes are 13-3 when winning or equaling their opponent on the battle of the boards; 0-6 when trailing on the glass. Colorado faces one of the league's better rebounding teams on Monday. Oregon State enters the contest leading the Pac-12 with 51.7 per game.
3-POINT STREAK ENDS, NEW ONE BEGINS: Colorado's 285-game streak with at least one 3-point field goal came to an end on Jan. 26 against Arizona State. The Buffaloes were 0-of-4 from beyond the arc against the Sun Devils. The last time Colorado had gone without a 3-point field goal prior to the Arizona State game was a 56-51 win at Missouri on Jan. 18, 2005 (0-for-8).
The Buffaloes did not score from 3-point range against Utah either (0-for-7), marking the first time since Dec. 1-2, 1995, Colorado went back-to-back games without a 3-pointer.
Junior forward Jen Reese put an end to the scoreless string from downtown in the opening minutes of the win over Utah, ending a stretch of 88 minutes, 56 seconds with out a 3-pointer (0-for-13).
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Colorado has a record of 38-16 since the beginning of the 2012-13 season. Of those 16 losses, 10 have been to ranked teams and nine of those ranked higher than Colorado at the time the game was played. The Buffaloes have won 35 of their last 41 games against unranked opponents.
Colorado prepared for the Pac-12 season with a 10-1 nonconference record, with the lone loss coming on the road at then No. 7/7 ranked Louisville. The Buffaloes have been dominant in the nonconference in the last four years with an overall record of 41-5, including wins in 34 of their last 35 games.
TIGHTENING UP THE GÇÿDGÇ¥: Colorado set a school record for field-goal percentage defense in 2012-13 at 35.0 percent and the Buffaloes are on pace to flirt with that mark again.
Colorado is allowing just 36.5 percent from the field which ranks third in the Pac-12. The Buffaloes have been even more stingy from long range by allowing a league-best 27.5 percent shooting beyond the arc.
The Buffaloes, who rank second in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (61.7 ppg), have held 13 opponents under 60 points. Colorado has held its opponents under 70 points in 49 of the last 54 games.
Colorado held Utah to 45 points in its last game, a season-low in Pac-12 play and the 10th time in the last two seasons the Buffaloes have held a conference opponent under 50 points.
MORE OFFENSE: Colorado has hit 80 points in five games this season, with four coming in succession from the Alcorn State through South Alabama contests. It marked the first time that the Buffaloes had hit 80 points in four consecutive games since late in the 1982-83 season when Colorado achieved the mark in five straight (Feb. 12-Mar. 5, 1983).
Colorado's 94 points against South Alabama were its most since a 96-90 overtime win over TCU in the third round of the 2008 Postseason WNIT, and the most in regulation since the last time the Buffaloes hit the century mark, a 100-71 win over Cal State-Fullerton on Nov. 18, 2005.
The Buffaloes scored 85 at New Mexico, the most on the road, in regulation time, since a 101-56 win at TCU on Dec. 7, 1993. Colorado scored 90 on the road in a one-point overtime loss at Baylor on Feb. 23, 2000 and that same number in a 9-point overtime win at Kansas on Feb. 24, 1995.
FREE THROW HISTORY: Sophomore Arielle Roberson had one of the top free-throw performances in team history in the win over Denver. Her 13 free throws made tied for the fifth best single-game performance in team history and most since Jackie McFarland had 13 against TCU in the 2008 WNIT, just days after setting her school record of 15 against Villanova. Roberson's 17 attempts tie for the second most in team history, just one off the school-record 18 attempted by LeaAnn Banks at Colorado State on Dec. 5, 1984.
Most Free Throws Made In One Game (Attempted):
15 - Jackie McFarland vs. Villanova, Mar. 27, 2008 (16)
14 - Jackie McFarland vs. Texas Tech, Mar. 6, 2007 (16)
14 - Shelley Sheetz vs. Arkansas, Dec. 8, 1992 (16)
14 - Debbie Descano vs. Montana State, Feb. 20, 1980 (16)
13 - Arielle Roberson vs. Denver, Dec. 12, 2013 (17)
13 - Jackie McFarland vs. TCU, Mar. 30, 2008 (14)
13 - Shelley Sheetz vs. Nebraska, Mar. 18, 1992 (16)
13 - Gretchen DeWitte vs. Nebraska, Feb. 7, 1987 (13)
Most Free Throws Attempted In One Game (Made):
18 - LeaAnn Banks at Colorado State, Dec. 5, 1984 (9)
17 - Arielle Roberson vs. Denver, Dec. 12, 2013 (13)
17 - Tera Bjorklund vs. North Carolina, Mar. 24, 2003 (12)
17 - Erin Scholz vs. Auburn, Mar. 17, 1996 (12)
17 - Bridget Turner vs. UNLV, Mar. 18, 1989 (11)
ROBERSON PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore Arielle Roberson was named the Pac-12 Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 2-8, the league office announced on Dec. 9.
For Roberson it's her first Player of the Week honor and sixth conference weekly award overall. She was a five-time winner of the Pac-12's Freshman of the Week award last season.
Roberson averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds while hitting 48 percent from the field in Colorado's wins over Wyoming (63-59) on Dec. 4, and Illinois (79-56) on Dec. 7.
Roberson scored 13 points and matched a season-high with 12 rebounds in the win at Wyoming. Eight of her rebounds were on the offensive end, one less than she had in her previous four games combined. She hit 6-of-15 from the field and also dished out an assist.
Against Illinois, Roberson led Colorado in scoring, tying a season-high with 17 points, hitting 58 percent from the field (7-of-12). She pulled down 10 rebounds, logging her fifth career double-double.
Roberson's honor is CU's ninth weekly award in the Pac-12 since the Buffaloes joined the conference in 2011; fourth in the Player of the Week category.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Colorado is 0-4 against ranked teams this season after dropping a 68-66 decision to No. 14/23 Arizona State. The Buffaloes have lost their last 10 to ranked opponents and are 3-14 under Linda Lappe. Only one of those opponents, No. 19/19 California on Jan. 10, was ranked lower than Colorado at the time. Eleven of Colorado's last 14 ranked opponents have been ranked No. 8 or higher.
CU is 62-152 all-time against ranked opponents.
FAST OUT OF THE GATE: Colorado's 9-0 mark to start the season is the fifth best in team history. Three of the top five all-time best starts in program history have come in the last three seasons. CU's best start was a 15-0 mark to begin the 1992-93 season. Here are Colorado's top-eight all-time season starts:
Year Start Final Other
1992-93 15-0 27-4 NCAA Elite 8
2011-12 12-0 21-14 WNIT Quarterfinals
1980-81 12-0 28-5 *AIAW National Tourn. First Round
2012-13 11-0 25-7 NCAA First Round
2013-14 9-0 ?? 33 straight regular season nonconf wins
1993-94 7-0 27-5 NCAA Sweet 16
1982-83 7-0 21-8 #Big Eight Semifinals
*-CU's first national tournament appearance; #-First year of Big Eight Conference round-robin play.
LIGHTS OUT: Colorado had one of their best shooting stretches in recent memory during the three-game span of New Mexico through the Omni Classic. CU hit an impressive 52.8 percent (93-of-176) during that span and finished above 50 percent in all three contests, including a season-best 55.6 percent (30-of-54) at New Mexico.
In 2012-13 Colorado had only two games above 50 percent for the entire 32-game season. The last time the Buffaloes had hit 50 percent in three consecutive games was from Nov. 27-Dec. 4, 1998, current head coach Linda Lappe's freshman season.
NUMBERS FROM DEEP: Colorado hit 10-of-18 3-pointers at New Mexico, its best performance percentage wise since the home game against the Lobos last season. The Buffaloes hit 62 percent from long range (8-of-13) in their 84-39 win over New Mexico in Boulder on Dec. 29, 2012. The 10 3-pointers were Colorado's most in a game on the road since hitting 15 at Oklahoma State on March 25, 2012, in the WNIT Quarterfinals. Colorado also had 10 at home against Oregon on Feb. 10, 2013.
Jen Reese and Jasmine Sborov both went 2-for-2 from long range against the Lobos, setting new career-highs for 3-pointers made for both players. In fact the duo, 4-for-4 on the day, had been a combined 7-for-48 (.146) in their careers prior to the New Mexico game.
ROAD WARRIORS: Colorado is 4-6 on the road this season and has won 22 of its last 38 true road contests. Prior to the start of this run, The Buffaloes had just five wins in their previous 37 road games dating back to the 2008 Big 12 Conference schedule. Overall the Buffaloes are 26-19 away from Boulder dating back to the tail end of the 2010-11 season.
BIG WIN STREAKS: Colorado saw its 33-game regular season nonconference win streak come to an end at Louisville a string that had began with a 74-52 win over Colgate on Dec. 30, 2010. This run is just one of several enjoyed by the Buffaloes over the last three seasons.
Colorado had claimed perfect 11-0 nonconference marks in each of the last two seasons, comprising of two of the top eight overall winning streaks in team history. The 2011-12 team actually began the season 12-0, including a win in its first ever Pac-12 Conference game, tying for the fifth-best streak in team history and the second longest to begin a season.
The Buffaloes' 11-game streak to start the 2012-13 season ties for the eighth best overall. Throw in a 10-game streak at the end of the 2012-13 campaign, and the Buffaloes have registered three separate double-digit winning streaks in the last two seasons.
Colorado has 10 double-figure win streaks in its history. Head coach Linda Lappe has presided over three of those streaks, one behind her mentor Ceal Barry who coached the Buffaloes to four different double-figure win streaks over her 22 seasons on the bench.
NATIONALLY RANKED: Colorado was ranked in the first 11 polls this season (including preseason), reaching as high as No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and No. 14 in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll.
The Buffaloes were ranked in 25 straight AP polls from Dec. 17, 2012 to Jan. 13, 2014. Colorado has been ranked in 183 all-time AP polls, ranking third in the Pac-12 behind only Stanford and USC.
For the first time since 2003, Colorado was ranked in both the Associated Press and USA Today Sports Coaches Top 25 Preseason polls, coming in at No. 19 in each.
Prior to the 2003-04 campaign the Buffaloes were ranked 20th in both polls. The preseason rankings were Colorado's highest since debuting at No. 12 (AP) and No. 13 (Coaches) heading into the 2001-02 campaign.
Colorado was not ranked in the final 2012-13 Coaches poll, coming in as the first team listed in the receiving votes category. The Buffaloes appeared in 11 Coaches polls in 2012-13, reaching has high as No. 18 the week of March 4, 2013.
The Buffaloes currently have four ranked teams on their schedule, three of which were preseason No. 10 picks. Stanford is No 3 and Louisville is No. 4 in both. California is No. 23 in the AP and No. 22 in the coaches. Arizona State is No. 11 in the AP poll and No. 16 in the coaches.
WILSON CLIMBING CAREER CHARTS: Senior guard Brittany Wilson is in 22nd place on Colorado's all-time scoring list with 1,095 points and just 12 shy of cracking the top 20. She became the 25th player in team history to reach 1,000 points during the Stanford game.
She is ninth in career 3-pointers made (122) and attempted (394), 14th in steals (153), 15th in minutes played (3,150) and 20th in assists (265).
IRON WOMEN: The senior duo of Brittany Wilson and Rachel Hargis have a good chance to end their careers ranking No. 1 & No. 2 in games played at Colorado.
The two have combined for 245 out of a possible 246 games played during their careers. Wilson has not missed a game in her career, playing in all 123 possible contests. Hargis has played in 122 missing only one contest, the 2013 NCAA Tournament game against Kansas, with a knee injury.
Barring any unforeseen setbacks, and with a modest postseason run, the two will be looking to catch Erin Scholz who set the school record at 132 games played from 1993-97. By playing Monday against Oregon, Wilson will jump into a three-way tie with Raegan Scott (1993-97) and Julie Hoehing (1980-84) for 11th place on CU's all-time list with 124 games played, while Hargis would join three others (Bianca Smith, 2006-10; Jenny Roulier, 1998-02; Mandy Nightingale, 1998-02) in 14th place at 122.