Long Colorado Scouting Report

[Tenspro2002]

They have 2 great shooters and one decent one (who shoots a lot more than one of the better ones). But they don't actually shoot a ton of 3's, They're in the bottom 2/3 of teams in 3-point shot volume.

Their guards and wings don't shoot well on drives and midrange. Actually, their PF also shoots terrible from the paint. I can't imagine him having a good game against our interior defense. That's a team weakness against our team strength. The PF does o-rebound well, so if we're helping off him on Scott, someone needs to rotate down to box him out.

As mentioned above, they shoot foul shots well, so it will be really important for our bigs to not foul. Scott draws a lot of fouls and shoots 75%.

Our defense seems to be best against the dribble-drive, so this post-kick sort of game might be a concern. Brimah's individual defense against opposing bigs has improved (e.g. against Shaq Goodwin), but this is still a potential trouble spot, especially if he gets double-team help from Hamilton or Gibbs and their guys are left open for 3.

We might be better off just playing straight up and forcing their big to score 30 points to beat us.

 

[DogMania]

Just looked at who they beat and who they lost to, and I find it strange that they are an 8 seed. They don't have any big OOC wins. All their big Ws are within the Pack-10.

Here's a case where we won't know how good a conference really was until we get further into the NCAA tournament, though seedings and locations where teams play, do have an impact as to how well one conference does over another.

Since the game isn't in the state of CO, I'm not too concerned, though I wonder how well each team's fan base will travel? Considering that each team has the chance to play top overall seed KU in the second round, a team that has a history of being bounced early, maybe that will draw more first and second round fans. I have a feeling that the building will likely be 90% KU fans and 10% everyone else, so I like our chances since I don't think it will be a hostile environment.

Now if we get past CO, expect the building to be packed with KU fans who travel very well.

I know that some aren't happy that we got the 9 seed in the top #1 region, but heck, we were a missed 3/4 court prayer away from playing in the NIT, so I can't complain we got a 9 seed. Considering some of our losses, and not killing it in our OOC schedule, I really can't complain. Eventually we'd have to play one of the top teams, and I don't see KU as being all that much better than most of the 1s through 3s. I might sound crazy, but I'd rather face KU in the round of 32, where they might play tight fearing another early exit to a lower seed, than to face them further in the tournament as they get on a roll with the F4 and Championship within striking distance.

I'm sure many wanted us to be playing closer to home, but there's no way the committee was going to put us in a pod or region close to home in light of our resume.

I don't hold a lot of hope that UConn will go very deep this season, but if they could manage to get on a surprise roll like they did in 11 and 14, and get by KU, we could be in for another entertaining ride.

I realize it's a big if, but if they can get by Colorado then beat KU, knowing our March history, teams in our path would likely feel the fear of God, thinking, not again!!!

Lastly, I'm hoping that finally getting away from the AAC teams that are familiar with how to beat us, and away from the AAC refs who have love affairs with the whistle, that maybe our style of play will do fine in the tournament where we have are full compliment of key players on the floor w/out being a foul trouble, which usually results in our inconsistent play.'

Anyhow, we got into the tournament, something that many of us didn't think would happen, so the team should find themselves playing with minimal pressure. Unless there are some big upsets along the way, we should find ourselves as the lower seed in all the games, which isn't a bad thing since they won't have the pressure of "you're supposed to win" on their backs.

 

[TheRogers]

Are you concerned then about our defensive scheme? It seems like we love to double their bigs. I would rather play 1 v 1 with Brimah/Nolan/Facey/Enoch and smother their outside shooters. Let Scott get his while shutting down everyone else.

This is the way to go. Close the three point line and let them get their points in 2s. Rely on the opportune block, missed shot, or turnover. Use our guards to run the ball like crazy. Tire them out. Make it difficult to get the ball in.

 

[dennismenace]

Are you concerned then about our defensive scheme? It seems like we love to double their bigs. I would rather play 1 v 1 with Brimah/Nolan/Facey/Enoch and smother their outside shooters. Let Scott get his while shutting down everyone else.

Never seen them play but if they are good from three and inside but poor at distribution (turnovers.....driving into traffic etc see points 1 and 2 above) we may see their guards pressured a lot and hopefully get some transition basketball going while also trying to deny the entry pass to bigs. Sound like an interesting and challenging matchup. Looking for a well prepared plan by KO. Happy this is on a neutral court.

 

[caw]

1) they are an excellent interior team and really rebound well. Josh Scott is all Pac-12 and one of the best fundamental post players in the college game. He has gotten mixed reviews as a potential pro because he may not be as tall as listed (6'10") and apparently has short arms but I've always thought of him as a poor man's Tim Duncan and that's a complement. Their power forward Wesley Gordon is a hybrid center/PF who is an excellent rebounder, very good defender and a decent post player himself. What neither Gordon or Scott do though is spread the floor. Instead, they post and kick to their wings who are some of the best shooters in the conference.

Just watched a game a friend recorded (Zona fan) and a few highlights. I can see the Tim Duncan comparisons. Though more like current Duncan than college Duncan. Scott has very nice fundamentals but isn't terribly athletic or as smooth as Duncan was in college. Solid 18 footer but not 3 PT range. Brimah et al will need to be able to defend him without gaurd help because the guards get off threes off a lot of pass outs from double teams, a lot of similarities to Temple actually. Would have been fun to watch Temple Colorado, IMO. I dont think the Buffs have a guard as good as Decourcy but are probably slightly better everywhere else. Temple is much better at possession but probably not quite as good on the glass, IMO.

 

[tzznandrew]

I know that some aren't happy that we got the 9 seed in the top #1 region, but heck, we were a missed 3/4 court prayer away from playing in the NIT, so I can't complain we got a 9 seed.

I agree with all but this. Tulsa made it...we would have as well.

 

[Marat]

Here are full game highlights for Colorado (vs Arizona) in their Pac12 Tourney. We'll have to stay disciplined on their shooters as they make a high percentage of threes - that is going to be one of the biggest concerns (not as worried about their big guy). Also need to box out well on defensive rebounds. Not impressed with their transition defense and ability to stop the attacking penetration. Need to run, run, run.

Its actually good that UConn will play Thursday afternoon to keep the momentum going. They have time to rest/recover and return back to action soon. Keep it going.

 

[CL82]

Pressure their guards, generate turnovers, shorten the clock for their offense.

 

[auror]

Just looked at who they beat and who they lost to, and I find it strange that they are an 8 seed. They don't have any big OOC wins. All their big Ws are within the Pack-10.

Pac gamed the RPI well this season, leading to a bunch of Top X wins for each member (and Oregon had 20 which is why they got the #1).

I agree with all but this. Tulsa made it...we would have as well.

Tulsa got in because they were 4-5 against RPI Top 50, UConn was 2-5 before the tournament, would have been 2-6 with Cincy loss. I think Tulsa would have gotten in over us. Bracketologists didn't put the same weight on that metric as the committee (thus Syracuse, too), so you can't use our placement above Tulsa in the collective as proof of anything. We could have both gotten in, but we'll never know that.

 

[auror]

Here are full game highlights for Colorado (vs Arizona) in their Pac12 Tourney. We'll have to stay disciplined on their shooters as they make a high percentage of threes - that is going to be one of the biggest concerns (not as worried about their big guy). Also need to box out well on defensive rebounds. Not impressed with their transition defense and ability to stop the attacking penetration. Need to run, run, run.

Nailed it. We need to rebound like we did in the AAC tourny. Let Brimah play 1 on 1 but make sure he doesn't foul.

 

[DonaldDraper]

Pressure their guards, generate turnovers, shorten the clock for their offense.

Agreed. To take it one step further, it is very important that the on-ball pressure denies or challenges entry passes into the paint. Scott can't catch passes in position to score or we will lose our bigs to foul trouble. If Scott has to come out to 7+ft to catch the pass it will also give us time to double off the weak shooter.

 

[James]

Just watched a game a friend recorded (Zona fan) and a few highlights. I can see the Tim Duncan comparisons. Though more like current Duncan than college Duncan. Scott has very nice fundamentals but isn't terribly athletic or as smooth as Duncan was in college. Solid 18 footer but not 3 PT range. Brimah et al will need to be able to defend him without gaurd help because the guards get off threes off a lot of pass outs from double teams, a lot of similarities to Temple actually. Would have been fun to watch Temple Colorado, IMO. I dont think the Buffs have a guard as good as Decourcy but are probably slightly better everywhere else. Temple is much better at possession but probably not quite as good on the glass, IMO.

The double teams on Scott need to be strategic and not sloppy, he will pick apart the defense if we start with the same coverages thrown at Lawson late yesterday.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Pressure their guards, generate turnovers, shorten the clock for their offense.

Also helps make the entry pass to Scott in the post more difficult.

 

[KemBuckets21]

This is the way to go. Close the three point line and let them get their points in 2s. Rely on the opportune block, missed shot, or turnover. Use our guards to run the ball like crazy. Tire them out. Make it difficult to get the ball in.

Anyone else think a big other than Brimah continues to start? I like the idea of letting Nolan and Facey absorb some early fouls. Amida has been effective in limited minutes during the conference tourney.

 

[Kembacity]

Obviously we all want our guys to win as many games as possible, but even if we can just beat Kansas, that would be so rewarding to me. I love that we have this blue blood claim but lately are the Cinderella magic team. If we can beat Kansas and bust 75% of the brackets, that would keep this reputation going, and I can't tell you all how pleasing it is when you hear the other fans and talking heads question what it is in the water in Storrs

Let's beat Colorado and get that March Voodoo rolling

 

[KemBuckets21]

Also, most impressive stat of the Cincy game to me is 3 fouls from Brimah in 47 minutes against an extremely active and athletic front court for the bearcats. Off topic, but maybe i'll just post it in every thread since it was so awesome to see some discipline!

 

[HarryAGampel]

Does anyone know the CU message board? Curious to what they're saying about us

 

[Marat]

Does anyone know the CU message board? Curious to what they're saying about us

Here is one I found...

www.allbuffs.com/forums/colorado-basketball-message-board.4/

 

[Lefty2one]

Thanks for the long write up, haven't watched a second of Colorado all year so it was good to get some intel. I imagine it'll be a close game on Thursday.

1) It will be interesting to see we handle their primary big man and how much zone we play. Did a lot of CU's opponents go zone? Foul trouble was a big issue with Memphis but we have enough big bodies that Lawson & Goodwin didn't completely kill us (they refs were also ATROCIOUS in the Memphis game all around, way too many whistles on both teams). I'm sure CU is more well-rounded offensively than than that disaster of a Memphis team.

2) It bodes very well for us if their guards struggle to contain dribble penetration. It's pretty cut and dry for this UConn team - when we can get into the lane and collapse the D, we are a very dangerous team. When we can't do that, we really struggle offensively.

3) @BuffaloHusky, what do you think about their defensive strategy against Hamilton? Do they have a decent defender to put on him? Any thoughts on if we go small with Hamilton at the four? Does CU ever play smallball or do they stay with a traditional front court?

 

[EBonz30]

Just an FYI.....

I've seen Colorado play more than 10 times this year, we don't have much to worry about with this matchup.

The only advantage they have against us is on the boards.

Thad Boyle is a very good coach, but this team for whatever the reason doesn't play the defense of his past teams.

King is going to be a star and is a player we will need to try to shut down. Scott is good as well and Brimah should be able to do pretty well against him.

Their point guard play is awful.

As long as we don't get out rebounded by 10+ we should be able
to take care of biz and move on.

Will be important Hamilton continues his greatness!

 

[tzznandrew]

My sense: this is a hard-nosed opponent that over-performs its talent. Strong bigs and good shooters. It's a poor man's 2000s Pitt--with the exception of the steady PG (Knight-Krauser-Gibbs). Typically those types of teams hurt us, but the lack of a good PG might get our offense going. Their bigs are tough, and Brimah is going to have to play disciplined on the ball defense.

Our guys are going to be focused, but we can't come out flat like we have. They have streaky shooters, and if they get on a roll we can be in trouble.

 

[ctchamps]

So this is my nightmare scenario... I'm a CU alum yet an enormous fan of UConn since I was teenager. With that said, I've seen every UConn game and most CU games (with exceptional of the 11 pm starts on the Pac 12 Network network). The bottom line... there aren't many similarities.

I will start with what CU does well.

1) they are an excellent interior team and really rebound well. Josh Scott is all Pac-12 and one of the best fundamental post players in the college game. He has gotten mixed reviews as a potential pro because he may not be as tall as listed (6'10") and apparently has short arms but I've always thought of him as a poor man's Tim Duncan and that's a complement. Their power forward Wesley Gordon is a hybrid center/PF who is an excellent rebounder, very good defender and a decent post player himself. What neither Gordon or Scott do though is spread the floor. Instead, they post and kick to their wings who are some of the best shooters in the conference.

2) their wings can score. George King is redshirt sophomore with great range and touch and is their 2nd best player. Josh Fortune also has excellent range and tends to push the ball up court. Treshaun Fletcher is a lefty who appears fairly passive yet consistently makes plays and also shoots well from distance. On top of that all three guys are between 6'5" and 6'7" and will rebound as well.

3) they hit free throws and get to the line. CU will likely be the best free throw shooting team they play and UConn will really need to try and stay out of foul trouble. The typical Brimah, Nolan, Miller silly fouls will really be an issue against the Buffs because once they start going to the line, they won't be missing like most of the teams UConn has seen this year.

Now... the problem areas for the Buffs.

1) they turn the ball over.. a lot. I'm not exaggerating when I say everyone is responsible (Scott being the exception). Their point guards (more later), the wings and their bigs all tend to dribble into traffic and either throw the ball at the rim or make terrible passes. UConn hasn't forced many live ball turnovers this season but should have opportunities against the Buffs.

2) the point guards are incredibly inconsistent and they don't necessarily facilitate the offense. Dominique Collier has been great in some games and has disappeared in others. Xavier Talton is not really a point guard but an undersized shooting guard. Thomas Akyazili is a wild card. He has been playing very well of late and tends to push the ball up the court. Regardless, none of them really make plays for others and their assist to turnover ratio is mediocre at best.

3) their defense should be better. With all of the length at the wings and an excellent interior, they should be a top 10 defense. CU plays mostly man to man and has a very difficult time with penetration. Expect Adams and Purvis to get the cup consistently.

4) they have little success outside of Boulder. Their home court is one of the best in the nation and for years were awful away from it. That wasn't as much the case this year but I'm still suspect of how they will perform on a big stage outside of Colorado.

The coach... Tad Boyle is excellent. Colorado has been one of the worst major conference jobs over the last 25 years and he has consistently gotten them into the dance. He is exceptionally composed and really relies on his players to battle through tough situations. I've never seen a coach focus as much as they do on rebounding (even over defense) but generally if they win the rebounding battle... CU wins.

If I have to make a prediction I think CU wins if the UConn bigs are in foul trouble. I think UConn wins if CU turns the ball over. As for matchups... look for Hamilton on George King and Brimah on Josh Scott.

Thanks for the information. I would say this is the Cliff Notes version of a @DogMania or @champs99and04 post so the title should have been Medium Colorado scouting report.
And since it's that time of year it brings fond memories of the Dogmania hanging and sentencing.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Agreed. To take it one step further, it is very important that the on-ball pressure denies or challenges entry passes into the paint. Scott can't catch passes in position to score or we will lose our bigs to foul trouble. If Scott has to come out to 7+ft to catch the pass it will also give us time to double off the weak shooter.

Yes indeed. It is time to break out the LSU defense. Most brilliant single game coaching job Jim Calhoun ever did.

 

[Jaker]

Do they play the 2-3 zone?

 

[upstater]

Fortune at PC was erratic and turnover-prone, but he also had games in which he went off, I believe. In other words, he was a jeckyll-and-hude back then.