Sabatino Chen almost beats Arizona

Colorado's Sabatino Chen had a career night against No. 3 Arizona. The senior guard scored a season-high 15 points, including two clutch 3-pointers. Coming in to the game he had made just two all season.

He almost made a third, off the glass, at the buzzer to beat the No. 3 team in the country on the road.



But like Eric Devendorf's 3-pointer at the end of regulation at the 2009 Big East Tournament, the shot did not count.

Unfortunately for Tad Boyle and the Colorado Buffaloes, they had no 6-OT magic in them.

Arizona won the game.

But man, what a shot. On a night where all the shots fell for Colorado, the one they needed was called off. But was it good? take a look at this screencap. One clock says the game is over and the other says it isn't.

The kid banked home a game-winning three. Give it to him already. Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Andre Roberson channels his inner-Archie Goodwin

A lot of pundits bought stock in Andre Roberson this off-season, and with good reason. The versatile Colorado forward is arguably the most efficient rebounder in the country, and is one of the real elite athletes in college hoops this season. The 6-foot-7 San Antonio-native has long strides and can cut through defenses with ease.

On Sunday in the Buffs 81-74 win over Murray State, Roberson went toe-to-toe with The Racer's top defender Ed Daniel (The one with the afro). Roberson nearly put Daniel on a poster, but Roberson was a bit too reckless and was hit with a charge foul.

But like we've stated here before, a dunk doesn't have to count in order to be #POSTERIZED-worthy.



I'm sure that Roberson will make another #POSTERIZED appearance soon, and I'm sure he'll make the next one count.

But was it as good as these?

Doug Anderson - Detroit vs. Drake, 11/17
Archie Goodwin - Kentucky vs. Lafayette, 11/16
John Brown - High Point vs. Appalachian State, 11/13
Stefan Jankovic - Missouri vs. Alcorn State, 11/14
Cole Dickerson - San Francisco vs. Cal State-East Bay, 11/13
Clancy Rugg - Vermont vs. UConn, 11/13
Jamari Traylor - Kansas vs. Michigan State, 11/13
Doug Anderson - Detroit vs. St. John's, 11/13
Kris Brewer - Kent State vs. Temple, 11/13
Rakeem Christmas - Syracuse vs. San Diego State, 11/11
Deandre Daniels - UConn vs. Michigan State, 11/9
Ben McLemore - Kansas vs. Emporia State, 10/31
Keion Bell - Missouri vs. Northwest Missouri, 10/31

Continue reading...

VIDEO: Did Oregon get homered?

And you thought Thomas Robinson's charge was the only episode of home-cooking on Saturday night.

Out in Boulder, Colorado was getting a friendly whistle of their own. With just a few seconds left on the clock, Oregon's Olu Ashaolu finished a layup off of a dish from Jonathon Loyd to tie the game at 71 with just a couple of seconds left on the clock. But he missed the free throw, allowing Colorado's Nate Tomlinson go dribble the length of the floor. He missed a shot at the other end, but the referees called EJ Singler for a foul with just 0.1 seconds left (start at the 1:00 mark):
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NBA Draft Profiles: Alec Burks, Colorado

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 20.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.6 t/o's, 29.2% 3PT, 82.4% FT

Age: 19, sophomore

Size:

• Listed: 6'6", 195 lb
• Official: 6'5" (no shoes), 6'6" (with shoes), 6'10" (wingspan), 8'7.5" (reach), 193 lb

Strengths: Burks is at his best when he is slashing to the basket. He is, for lack of a less cliched word, a shot creator. He can get to the rim going either direction and has q quick first step and long strides that make him a nightmare to try and stay in front of. When he gets into the paint, he has the explosiveness to finished around the rim. He needs to add strength to finish better through contact, however. Burks is also a better ball-handler and distributor than you would think for someone described by Draft Express as a "smooth yet explosive slasher" that averaged over 20 points per game. He is willing and capable of finding an open man, and he has the handle to run the pick and roll and bring the ball up in transition. Burks is more than just a scorer as well. He is probably the best rebounder of the perimeter players in this draft not named Kawhi Leonard or Travis Leslie. He also projects as a very good defender with his size, length, athleticism, and ability to play in the passing lanes.

Weaknesses: The biggest weakness in Burks' game right now is his shooting ability. He shot just 29.2% from beyond the arc this past season -- down from 35.2% on fewer attempts as a freshman. He's even worse in pull-up situations, although some of that can be attributed to the role he played for the Buffaloes. He had to create the majority of his scoring opportunities at Colorado as the Buffs really had only two offensive options. As a result, teams started to send multiple players to help side when he put the ball on the floor, forcing him to take some tough pull-ups. He doesn't have great from on this shot, has he has a tendency to fade and shoot without squaring his shoulders.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: Poor man's Brandon Roy. Like Roy, Burks has terrific size for a guard with his skill set. I think Roy is a better playmaker than Burks will become, but they both have the same kind of scoring ability. I also like the comparison with Eddie Jones, although I think both of those comparison assume that Burks will improve his ability to shoot the basketball.


• Worst Case Scenario: The consensus seems to be Marquis Daniels. I think its fair, both in production and style of play. If Burks is unable to better his shooting stroke and can't put on much more strength on his frame, it will be tough for him to become more than just a role player at the next level.

Outlook: Burks is a very intriguing prospect. He was a no-name coming out of high school. He's young for his age -- he won't turn 20 until July, which actually makes him younger than Tristan Thompson, who is a grade below him -- and hit a late growth spurt that took him from a 6'3" high school senior to a 6'6" college sophomore. Combine that with the significant improvement that he has shown over the past two seasons, and it should be safe to assume that Burks still has quite a bit of developing to do. Clearly, he needs to get better shooting the ball, as his defense and ability to slash should already be enough to be effective in the league. And while he has struggled with that aspect of his game in college, the fact that he shoots 82.4% from the free throw line indicates that with an increased focus as a pro, it will improve. The NBA is a league for guys that can create their own shot, and Burks certainly can do that. Combine that with his ability to defend, and there is no doubt a spot for him in the NBA, possibly as a starter down the road.

Draft Range: Late Lottery to Mid 1st Round

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "He is a great athlete with a smoothness to his game that is really elusive. He has the ability to snake in and out of defenders and is a terrific finisher at the rim. He made several dunks in the workout on Thursday that were "wow" moments. Questions about his jump shot have been the biggest concern for NBA scouts. He shot the ball well on Thursday both from midrange and from 3. It's still an area that needs improvement, but his form is pretty good. I think it's fixable. One scout in attendance on Thursday compared him to DeMar DeRozan -- a great athlete who will make a living slashing to the basket even without a great jump shot. DeRozan may be more explosive than Burks, but Burks has a fluidity to his game that DeRozan still lacks and, at this point in the process, Burks is the better shooter."


• Draft Express: "One area of his game in which scouts surely would have liked to see more progress this season is his jump shot. He doesn't take (or make) many 3-pointers—he's just 21 of 69 on the season from this range--but he is streaky from mid-range too, a place many Big 12 teams have forced him to operate from by taking away the paint with help-side defense. Burks has converted just 54 of 184 (29%) jumpers this season, largely due to his struggles shooting off the dribble (30 of 118, or 25%)."


• Swish Scout: "Versatile scorer who loves to attack the rim and can get to the free throw line, but can make the defender pay for playing off by knocking down the midrange jumper. Burks is the best pure SG available in 2011 and a very good rebounding on the wing as well, but needs to fill out his body and extend his shooting range to the NBA 3."

Highlights:


Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Colorado's Shannon Sharpe is sterling

While you were busy worrying about your failed brackets and getting caught up to date on TruTV's spring programming schedule, Colorado has been doing their best to prove the selection committee wrong by dominating the N.I.T.

In the Buffs second round game against future-conference-foe California, Shannon Sharpe (no relation to the NFL's pass-catching duo) hit the offensive-glass hard and threw down one of the best tip-jams of the year.



If you are keeping track at home, that's three poster-dunks from the N.I.T (two from Colorado) and zero from March Madness.

Just sayin'.

But was it as good as one of these?:
Continue reading...

The Real March Madness: Day 10

Everyone loves the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Four straight days jam-packed with 12 hours of do-or-die college hoops is more than most people can handle.

But for junkies like us, the next 13 days are just as good, for it is when the true Madness takes place. Over the course of these two weeks, we whittle some 347 teams down to 30 conference champions (the Ivy doesn't have a tournament). Auto-bids will be won. Bubbles will be burst. Buzzers will be beaten. And most importantly, a 68 team bracket will be made.

For a comprehensive listing off all the conference tournaments, follow this link or click the "Complete Conference Tournament Schedules" page at the top of the screen. To become more acquainted with the teams that have already sealed up auto-bids, follow this link.

Here is what happened on Thursday:
Kemba Walker had the most vicious buzzer-beater you will ever seen, Colorado gets off the bubble, and a few teams got theirs busted.


Game of the Day: UConn 76, Pittsburgh 74

And to think, there is a coach out there that doesn't believe Kemba Walker was good enough to make the Big East All-Conference First-Team. Walker scored 24 points including a step-back game-winning buzzer-beater to defeat top-seed Pittsburgh in the Big East Quarterfinals. On the final possession, Walker got the ball at the top of the key, burned the clock, and set up for a final drive. What happened next was instant-YouTube-gold:



The final play was designed for Walker to take the final shot. He had the option to pass it up to Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, but Walker had done so against Notre Dame, and Donnell Beverly could not handle the pass, and the Huskies lost 67-70. This time, Walker kept the ball and criss-crossed Gary McGhee like a new pair of shoelaces. Along with his 24 points, Walker also contributed five assists, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals. Pittsburgh led for most of the first half, getting up by as many as 12, but the Huskies clamped down on defense in the second and forced the Panthers to lose composure.

Alex Oriakhi was a big contributor in the second half. He sat during most of the first due to foul trouble, but was able to grab five of his seven rebounds in the second half. But the story of the game was Walker's shot. The whole sequence, Walker slicing-and-dicing McGee, taking a monster-step-back jumper to win the game, was one of the prettiest end-of-game sequences we may ever see.

They were good too:

- Miami (Fl) 69, Virginia 62 OT: Neither of these teams are going to the tournament unless they win the ACC tournament. But Miami put on a comeback of March Madness magnitude. The two teams were tied at 39 with six minutes to go when the Hurricanes hit a cold-streak. They went roughly five minutes, and by the time they scored their next point, they trailed 50-40. That's when The Cavaliers fell apart at the seems and Miami scored 10 points in just under 50 seconds.



The Hurricanes had scored only 12 second-half points up until that point. In overtime, Miami hit all five of their shots and was able to pull away for a seven point win.


- Norfolk State 55, Coppin State 53: Rob Hampton hit a layup with 2 seconds remaining to lift No. 6 Norfolk State over No. 3 Coppin State 55-53 in the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament. Coppin State rallied back from an 11-point first half deficit, and took the lead with eight minutes left in the game. Norfolk State trailed 51-44 with six minutes left before scoring seven unanswered points, tying it at 51 with less than four minutes to go. Coppin State missed the potential go-ahead jumper with 48 seconds left, and Kyle O'Quinn grabbed the rebound, setting up the final possession. O'Quinn, the six-foot-ten center for the Spartans, led the way with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks.


Team of the Day: Colorado Buffaloes

The Buffs locked up an at-large bid with their huge win over No. 4 Kansas State in the quarterfinals of the Big-12 tournament. Kansas Stat was riding a six-game win streak coming into the game, but the duo of Alec Burks and Cory Higgins were too much for the Wildcats. The two wings combined for 52 points of the team's 87 points, and Andre Roberson grabbed 14 rebounds to go along with his 11 points (Roberson also threw down a filthy dunk). With the win, the Buffs complete the season sweep of Kansas State.


They were good too:

- East Carolina Pirates: The No. 8 Pirates defeated top-seeded UAB in the quarterfinals of the Conference-USA tournament, 75-70 in overtime. The Pirates had lost both regular season games against the Blazers, but were able to outscore the No. 1-seed in overtime 18-15. UAB's Aaron Johnson scored a career-high 39 points on 12-22 shooting. But the rest of UAB shot a combined 9-43. East Carolina bursted UAB's bubble, and the Pirates will have the chance to do it to another bubble team, when they face No. 4 Memphis in the semifinals on Friday.


Player of the Day: Devin Gibson, Texas-San Antonio

A day after Gibson logged a career-high 28 points en route to his second triple-double of the season, the senior guard was just four assists shy of doing it again. Gibson finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists as the No. 7 UT-San Antonio Roadrunners upset No. 3 Sam Houston State in the semifinals of the Southland Conference tournament. Gibson was 6-12 from the field and 11-15 from the charity stripe. UTSA will now face top-seeded McNeese State in the championship game.

They were good too:

- Michael Thompson, Northwestern: John Shurna, the Wildcats leading scorer had only two points, but Michael Thompson made up for it by providing a Big Ten tournament-record 35 points, as No.8 Northwestern defeated No. 9 Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten tournament 75-65. Thompson was 11-22 from the field including 5-12 from behind the arc. He also made all eight of his foul shots. His previous scoring high was 23 points, which he scored against American back in December.

- Klay Thompson, Washington State: The Washington Huskies avoided being swept by the Cougars in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, but they could not stop Klay Thompson, who recorded a tournament-record 43 points. Thompson sat out the last game of the regular season due to a suspension related to a marijuana arrest. Thompson was 15-29 from the field, including 8-17 from behind the arc.


Bubble Banter

- Boston College took care of business against Wake Forest, and if they can defeeat Clemson, another bubble team, BostoN College would probably secure one of the last at-large bids.

- Colorado did what they needed to do, as they beat Kansas State 87-75. If bid-theives stay at bay, Colorado is likely to lock up one of the final at-large bids. A semifinal win over Kansas would almost guarantee them a spot in March Madness.

- Colorado State's bubble is officially busted. They lost to New Mexico in the first round of the MWC tournament. The Rams would have had an outside shot at an at-large bid, but that is no longer the case.

- Georgia defeated Auburn in the first round of the SEC tournament, setting up a BubbleBuster match up against the Alabama. a win would likely put the Bulldogs in the "last four in" and a lost will send them packing for the N.I.T.

- Marquette was blown out by Louisville in the quarterfinals of the Big East torunament, but are probably safe. They got the win they needed on Wednesday night when they defeated West Virginia.

- Memphis' tournament hopes remain alive for now. They defeated No. 5 Southern Miss in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament. Memphis now faces No. 8 East Carolina in the semifinals. They will need to beat the Pirates in order to strengthen their chances at an at-large bid.

- Michigan State survived a scare against No. 10 Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. Despite the win, the Spartans have still lost five of their last ten games. They will now face No. 2 Purdue, and a win on Friday would almost guarantee them a spot in the tournament.

- Any outside shot that Oklahoma State may have had is now gone, thanks to a missed game-winning shot in their 63-62 loss to Kansas in the Quarterfinals of the Big-12 Tournament. Their bubble is officially busted.

- UAB, the top-seed in the C-USA tournament was considered on the bubble. But not anymore. They lost to No. 8 East Carolina in overtime and are now N.I.T-bound.

- UCLA's tournament status is now up in the air thanks to a head-scratching 17-point loss to Oregon. The Bruins last three losses have all come against non-tournament teams.

- USC beat Cal 70-56 to reaffirm their bubble-status. Another win for them would be ideal. But I think barring a bid-theft or two, the Trojans will get in.

- Everybody''s favorite bubble team, Virginia Tech, moved step closer to finally locking up an at-large bid by defeating Georgia Tech in the first round of the ACC tournament. A win today against Florida State would make them a near-lock.

- Washington would have been bubble-bound with a loss to Washington State, but the Huskies escaped 89-87, and wil now have a chance to cement their tournament spot with a quarterfinal win over No. 7 Oregon.

- If Washington still has a shot at an at-large bid, then Washington State definitely doesn't. A win last night would have given the Cougars three wins over Washington this season, and would have given them an outside-shot. But now, the NCAA tournament is out of reach.


Thursday Results

Atlantic Coast Conference First Round

#9 Miami 69, #8 Virginia 62
#5 Boston College 81, #12 Wake Forest 67
#7 Maryland 75, #10 NC State 67
#6 Virginia Tech 59, #11 Georgia Tech 43


Big East Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#9 UConn 76, #1 Pitt 74
#4 Syracuse 79, #5 St. John's 73
#2 Notre Dame 89,. #7 Cincinnati 51
#3 Louisville 81, #11 Marquette 56


Big-Ten Conference Tournament First Round

#8 Northwestern 75, #9 Minnesota 65
#7 Michigan State 66, #10 Iowa 61
#6 Penn State 61, #11 Indiana 55


Big-12 Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#1 Kansas 63, #9 Oklahoma State 62
#5 Colorado 87, #4 Kansas State 75
#2 Texas 74, #10 Oklahoma 54
#3 Texas A&M 86, #6 Missouri 71


Big West Conference Tournament Quartefinals

#1 Long Beach State 79, #8 UC Irvine 72
#5 UC Santa Barbara 79, #4 Pacific 67
#7 UC-Riverside 70, #2 Cal Poly 66 OT
#3 CS-Northridge 75, #6 Cal St. Fullerton 54


Conference-USA Tournament Quarterfinals

#8 East Carolina 75, #1 UAB 70 OT
#4 Memphis 66, #5 Southern Mississippi 63
#3 UTEP 77, #6 Marshall 65
#2 Tulsa 81, #10 Rice 72


Mid-American Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#2 Western Michigan 67, #7 Bowling Green 56
#6 Akron 82, #3 Miami(OH) 75 2OT
#1 Kent State 73, #8 Buffalo 62
#4 Ball State 76, #5 Ohio 73 OT


Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference First Round

#6 Norfolk State 55, #3 Coppin State 53
#4 Morgan State 77, #5 North Carolina A&T 59


Mountain West Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#1 BYU 64, #9 TCU 58
#5 New Mexico 67, #4 Colorado State 61
#2 San Diego State 64, vs. #7 Utah 50
#3 UNLV 69, #6 Air Force 53


Pac-10 Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#4 USC 70, #5 Cal 56
#1 Arizona 78, #9 Oregon State 69
#7 Oregon 76, #2 UCLA 59
#3 Washington 89, #6 Washington State 87


Southeast Conference Tournament First Round

#4E Georgia 69, #5W Auburn 51
#3W Ole Miss 66, #6E South Carolina 65
#5E Tennessee 74, #4W Arkansas 68
#3E Vanderbilt 62, #6W LSU 50


Southland Conference Tournament Semifinals

#7 Texas-San Antonio 79, #3 Sam Houston State 70
#1 McNeese State 91, #4 Texas State 83


Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#4 Alabama State 81, #5 Alabama A&M 61
#6 Grambling State 65, #3 Mississippi Valley State 62


Western Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals

#8 San Jose State 74, #4 Idaho 68
#3 New Mexico State 66, #6 Nevada 60


Friday Slate of Games

Patriot League Tournament
Finals (at higher seed)
4:45PM - #6 Lafayette at #1 Bucknell


Southland Conference Tournament
Finals (Katy, TX)
3:00PM - ESPN2 - #1 McNeese State #7 Texas-San Antonio


ACC Tournament
Quarterfinals (Greensboro, NC)

12:00PM - #1 UNC vs. #9 Miami
2:30PM - #4 Clemson vs. #5 Boston College
6:30PM - #2 Duke vs. #7 Maryland
9:00PM - #3 Florida State vs. #6 Virginia Tech


Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (Atlantic City, NJ)

12:00PM - #1 Xavier vs. #9 Dayton
2:30PM - #4 Duquesne vs. #12 St. Joseph's
6:30PM - #2 Temple vs. #10 La Salle
9:00PM - #3 Richmond vs. G#6 Rhode Island


Big East Conference Tournament
Semifinals (New York City, NY)

7:00PM - #4 Syracuse vs. #9 UConn
9:30PM - #2 Notre Dame vs. #3 Louisville


Big Ten Conference Tournament
Quarterfinals (indianapoli, IN)

12:00PM - #1 Ohio State vs. #8 Northwestern
2:30PM - #4 Michigan vs. #5 Illinois
6:30PM - #2 Purdue vs. #7 Michigan State
9:30PM - #3 Wisconsin vs. #6 Penn State


Big-12 Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Kansas City, MO)

7:00PM - #1 Kansas vs. #5 Colorado
9:30PM - #2 Texas vs. #3 Texas A&M


Big West Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Anaheim, CA)

6:30PM - #1 Long Beach State vs. #5 UC-Santa Barbara
9:00PM - #3 CS-Northridge vs. #7 UC-Riverside


Conference-USA Tournament
Semifinals (El Paso, TX)

3:00PM - #4 Memphis vs. #8 East Carolina
5:30PM - #2 Tulsa vs. #3 UTEP


Mid-American Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Cleveland, OH)

7:00PM - #2 Western Michigan vs. #6 Akron
9:30PM - #1 Kent State vs. #4 Ball State


Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournnament
Semifinals (Winston-Salem, NC)

6:00PM - #1 Bethune-Cookman vs. #4 Morgan State
8:30PM - #2 Hampton vs. #6 Norfolk State


Mountain West Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)

9:00PM - #1 BYU vs. #5 New Mexico
11:30PM - #2 SDSU vs. #3 UNLV


Pac-10 Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Los Angeles, CA)

9:00PM - #1 Arizona vs. #4 USC
11:40PM - #3 Washington vs. #7 Oregon


Southeast Conference Tournament
Quartefinals (Atlanta, GA)

1:00PM - #1W Alabama vs. #4E Georgia
3:30PM - #2E Kentucky vs. #3W Ole Miss
7:30PM - #1E Florida vs. #5E Tennessee
10:00PM - #2W Mississippi State vs.#3E Vanderbilt


Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament
Semifinals (Garland, TX)

2:30PM - #2 Jackson State vs. #6 Grambling State
8:00PM - #1 Texas Southern vs. #4 Alabama State


WAC Tournament
Semifinals (Las Vegas, NV)

8:00PM - #1 Utah State vs. #8 San Jose State
10:30PM - #2 Boise State vs. #3 New Mexico State


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POSTERIZED: Andre Roberson takes to the sky

Colorado's Andre Roberson has an uncanny leaping abillity.

He may not be the best dunker in the country, but the dude can flat-out soar. Seeing him take off with the ball almost reminds me of former-Hokie Deron Washington.

But I digress.

Just watch the dunk. It's pretty awesome.



In fact, I'm not sure Roberson can be categorized as a "dunker". I think he is more of a "jumpman".

But was it as good as one of these?:
Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: Andre Roberson uses the power of the shot-fake

Who doesn't love a good shot-fake?



Answer: The Texas A&M defense.

But in all seriousness, it's a shame that we live in a society where a dunk like this can go 20-plus hours before being uploaded to youtube. But maybe that's my fault for taking technology for granted.

But was it as good as one of these?:

POSTERIZED - Durrell Summers, Michigan State
POSTERIZED - Phillip McDonald, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Kyle Kuric, Louisville
POSTERIZED - Anthony Nelson, Niagara
POSTERIZED - Cory Joseph, Texas
POSTERIZED - Will Sheehey, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Tom Pritchard, Indiana
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - John Holland, Boston
POSTERIZED - Keith Gabriel, VMI
POSTERIZED - Travis McKie, Wake Forest
POSTERIZED - Jefferson Mason, Minnesota State (D-II)
POSTERIZED - Tyler Johnson, Fresno State
POSTERIZED - Justin Williams, UNC-Ashville
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Hollis Thompson, Georgetown
POSTERIZED - Darnell Wilks, Cincinnati
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette
POSTERIZED - Darrius Garrett, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Travis Cohn, Jacksonville
POSTERIZED - Ramon Galloway, South Carolina
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Justin Tubbs, East Tennessee State
POSTERIZED - John Williams, UNC-Ashville
POSTERIZED - Kevin Smith, Richmond
POSTERIZED - Mitchell Watt, Buffalo
POSTERIZED - Chandler Parsons, Florida
POSTERIZED - Kenny Gabriel, Auburn
POSTERIZED - Paris Horne, St. John's
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Laurence Bowers, Missouri
POSTERIZED - Drew Gordon, New Mexico
POSTERIZED - Tony Mitchell, Alabama
POSTERIZED - Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt
POSTERIZED - LaMarcus Reed, UT-Arlington
POSTERIZED - Marcus Morris, Kansas
POSTERIZED - Jared Cunningham, Oregon State
POSTERIZED - Langston Morris-Walker
POSTERIZED - Chris Wright and Juwan Staten, Dayton
POSTERIZED - D.J Stephens, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Reeves Nelson, UCLA
POSTERIZED - Kendall Marshall and John Henson, UNC
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Joe Jackson, Memphis
POSTERIZED - Shay Shine, High Point
POSTERIZED - Harrison Barnes, North Carolina
POSTERIZED - Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion
POSTERIZED - CJ Fair, Syracuse
POSTERIZED - LeBryan Nash
POSTERIZED - Rodney Williams, Minnesota
POSTERIZED - Travis Leslie, Georgia
POSTERIZED - Terrence Jones, Kentucky
POSTERIZED - Marcus Jordan, Central Florida
POSTERIZED - Lorenzo Brown, NC State
POSTERIZED - Tai Wesley, Utah State
POSTERIZED - Trent Lockett, Arizona State, and Derrick Williams, Arizona
POSTERIZED - Brandon Paul, Illinois
POSTERIZED - Jordan Hamilton, Texas




Continue reading...

Colorado's board work is why they are winning

Its time to start paying attention to Colorado again.

The Buffaloes were considered by just about everyone to be the Big XII's sleeper this season. They were returning some experience and had arguably the best 1-2 punch in the conference in Alec Burks and Cory Higgins. But then Colorado lost to San Francisco. Then came a loss to Harvard by 16 points. And after the Buffs lost to New Mexico, they were doomed to head into conference play with four losses on their resume and a marquee win over the best of the others in the Mountain West, Colorado State.

On Saturday, Colorado reignited interest and optimism when they knocked off then-No. 8 Missouri at home, 89-76. Burks had 36 points and eight rebounds while Higgins added 18 points and 10 boards. There is no way that those two were going to be able to keep up that level of production.

Could Colorado win when they didn't combine for 54 points and 18 rebounds?

It only took one game to find out.


On Wednesday night, the Buffs went into Bramlage Coliseum and knocked off reeling Kansas State to start Big XII play off 2-0. And they did it despite off nights from both of their stars. Burks finished with 12 points, but he shot 4-15 from the field and turned the ball over six times (a number that, after watching the game, actually seems low). Higgins was a non-factor, as he managed to get up just four shots to finish with nine points.

Last night's star was Levi Knutson, who came off the bench to pour in 20 points on 6-8 shooting from three. All six of those treys came in two Colorado surges -- when they erased an early 11 point lead in the first half and when they built an 11 point lead of their own in the second half. Colorado also got nice performances out of Marcus Relphorde, who had 12 points and four steals, and Andre Roberson, who came off the bench to chip in nine points and nine rebounds, five of which were offensive.

In fact, if you were to pinpoint a reason for these two wins, you have to look at the rebounding, of which Roberson leads the way with 7.5 rpg. Colorado doesn't really have a big body on their roster, which is a big reason why many analysts had them somewhere in the middle of the conference despite having two potential NBA draft picks. According to Kenpom, Colorado was getting 35.4% of their potential offensive rebounds (OR%) while allowing opponent's a 32.2 OR%. Here are their splits from the past two games:

• vs. Missouri: CU - 42.1 OR%; Mizzou - 26.2 OR%
• @ Kansas State: CU- 46.7 OR%; KSU - 35.1 OR%
  

How about this stat -- Kansas State's size up front is what made many people put them in the top five in the preseason. The two leading rebounders in last night's game? Alec Burks, a 6'6" wing, and Andre Roberson, a 6'7" wing.

If Colorado can continue to rebound like that, they aren't going to need 54 points and 18 rebounds out of Alec Burks and Cory Higgins.
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Utah receives an invite from the Pac-10

Its not a surprise in the least, but today we got word that Utah will, in fact, be the 12th team invited into the Pac-10 conference. The two schools are schedule to join the conference for the 2012 season, but many expect Utah and Colorado to push for inclusion beginning in 2011.

Now that that is over, the next logical question becomes how does the Pac-12 split up their conference? Well, we may have gotten that answer from the Denver Post this afternoon:

Playing in a south division instead of a north with the Bay Area, Oregon and Washington schools was a must for Colorado to accept an invitation. Its largest out-of-state alumni base is in southern California.

"That is a huge boost for us," [Colorado athletic director Mike] Bohn said. "The southern division for the University of Colorado provides many opportunities that are keys to reaching our alumni to our recruiting and to enhance media exposure that connects best to the Denver market."

So there you have it. The Pac-10/Pac-12 North is going to consist of Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, Stanford, and Cal. The Pac-10/Pac-12 South will be Colorado, Utah, USC, UCLA, Arizona, and Arizona State.

The only quirk left to figure out is the schedule. For basketball, the Pac-10 had arguably the most beautiful conference schedule. 10 teams each with a logical regional traveling partner. 18 conference games, with each team playing a double round robin. It just worked so perfectly.

With 12 teams in two divisions, the conference has two choices as far as I can tell. They can do what the SEC does, playing each team within their division in a home-and-home, while rotating between home and away for the interdivisional games.

But that is only 16 games. If they want to keep it at 18, then every three years, the league will rotate who makes an interdivisional home-and-home trip. This second method would actually work out better. When Pac-10 schools travel, they travel with partners. So, for example, the way it has worked is that on a Thursday, Oregon will play at Washington while Oregon State plays at Washington State. On Saturday, they switch, and Oregon heads to Washington State with Oregon State will play at Washington.

With the 16 game format, some teams would be forced to play nine road games while others got nine home games, unless the league did away with travel partners. In the 18 game format, that number could be balanced out. For example, the Arizona schools would play a home-and-home with the Washington schools, take a road trip to the Oregon school, and then play host to the Bay Area schools.

Anyway, worrying about all of that is a long way off. Conference play with Utah and Colorado included won't for at least another 18 months.

The important thing is that -- at least for the time being -- conference realignment seems to have finally come to a close ...

For now.
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The Expansion Crisis 2010 Day 8: Updated as news comes in

9:48 am: The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Colorado will accept an invitation to join the Pac-10 today.

Apparently, this will happen regardless of the dealings between Nebraska and the Big Ten.

If, somehow, the Big XII manages to stay together, the Pac-10 will add Utah, which has been reported on quite a bit, in order to become a 12 team league. That means two divisions and a Pac-10 conference championship game.

This stuff happens quickly. I bet we are far from done today. Hit the jump for more:

10:10 am: The Oklahoman is reporting that they were told by a high-ranking OU official to "load up your sun-screen." Its not difficult to see that as a thinly veiled reference to the Pac-10 and the west coast.

It looks like this is happening.

11:40 am: It's offical: Colorado is going to the Pac-10.

12:50 pm: As Stewart Mandel points out, Colorado's move signifies a bad end for the Big XII. The Buffaloes were unable to buyout the contract of football coach Dan Hawkins, but if the Big XII remains once the realignment axe is finished swinging, they will owe a $9 million fee for leaving the conference. If they couldn't afford, or didn't want to pay, the buyout, would they consciously decide to pony up the $9 million?

2:00 pm: The Big XII exodus continues. TMZ Sports is now reporting that Oklahoma State will be the third team to leave the conference, as they join Colorado in heading west. If that's true, then it likely ends all speculation that the four Texas schools were considering the SEC.

4:30 pm: A television station in Kansas City is now reporting that Texas and Texas A&M are headed to the Big Ten, Oklahoma is petitioning to join the SEC, and Oklahoma State will be joining the Pac-10. An earlier report from TMZ comfirmed Oklahoma State accepting an invite from the Pac-10. Texas and Texas A&M would be leaving Baylor and Texas Tech, as well as Missouri, to their own devices.

As far as UT and A&M are concerned, many are not buying the rumor. Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com, who has been absolutely dominating this story, tweeted earlier that any news about the two schools joining the Big Ten "would be news them." So take that scoop with a grain of salt.

5:00 pm: This is not exactly expansion related, but Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins has announced that he will be resigning at the end of the 2010-2011 school year. This comes on the heels of a federal investigation into a scandal involving scalped tickets, a scandal involving athletic equipment, a fight between his football and basketball teams, and the potential for the Jayhawks to be without a conference once realignment is complete.

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