Post Game Thread: Buff/Zags

[Scotch]

Good effort today and a great experience for this team. The positive is they got their first taste of playing against a big time team in November, instead of in January when the Big 12 starts. They almost pulled it out too. The 'Zags have some players who have been there done that, and the Buffs don't. That was the difference imo.

Started getting worried towards the end of the 1st half when Gonzaga switched to a match up zone. Buffs started to cool from the perimeter after that, and was the biggest factor in Gonzaga catching up in the 2nd. Just couldn't hit a 3. They really have to find other ways to score when this happens.

The Buffs showed their inexperience in the 2nd. Bad turnovers and missed free throws, especially in the last 10 minutes really killed at the end. Rugged made the comment that it wasn't the refs that killed us today, and I totally agree. The Buffs just made too many mistakes down the stretch. This will improve as the season goes on imo. Our players just have to get used to playing in these types of conditions to be successful in them.

Anyway, really liked what I saw today overall! :thumbsup:

[Duff Man]

Thanks for the post Scotch. Just got home a while ago and did not get to see any of the game. Sounds like it was a good effort. I will take it with the absence of Bz and all.

For this to be a successful season though, the team is going to have to close some games out for a change. We have given away far too many games over the past few years and that needs to stop this season.

[dio]

those free-throws ended up being the killer.

I don't know much, or follow much, regarding basketball... but the Buffs need a big guy in the mix somewhere. They were killed inside on the defensive end.

[DBT]

:bang: Man, I was hoping we could pull this one out. But great effort by the kids.

[CarolinaBuff]

Thanks for the post Scotch. Just got home a while ago and did not get to see any of the game. Sounds like it was a good effort. I will take it with the absence of Bz and all.

For this to be a successful season though, the team is going to have to close some games out for a change. We have given away far too many games over the past few years and that needs to stop this season.

Yea the announcers mentioned late in the game that something like 7 of our 22 losses were by 5 points or less. I may have remembered the exact numbers wrong but you get the idea. :huh:

[Buffnik]

Here's the final box score for the Buffs:

Player: Points / Rebounds / Assists / Steals / Blocks / Turnovers / Personal Fouls

Corey Higgins: 19 / 6 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 4 / 4
Alec Burks: 11/ 6 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 5 / 3
Marcus Relphorde: 10 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 1 /3
Casey Crawford: 10 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 5
Nate Tomlinson: 8 / 2 / 7 / 1 / 0 / 2 / 2
Austin Dufault: 7 / 1 / 1/ 0 / 0 / 1 / 4
Keegan Hornbuckle: 3 / 1 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0
Dwight Thorne: 2 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 2
Shane Harris-Tunks: 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 4

FGM-A: 26-49 (53.1%)
3PM-A: 7-16 (43.8%)
FTM-A: 13-18 (72.2%)
REB-REBA: 22-28
O-Reb-ORebA: 2-8
AST-TO: 15-14
TODef: 11
FGDef: 22-46 (47.8%)
3PDef: 5-12 (41.7%)
FTDef: 27-37 (73.0%)

[Buffnik]

Too many turnovers and a subpar game from the line did us in.

That's typical of a team that's not used to playing on the big stage.

Otherwise, our stat line looked very good.

[BeBe]

... and a subpar game from the line did us in....
I got a chuckle out of that one Buffnik! Calling 72.2% on FT sup-par .... and it is for what they have done so far this season. But, man, I can remember many a game where 72.2% would have looked GREAT!!

[Scotch]

Too many turnovers and a subpar game from the line did us in.

That's typical of a team that's not used to playing on the big stage.

:nod: Yup.

A big positive is they're dealing with full court presses better. Passing and dribbling out of it much much much better than last season already. They made Gonzaga pay for pressing them in the first half, getting some easy layup's and 3's. Now they have to learn how to create points when the 3 ball isn't falling and the other team steps up their defensive pressure. They didn't deal with the 'Zags match up zone very well today.

Anyone happier with Crawford's game today?

[Scotch]

I got a chuckle out of that one Buffnik! Calling 72.2% on FT sup-par .... and it is for what they have done so far this season. But, man, I can remember many a game where 72.2% would have looked GREAT!!

Problem was a lot of the missed free throws came in the 2nd half.

[BuffLuKe]

Its all about closing really and they will learn that. They certainly played well enough to win but the turnovers and missed free throws came when they cant happen against a good team. Loved the effort though, if they keep playing that hard, they will start to win some games.

[Buffnik]

Anyone happier with Crawford's game today?

I wonder if it's coincidence that Crawford's had his best games with McClain on the bench (and Thorne his worst).

[dabuffffs]

I wonder if it's coincidence that Crawford's had his best games with McClain on the bench (and Thorne his worst).

Tomlinson played 33 minutes, Thorne played 16. Thorne played 6 minutes less than his season average while Tomlinson played 10 minutes more than his season average. McClain was not smart to do that today. Very disappointed.

[Scotch]

I wonder if it's coincidence that Crawford's had his best games with McClain on the bench (and Thorne his worst).

Dunno. Honestly today's game was the first time I wasn't negative on him.

[NiTownBuff]

We're getting VERY close. I think the difference is we don't completely believe in ourselves yet, and that showed down the stretch. But it's going to happen soon. A win tomorrow against Ariz or Wisc would be a huge step for the team's growth.

This is the most fun I've had watching CU hoops in a long time.

[JimmyBuff]

replay of the game is on espn360.com Going to watch it later..


But it seems from what I gather our offense went into the tank in the 2nd half and we got beat up in the paint..

[DBT]

Is Tunks going to develop into a legit big?

[BehindEnemyLines]

Look, this young team just took a nationally ranked opponent down to the wire, on a neutral cours. Great learning experience and really a surprise to everyone (that they played that close). Give thee young guys some time....this could be a fun year.

[Buffnik]

Is Tunks going to develop into a legit big?

Depends on what you're thinking a "legit big" is. He's never going to be a guy we can count on for 15-20 points, night in and night out.

But I do believe he'll be a guy that will get points by hustling down court on fast breaks, getting some putbacks, and being able to hit open shots he gets within the offense from 15 feet in. He'll bulk up, toughen up and become a much smarter player. With that, he'll start blocking a couple shots a game, disrupting more, and be difficult to get deep position on. He's also going to be a pretty good rebounder.

I don't see him ever being 1st Team All Big 12. But if he puts in the work, I do see a guy who can eventually average 8-12 points a night with a high shooting percentage, grab 6+ rebounds a night, block 1.5+ shots a night and hold down opponents' shooting percentage.

[dabuffffs]

Depends on what you're thinking a "legit big" is. He's never going to be a guy we can count on for 15-20 points, night in and night out.

But I do believe he'll be a guy that will get points by hustling down court on fast breaks, getting some putbacks, and being able to hit open shots he gets within the offense from 15 feet in. He'll bulk up, toughen up and become a much smarter player. With that, he'll start blocking a couple shots a game, disrupting more, and be difficult to get deep position on. He's also going to be a pretty good rebounder.

I don't see him ever being 1st Team All Big 12. But if he puts in the work, I do see a guy who can eventually average 8-12 points a night with a high shooting percentage, grab 6+ rebounds a night, block 1.5+ shots a night and hold down opponents' shooting percentage.


He needs to first learn not to foul so quickly. I realize Gonzaga is tough in the interior but he picked up 4 fouls playing in 6 minutes.

[stampy]

I completely forgot about this game, but it's good to hear they were competitive. I really like Few's comment after the game regarding the Buffs,

"They run an intricate offense, the Princeton-style offense, and when you don`t have a lot of time to prepare, you can get sliced and diced. We got sliced and diced," Few said. "We were under fire from a very skilled team. I`d call them a great offensive team right now."