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Official Game Thread: CU vs UC Santa Barbara, 6 PM & Preview

jgisland

Club Member
Club Member
UCSB vs Colorado
6:00 PM CEC

Colorado ramps up competition today with UC Santa Barbara tonight at 6:00 PM. Hopefully the earlier start with snow won’t keep the CEC from being a packed house, because this could be a better game than Vegas (CU -15) and many CU fans are making it out to be.

News came out yesterday that potential Big West POY, Alan Williams is being ruled out for the game with back spasms. He did make the trip and is in Boulder, so when I see him in street clothes I’ll rest easier, but he’s likely a no-go. So no Alan Williams this game should be a cake walk right? Not so fast in my opinion. USCB beat a struggling UNLV team by 21 last week with Williams in the line-up but did a lot of the damage early without Williams contributing a lot. So Williams isn’t their only/primary contributor, they’ve got a pair of guards in Michael Bryson and Kyle Boswell that will let it fly. USCB shoots 46.9% from 3 (9[SUP]th[/SUP] best in the NCAA), CU has struggled closing out on shooters in every game this year, so Bryson and Boswell could likely have a field day if they get some room.

While UCSB will let it fly, they’ll likely need to knock down a lot of the shots, because they only grab 19% of their offensive boards (342[SUP]nd[/SUP] in the NCAA). On paper this sounds great, CU limits UCSB’s good looks from 3 and then grabs the defensive rebounds and this should be a blowout, right? But the problem is that UCSB doesn’t get a lot of offensive rebounds because they don’t go after them, they routinely send 5 guys back immediately when a shot goes up to limit their opponents transition opportunities. Sound familiar? It’s exactly what Wyoming did to stick around with CU and make the game competitive. Wyoming has limited opponent transition field goal attempts to 22.3% of total FGA attempts, and only let CU shoot 16.2% of their FGA in transition. Well UCSB one ups Wyoming in this department, they have only let opponents shoot 15.6% of their FGA come in transition.

CU’s not likely to get a lot of transition opportunities because UCSB sends guys back as soon as a shot goes up, so CU’s going to have to score in the half-court. Well, what kind of half-court defense does UCSB run (wait for it)…………the 2-3 zone. The exact defense CU’s struggled with year after year. While we’ve seen much better ball movement and patience against the zone the last two games the competition hasn’t been exactly top-notch. While UCSB isn’t all-world, they are a step op from Jackson St and Arkansas St.

I’ve just talked about several ways CU can lose this game (or make it closer than we want it to be), how does CU win? Wesley Gordon (I’m trying to get the nickname Pedro Cerrano, from Major League fame to stick for Gordon, because can’t you just imagine Wes doing something like this?) and Josh Scott. USCB is weak in the paint and will be even more so sans Williams. Their tallest guy 6-10 210 lb Sam Beeler only plays 51.7% of the minutes. With XJ being cleared to play CU will have plenty of size to rotate in at the 3-5 position and to me that’s going to be the key to the game. If CU can get their bigs in foul trouble or simply pound away inside CU should be able to handle the Gauchos.

JG’s keys to the game
Close out on UCSB’s 3 point shooters (Bryson and Boswell)
Patience and ball movement in the half-court
Lots of touches in the post for Scott, Gordon, Thomas and XJ

UCSB-Logo.jpg
 
thanks for the great previews. This was on the USCB site on Tuesday, regarding players who are having issues:

UCSB's leading scorer and rebounder Alan Williams came out for warm-ups prior to the game against Utah State on Saturday, took one jump hook and had his back spasm, causing him to miss the entire game. The Gauchos hope for his return this week, but will not have a definitive word prior to Wednesday. In addition to Williams' absence, UCSB is currently without forwards John Green (3-6 weeks with a foot injury) and Mitch Brewe (2-3 weeks with a sprained knee). The loss of Williams forced Santa Barbara to play with just one post player against the Aggies, Sam Beeler. Brewe should be able to play in Colorado"
 
Tipoff is at 6? ****. Glad you did this JG. I had it down at 8. Furk...
 
Really looking forward to how they handle this one. The wyoming game was early and they werent sharing the ball (3 assists I think?) but they have really been feeding each other well the last 2 games. Like JG said, they were not world class opponents, but getting into the habit of passing is a good thing.
They also seem to have gotten the hang of the inside/out game that tad wants them to play, and if the gauchos only have 1 big guy in there, wes, jelly and XJ could have a party down there.
Go buffs!
 
Back spasms are the most painful thing I've ever personally endured. And there's nothing you can do to get rid of them. They just have to quit on their own. I once had them for over a month. Awful.
 
There is no one there at all. It looks like games I used to attend when I was a student.
 
Hey guys they're gonna shoot from 3 and they're gonna make a good amount, you may want to play D on them out there.
 
If CU possessed an ability to consistently shoot well from the outside, they would be a very very hard team to beat
 
0-7 from 3 point land against a mid-major who will probably not be dancing in March.

#DOOM
 
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