Men's basketball (11-6 overall; 3-3 in the Pac 12) hits the road to visit the L.A. schools this weekend, starting with a Thursday game against the USC Trojans (11-5, 3-2) and followed up with a nationally televised game Saturday against the UCLA Bruins (14-2, 5-0).
Note - As I type this, CU is #60 in the Net rankings (dated 1/10/23), while USC is #74 and UCLA #7.
Thursday's game is scheduled to be shown on the Pac 12 Network, while Saturday's is slotted for Fox. (More info and links near the bottom of this post.)
Go Buffs!
Preview - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/1/10/mens-basketball-boyles-buffs-set-for-la-road-swing.aspx
"
LOS ANGELES — After taking care of business last week on a crucial two-game homestand, Colorado heads west this week for a two-game road trip that could give the Buffaloes a big boost in several critical areas.
Tad Boyle's Buffs open the trip Thursday with a 7 p.m. (MT) game at Southern California (Pac-12 Networks) followed by a 6 p.m. game Saturday at seventh-ranked UCLA (Fox).
While the Buffs (11-6 overall, 3-3 Pac-12) aren't even at the halfway point of the conference season, this is one of those road trips that offers all kinds of opportunity.
One win would adhere to Boyle's minimum standards for conference success — earn at least a split on the road and protect your home court.
But two victories would be huge in terms of the Buffs NET rating, their NCAA Tournament resumé and their place in the conference standings.
The Buffs are currently sitting in the low 60s in the NET, one of the key measuring sticks of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. They are also currently sitting in seventh place in the Pac-12 standings, well out of the top four spots that give a team a first-round conference tournament bye.
But two wins would improve those numbers significantly — especially one at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion against the league-leading Bruins (14-2, 5-0).
The Bruins, though, aren't the Buffs' major concern at the moment. Rather, all their attention is focused on the front end of the West Coast trip, Thursday's meeting with the Trojans (11-5, 3-2). Andy Enfield's team has had an up-and-down season thus far, but they are coming off a narrow 60-58 loss last week to UCLA, and they do own victories over Washington and Cal, two teams that have beaten Colorado this year.
...
QUICK LOOK USC (11-5, 3-2): The Trojans own wins over Brigham Young and Colorado State, but also lost to Tennessee (who CU beat) and Washington State.
Still, they are a talented bunch that is capable of playing at a high level. Guards Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson combined are averaging nearly 30 points per game while big man Joshua Morgan leads the league in blocked shots, averaging nearly three per game.
But perhaps most importantly, the Trojans are 7-1 at home this year, with their only Galen Center loss coming at the hands of Florida Gulf Coast in the season opener.
"We've got to make good decisions," Boyle said. "They kind of funnel everything to Morgan because they want the ball coming at him and then he contests shots, blocks shots, changes shots and discourages shots."
QUICK LOOK UCLA (14-2, 5-0): The Bruins are perhaps the Pac-12's best chance at a Final Four team. They are 9-0 at Pauley Pavilion this year and have won 11 in a row.
Their two big guns are wing Jaime Jaquez (17 points per game) and point guard Tyger Campbell (13.3 points, 4.6 assists per game). Guard Jaylen Clark is scoring at a 14-point clip and guard David Singleton is averaging more than 10 per game.
But the Bruins truly hang their hat on defense, giving up a paltry 61 points per game, best in the Pac-12. They are outscoring their opponents by 17 points per game and they lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage.
"
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A little more on the upcoming opponent(s):
USC -
Roster - https://usctrojans.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Stats - https://usctrojans.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats?path=mbball
Schedule - https://usctrojans.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule?path=mbball
Their game(s) preview article - https://usctrojans.com/news/2023/1/...c-returns-home-to-host-colorado-at-galen.aspx
UCLA -
Roster - https://uclabruins.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster?path=mbball
Stats - https://uclabruins.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2022-23?path=mbball
Schedule - https://uclabruins.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2022-23
Their game(s) preview article - Not available as I type this.
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Media links:
Vs. USC:
Live video - Game is scheduled to be shown on the Pac 12 National, Mountain and L.A. channels. For anyone with a subscription to any Pac 12 Network channel, I'm guessing the game will also be viewable on the Pac 12 App, or through a link at https://pac-12.com/mens-basketball/event/2023/01/12/colorado-usc .
Live Stats -
usctrojans.com
Live audio - In addition to being available on 850 or 630 AM in the Denver/ Boulder area and maybe other stations in the Buff radio network, looks like a free audio stream will be available at https://cubuffs.com/watch/?Live=2751&type=Live .
Games notes -
cubuffs.com
Vs. UCLA:
Live video - Game is scheduled to be streamed on Fox. For anyone with a subscription that includes that channel, I'm guessing the game will also be viewable on the Fox App, or through a link at https://www.foxsports.com/live .
Link to link to live stats -
Live audio - In addition to being available on 850 or 630 AM in the Denver/ Boulder area and maybe other stations in the Buff radio network, looks like a free audio stream will be available at https://cubuffs.com/watch/?Live=2753&type=Live .
Games notes - Not available as I type this.
Note - As I type this, CU is #60 in the Net rankings (dated 1/10/23), while USC is #74 and UCLA #7.
Thursday's game is scheduled to be shown on the Pac 12 Network, while Saturday's is slotted for Fox. (More info and links near the bottom of this post.)
Go Buffs!
Preview - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/1/10/mens-basketball-boyles-buffs-set-for-la-road-swing.aspx
"
LOS ANGELES — After taking care of business last week on a crucial two-game homestand, Colorado heads west this week for a two-game road trip that could give the Buffaloes a big boost in several critical areas.
Tad Boyle's Buffs open the trip Thursday with a 7 p.m. (MT) game at Southern California (Pac-12 Networks) followed by a 6 p.m. game Saturday at seventh-ranked UCLA (Fox).
While the Buffs (11-6 overall, 3-3 Pac-12) aren't even at the halfway point of the conference season, this is one of those road trips that offers all kinds of opportunity.
One win would adhere to Boyle's minimum standards for conference success — earn at least a split on the road and protect your home court.
But two victories would be huge in terms of the Buffs NET rating, their NCAA Tournament resumé and their place in the conference standings.
The Buffs are currently sitting in the low 60s in the NET, one of the key measuring sticks of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. They are also currently sitting in seventh place in the Pac-12 standings, well out of the top four spots that give a team a first-round conference tournament bye.
But two wins would improve those numbers significantly — especially one at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion against the league-leading Bruins (14-2, 5-0).
The Bruins, though, aren't the Buffs' major concern at the moment. Rather, all their attention is focused on the front end of the West Coast trip, Thursday's meeting with the Trojans (11-5, 3-2). Andy Enfield's team has had an up-and-down season thus far, but they are coming off a narrow 60-58 loss last week to UCLA, and they do own victories over Washington and Cal, two teams that have beaten Colorado this year.
...
QUICK LOOK USC (11-5, 3-2): The Trojans own wins over Brigham Young and Colorado State, but also lost to Tennessee (who CU beat) and Washington State.
Still, they are a talented bunch that is capable of playing at a high level. Guards Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson combined are averaging nearly 30 points per game while big man Joshua Morgan leads the league in blocked shots, averaging nearly three per game.
But perhaps most importantly, the Trojans are 7-1 at home this year, with their only Galen Center loss coming at the hands of Florida Gulf Coast in the season opener.
"We've got to make good decisions," Boyle said. "They kind of funnel everything to Morgan because they want the ball coming at him and then he contests shots, blocks shots, changes shots and discourages shots."
QUICK LOOK UCLA (14-2, 5-0): The Bruins are perhaps the Pac-12's best chance at a Final Four team. They are 9-0 at Pauley Pavilion this year and have won 11 in a row.
Their two big guns are wing Jaime Jaquez (17 points per game) and point guard Tyger Campbell (13.3 points, 4.6 assists per game). Guard Jaylen Clark is scoring at a 14-point clip and guard David Singleton is averaging more than 10 per game.
But the Bruins truly hang their hat on defense, giving up a paltry 61 points per game, best in the Pac-12. They are outscoring their opponents by 17 points per game and they lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage.
"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A little more on the upcoming opponent(s):
USC -
Roster - https://usctrojans.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Stats - https://usctrojans.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats?path=mbball
Schedule - https://usctrojans.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule?path=mbball
Their game(s) preview article - https://usctrojans.com/news/2023/1/...c-returns-home-to-host-colorado-at-galen.aspx
UCLA -
Roster - https://uclabruins.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster?path=mbball
Stats - https://uclabruins.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2022-23?path=mbball
Schedule - https://uclabruins.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2022-23
Their game(s) preview article - Not available as I type this.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Media links:
Vs. USC:
Live video - Game is scheduled to be shown on the Pac 12 National, Mountain and L.A. channels. For anyone with a subscription to any Pac 12 Network channel, I'm guessing the game will also be viewable on the Pac 12 App, or through a link at https://pac-12.com/mens-basketball/event/2023/01/12/colorado-usc .
Live Stats -
SIDEARMLiveStats
Real time live stats for your favorite team powered by SIDEARM Sports. One location for your team's Stat summaries, Individual stats, Team stats, Team leaders, Play by plays, Split Box scores and more.
Live audio - In addition to being available on 850 or 630 AM in the Denver/ Boulder area and maybe other stations in the Buff radio network, looks like a free audio stream will be available at https://cubuffs.com/watch/?Live=2751&type=Live .
Games notes -
Colorado MBB Notes at USC (PDF) - University of Colorado Athletics
Colorado MBB Notes at USC (PDF)
cubuffs.com
Vs. UCLA:
Live video - Game is scheduled to be streamed on Fox. For anyone with a subscription that includes that channel, I'm guessing the game will also be viewable on the Fox App, or through a link at https://www.foxsports.com/live .
Link to link to live stats -
Live audio - In addition to being available on 850 or 630 AM in the Denver/ Boulder area and maybe other stations in the Buff radio network, looks like a free audio stream will be available at https://cubuffs.com/watch/?Live=2753&type=Live .
Games notes - Not available as I type this.
