Official preview article, with more on the Anteaters, now out on cubuffs.com -
https://cubuffs.com/news/2019/11/17...es-buffs-ready-for-battle-with-uc-irvine.aspx
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BOULDER — For the casual fan, Monday night's matchup between
Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes and UC Irvine might seem like just another early season home game for the No. 25 Buffs.
But those who follow college hoops recognize UC Irvine as the team that won 31 games last season and knocked off fourth-seeded Kansas State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. They might also know Russell Turner's Anteaters have three starters back from that squad — including preseason All-Big West guard Evan Leonard — and that they are picked to win another conference title this season.
It is why Boyle barely took time to smile Saturday after his team's 71-53 win over San Diego. In fact, even before the Buffs had a chance to cool down after improving to 2-0, Boyle was warning them about what awaits in Monday's 7 p.m. matchup at the CU Events Center (Pac-12 Network).
His message to the media was only slightly less forceful.
"I'm telling you what, the game Monday night is going to be a battle extraordinaire," Boyle said at the post-game press conference. "We're playing a well-coached, well-disciplined, tough team … We've got our hands full on Monday night and our fans need to understand."
Boyle is making sure his players understand. The visiting Anteaters (3-1) also own a win over San Diego this season, albeit by a narrower margin, but also on USD's home floor. They are coming off a 69-60 win Friday at Boise State, meaning they will have actually had a little more time to rest than the Buffs in between games.
Perhaps most importantly, the Anteaters aren't intimidated by a visit to a Power Six conference team's home. Last season, UC Irvine compiled a 13-2 road record that included a win at Texas A&M.
"We talked about it after the game and we're going to talk about (Sunday) at practice," Boyle said. "We had better be ready to battle on Monday night because it is going to be a knockdown drag-out, I promise you, and we have to be ready to go."
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But no matter how many people are in the stands, the Anteaters don't figure to be intimidated. With three starters returning from last year's NCAA tourney team and three more reserves who played regularly, they are no strangers to "big" environments.
The Anteaters have a solid blend of quickness in the front court and big men on the baseline.
The 6-foot-1 Leonard, one of three starters back from last year, has played in just two games, but fellow senior starters Tommy Rutherford, a 6-8 forward, and 6-2 guard Eyassu Worku have picked up the pace, along with 6-9 sophomore forward Collin Welp and 6-11 junior Brad Greene.
Worku is averaging 15 points and four rebounds per game while shooting a red-hot .524 from the field (22-for-42), including 8-for-13 from 3-point range. Rutherford is averaging 9 points and 4.5 rebounds while Greene is averaging 10.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.
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BUFFS BITS: So far, the Buffs are succeeding in achieving one of their offseason goals — improved 3-point shooting. CU is shooting .425 from beyond the arc thus far (17-for-40), with
D'Shawn Schwartz (5-for-8) and
Lucas Siewert (4-for-7) leading the way. Overall, CU is shooting .438 (53-121) from the field … Wright has a solid start thus far in assists-to-turnover ratio, with 10 assists and just four turnovers … Schwartz leads the team in scoring, averaging 15 points per game, followed by Bey (14.5), Wright (14.0) and Siewert (10.0) … Bey leads the team in rebounding with 11.0 per game, followed by Battey, Wright and Siewert, all at 6.5 per game.
THE SERIES: Colorado leads the all-time series with UC Irvine by a 7-0 count, with the last win coming in 2005 in Boulder.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network while KOA 850 will carry the radio broadcast with
Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
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