The Salukis try to build off their 2nd half against Austin Peay from Friday in the Virgin Islands this weekend.
The Buffaloes of the Pac-12 are 3-0 with a home OT win over Montana State, a home win over New Mexico, and a blowout home win over Maine.
Colorado is coached by Tad Boyle in his 12th season after coming over from Northern Colorado. Boyle is 236-143 and has made the NCAA Tournament 5 times at Colorado.
Meet the Buffaloes:
Colorado is coming off a season where they finished 23-9 and lost in the 2nd round to Florida State in the NCAA Tournament. They finished 8th overall in KenPom which is their highest end of season ranking since KenPom has been around. This offseason, Colorado lost a few of their better players from last year to professional basketball and transfer. McKinley Wright is in the NBA, Jeriah Horne transferred to Tulsa, D'Shawn Schwartz transferred to George Mason, and Dallas Walton is gone to Wake Forest. This season is a bit of a reset for Colorado as they're the 54th youngest team in Division 1 by experience and are led by a bunch of Sophomores. The Buffaloes did bring in their best recruiting class in school history, 11th in the country. Colorado was picked 6th in the Pac-12 preseason poll.
In their 3 wins so far this season, Colorado has been really impressive at getting to the free throw line. They're 6th in the country in free throw rate and 26.6% of their total points coming from the free throw line, good for 27th in the country. Colorado doesn't take many three pointers but when they have, they've made them as they're 21st in the country in 3 point %. The Buffaloes are also 21st in the country in offensive rebound percentage.
Colorado's leading scorer this season is 6'2 Redshirt Sophomore Keeshawn Barthelemy averaging 19.5 points per game. Barthelemy was a 4 star recruit out of Canada and sat out the 2019-20 season as a redshirt. Last season, he struggled in limited minutes averaging 3.7 points per game while shooting 35.3%. This season, with McKinley Wright IV gone and in the NBA, Barthelemy has had to take on a much bigger role and so far he's taking full advantage of it. He's 7-10 from 3 so far this year, good for 20th in the nation and he's 100th in the country in true shooting percentage.
The Buffaloes leading rebounder so far this season has been 6'9 Sophomore Jabari Walker averaging 8 rebounds per game. Walker was a 4 star recruit out of Chandler, AZ and is the son of former NBA player Samaki Walker. In his Freshman season, Walker averaged 7.6 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game playing 14.2 minutes per game and was named to the Pac-12 All Freshman team. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, Walker scored 24 points on 9-10 shooting to lead Colorado to a win over Georgetown. In a much more expanded role this season, Walker is averaging 15.3 points per game and has been getting to the free throw line frequently. He's currently 107th in the country in fouls drawn per 40 minutes and 81st in the country in free throw rate.
Another Sophomore that's contributing to this Colorado team is 6'6 Sophomore Nique Clifford. Clifford was a 4 star recruit out of Colorado Springs, CO and was ranked as the 15th best shooting guard in the country in the 2020 recruiting class. Clifford saw limited minutes last season but like the other two Sophomores, is seeing an increased role this season. Clifford is currently 82nd in the country in free throw rate and 253rd in the country in defensive rebounding percentage.
The veteran leader of this Colorado team is 6'8 Senior Evan Battey. Battey was a 3 star recruit out of Villa Park, CA and chose Colorado over schools like Purdue and Miami. He entered this season 32nd in Colorado history in career rebounding and 44th in career scoring. This season, Battey is averaging 12 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game. Last season, Battey was an honorable mention All-Pac 12 player and this season he was named to the preseason All-Pac 12 1st team.
Some other names that deserve a mention: 7'1 Freshman Lawson Lovering is a 4 star recruit out of Cheyenne, WY and chose Colorado over offers from Baylor, Boise State, and Colorado State. He was ranked the 58th best player in the 2021 recruiting class and the 10th best Center in the class. 247 has him as the 2nd highest ranked recruit at Colorado since they've been tracking. He's been getting about 13 minutes per game so far so expect to see a little of him. 6'4 Senior Elijah Parquet is averaging 11 points per game so far this year and is 57th in the country in free throw rate.
Links:
The Colorado game will be quite interesting in a bunch of ways:
- How will the defense hold up against a team that has scored in the high 80s/low 90s in each of its three games?
- How will Southern take care of the ball against a team with just as much (and probably more) length and athleticism as Little Rock had?
- Can Southern avoid major foul trouble against a team like this? Thinking particularly of Filewich, who struggled to stay in good position defensively against Little Rock, but obviously keeping Jones and Domask on the floor will be essential.
- Southern will play three games in four days at this tourney, so how might that affect rotations (and will Brown be in the mix?) If Southern is in contention in this one, I'm guessing the usual suspects will play heavy minutes, as you don't get many chances at power conference foes, especially on a neutral floor.
Should be a very interesting event and measuring stick. If Southern can somehow pull off the upset against the young but talented and well-coached Buffaloes, both of the possible opponents in Game 2 (Duquesne and Northeastern) have struggled so far, so a realistic path to the final (likely vs. Colorado State or CREIGHTON!) would exist ...
Bryan Mullins with the media today:
Trent Brown hasn't practiced this week but he's been feeling better
Last year #8 in KenPom? The country's #11 ranked recruiting class? Multiple 4-star players? Um, sorry. I don't think we're winning this one.
Last year #8 in KenPom? The country's #11 ranked recruiting class? Multiple 4-star players? Um, sorry. I don't think we're winning this one.
Things do not always go as planned early with Freshman. It is a winnable game
Last year #8 in KenPom? The country's #11 ranked recruiting class? Multiple 4-star players? Um, sorry. I don't think we're winning this one.
Have you watched any college basketball this year? Lol
Last year #8 in KenPom? The country's #11 ranked recruiting class? Multiple 4-star players? Um, sorry. I don't think we're winning this one.
Things do not always go as planned early with Freshman. It is a winnable game
If the Salukis play like they did against UALR, they'll lose by 15-20pts. If they play like they did against Austin Peay in the 2nd half, they'll keep this one close. They do have a shot to win, but as I mentioned they would have to play at their best and Colorado would have to play poorly. They keys IMO will be:
1. Can Jones continue the high level of play we saw in the 2nd half vs Austin Peay?
2. Can Muila get further acclimated and fully adjusted to the speed of D1 ball to provide the strength and defense this team needs down low.
3. After another week of practice, can Coupet increase his minutes and use his athleticism to help both defensively and offensively?
4. Can Verpl continue his strong play and shooting.
5. Can this team play TWO good halves of basketball in the same game.
Very winnable game Friday night, but we need Lance and Marcus to dominate.
I don’t think Trent should be the difference between winning and losing but it sure would be nice if we got him this weekend. His 21 points against Butler was the difference in that upset.
I’m guessing he’ll sit this weekend though and hopefully an extra week is enough
Said it before and I'll say it again. INSaluki posts about Muila an almost creepy amount. It is every post dude.
Said it before and I'll say it again. INSaluki posts about Muila an almost creepy amount. It is every post dude.
And this somehow bothers you, why exactly?
Kyler Filewich radio interview with Mike Reis:
Said it before and I'll say it again. Spike posts negative stuff an almost creepy amount. It is every post dude.
I don't know about everyone else, but I'm most excited to see SIU take down Creighton in the Paradise Jam championship game. Who still has their "I Hate Creighton" t-shirts and how do get them mass-printed and shipped to the Virgin Islands?
Ok that’s enough. I’m not going to lock this but any more personal shots and somebody’s taking a 7 day vacation
