As if the fact that Baylor came out as the favorite here isn't enough fodder alone to get me on the Bears tonight, there are so many other factors that also make me side to the home team here. IMO, these are two teams headed in opposite directions.
Given the utter disarry of the Baylor men's basketball program that Scott Drew inherited when he took the Baylor job at the beginning of last year, a first year record of 8-21 (3-13 in B12) was actually quite good. It certainly proved to many what most people already knew, that Scott Drew is a wonderful coach, with a bright future. Outmanned seemingly every game, the Bears gave maximum effort and hustled every single night. There is no question that Coach Drew has the ability to get the most out of his young players.
Despite the baby steps Coach Drew and the Bears made last year, on paper, this year's squad didn't look like much, either. Returning only three TOTAL players (two walk-ons and ONE returning starter and scholarship player) is certainly not the beginnings of a "dream season". The fact that Baylor has already reached its total win mark of last year is rather remarkable, even despite the fact that they have faced some really weak opposition in their non-conference schedule.
Beyond Coach Drew's obvious ability to coach,the sheer work ethic of the team and an infusion of new talent this year has breathed new life into this Baylor program.
The Bears have won 6 of 8, and covered the spread in their last three lined games, including a real confidence-inspiring win at Purdue. This is a very good shooting team, and you've gotta know it's from reps, not pure talent. BU is shooting 47% from the field and 39% from 3-point land this year. Their recent shooting performances have been just as good, even against some quality defenses. CU's 45% defensive FG average, is not likely to thwart the Bears hot shooting tonight.
BU's floor general and uber-talented PG Aaron Bruce has caught the attention of fans and coaches alike. Recently even Dick Vitale gave him some publicity by tabbing him as one of his "Super Six All-Diaper Dandies". Even though he's a freshman, Bruce hails from Australia bringing with him lots of international basketball experience. He is certainly not playing like your typical freshman PG. He is a great ball handler and distributor, running the offense very well. But because Baylor lacks in talent and depth, he is also required to be a scorer, too. It's a good thing for Baylor fans that the kid can absolutely shoot the lights out (leads Big 12 in 3-point FG%).
Tim Bush, a transfer from LSU, has also added much needed talent to the roster when he became eligible after the fall semester. Offensively and defensively, Bush had added alot of spark to the starting lineup.
The steady improvement of C Swanson is also of major note. Swanson is averaging 13 and 6 per game, while shooting 58% from the field. While he's not going to match-up all that well against the likes of Klotz, Bookout, or Simien, he is certainly very serviceable against lesser talented post players, the likes of which he will see tonight. After facing the bigs of OU and Texas in Baylor's last Big 12 outings, you've got to think Swanson is salivating for the matchup tonight against a very weak Colorado front-line. Colorado's recent defensive efforts on the interior sure have left alot to be desired. Swanson should put up great numbers tonight.
Now to the Colorado side.....coming into the season, things didn't look great for the Buffaloes, either. They lost 4 out of 5 starters from a good squad last year. The loss of Morandis to graduation and the early, somewhat unexpected departure of Harrison was an even tougher blow. Despite some early season success this year, Ricardo Patton and the Buffaloes have really been in a tailspin as of late. It all began eight games ago when they lost starting C Julius Ashby to injury. An already thin front line got thinner after that. That one injury has taken a huge toll on this team and their make-up. It is beginning to wreak havoc on some of their young, but talented guards/forwards. To say the least, confidence is not at a high point.
CU enters this game tonight, losers of 4 out of their last 5 games. Their lone win during this stretch was at Richmond, which looks good on paper, only. Reading the quotes after the game, Richmond Spiders HC Jerry Wainwright mentioned that his team had been battling illnesses prior to the game and even admitted that his team "looked as if they didn't have any life or bounce in their step during the game". Throw in the fact that this year's Richmond squad looks to be quite a bit down from recent, pesky Spider teams and all of the sudden I don't take much stock in that Colorado victory.
Some of Ricardo Patton's comments after the last few games really don't shed too much positive on the CU team, either. He has indicated that this team is searching for answers, but finding none. Coach Patton is still fiddling with lineups, trying to find the right chemistry. This is not something typical, or very beneficial this late in a college basketball season. Ricardo also made some references to some players not playing hard all the time and a lack of execution by the players.
Particularly disturbing was the recent poor effort seen out of the Buffaloes in a home loss to Nebraska two games ago. That was certainly a game they could and should have won, but they failed to show up in the first half of their conference home opener, scoring just 22 points in the first half to the 'Huskers 37. While they did mount a little come back in the second half, the damage had already been done and it was too much for them to overcome. That is a game that the better Colorado ball clubs of past years would have won. In fact, recent history tells us that the mountain air of the Coors Event Center has been a great home court advantage for the Buffs, as they had gone 15-1 at home over the last two Big 12 seasons. The fact that they have already lost two Big 12 games at home, lends credence to my opinion that this is simply NOT a very good Colorado team, one that will be hard pressed to go on the road and beat even the lowly Big 12 programs, like Baylor.
Reading some of the grumblings written by their own fans on the CU message boards, it seems that the team is not running much of an offense. Lots of one-on-one, create your own shot stuff. The Buffs are not even trying to get the ball inside because they lack capable post-up players, so they have been doing alot of standing around behind the three-point line, passing the ball around the horn with little off the ball movement, cuts, or screening. The result is that they are forced into poor shot selection and a bevy of contested, long-range shots. Their recent poor shooting stats certainly bare witness to that. In recent games against Utah, OU, Nebraska, and KU, the Buffs have hoisted an average of 22.5 threes/game, only connecting on 24% of them. Not pretty.
Bottomline: Even though Colorado holds an edge in overall talent and athleticism against the Bears tonight, they hold very few, if any other edges outside of that. Baylor is at home for a rare, nationally televised contest (ESPN Classic). We all know how big the home court advantage is in college basketball. I fully expect this team to be extremely pumped up, along with the crowd. Let's face it, Baylor won't have too many opportunities to get Big 12 wins this year. This game had to be circle on their calendars as a winnable one. I fully expect the Bears to make the most out of this opportunity tonight and march to a comfortable victory, all the while leaving Colorado as the new front-runners for the dubious distinction of being the worst team in the Big 12. You know that Baylor is anxious to pass on their "crown of sh!t" for good!
Good Luck to All,
-JC
Given the utter disarry of the Baylor men's basketball program that Scott Drew inherited when he took the Baylor job at the beginning of last year, a first year record of 8-21 (3-13 in B12) was actually quite good. It certainly proved to many what most people already knew, that Scott Drew is a wonderful coach, with a bright future. Outmanned seemingly every game, the Bears gave maximum effort and hustled every single night. There is no question that Coach Drew has the ability to get the most out of his young players.
Despite the baby steps Coach Drew and the Bears made last year, on paper, this year's squad didn't look like much, either. Returning only three TOTAL players (two walk-ons and ONE returning starter and scholarship player) is certainly not the beginnings of a "dream season". The fact that Baylor has already reached its total win mark of last year is rather remarkable, even despite the fact that they have faced some really weak opposition in their non-conference schedule.
Beyond Coach Drew's obvious ability to coach,the sheer work ethic of the team and an infusion of new talent this year has breathed new life into this Baylor program.
The Bears have won 6 of 8, and covered the spread in their last three lined games, including a real confidence-inspiring win at Purdue. This is a very good shooting team, and you've gotta know it's from reps, not pure talent. BU is shooting 47% from the field and 39% from 3-point land this year. Their recent shooting performances have been just as good, even against some quality defenses. CU's 45% defensive FG average, is not likely to thwart the Bears hot shooting tonight.
BU's floor general and uber-talented PG Aaron Bruce has caught the attention of fans and coaches alike. Recently even Dick Vitale gave him some publicity by tabbing him as one of his "Super Six All-Diaper Dandies". Even though he's a freshman, Bruce hails from Australia bringing with him lots of international basketball experience. He is certainly not playing like your typical freshman PG. He is a great ball handler and distributor, running the offense very well. But because Baylor lacks in talent and depth, he is also required to be a scorer, too. It's a good thing for Baylor fans that the kid can absolutely shoot the lights out (leads Big 12 in 3-point FG%).
Tim Bush, a transfer from LSU, has also added much needed talent to the roster when he became eligible after the fall semester. Offensively and defensively, Bush had added alot of spark to the starting lineup.
The steady improvement of C Swanson is also of major note. Swanson is averaging 13 and 6 per game, while shooting 58% from the field. While he's not going to match-up all that well against the likes of Klotz, Bookout, or Simien, he is certainly very serviceable against lesser talented post players, the likes of which he will see tonight. After facing the bigs of OU and Texas in Baylor's last Big 12 outings, you've got to think Swanson is salivating for the matchup tonight against a very weak Colorado front-line. Colorado's recent defensive efforts on the interior sure have left alot to be desired. Swanson should put up great numbers tonight.
Now to the Colorado side.....coming into the season, things didn't look great for the Buffaloes, either. They lost 4 out of 5 starters from a good squad last year. The loss of Morandis to graduation and the early, somewhat unexpected departure of Harrison was an even tougher blow. Despite some early season success this year, Ricardo Patton and the Buffaloes have really been in a tailspin as of late. It all began eight games ago when they lost starting C Julius Ashby to injury. An already thin front line got thinner after that. That one injury has taken a huge toll on this team and their make-up. It is beginning to wreak havoc on some of their young, but talented guards/forwards. To say the least, confidence is not at a high point.
CU enters this game tonight, losers of 4 out of their last 5 games. Their lone win during this stretch was at Richmond, which looks good on paper, only. Reading the quotes after the game, Richmond Spiders HC Jerry Wainwright mentioned that his team had been battling illnesses prior to the game and even admitted that his team "looked as if they didn't have any life or bounce in their step during the game". Throw in the fact that this year's Richmond squad looks to be quite a bit down from recent, pesky Spider teams and all of the sudden I don't take much stock in that Colorado victory.
Some of Ricardo Patton's comments after the last few games really don't shed too much positive on the CU team, either. He has indicated that this team is searching for answers, but finding none. Coach Patton is still fiddling with lineups, trying to find the right chemistry. This is not something typical, or very beneficial this late in a college basketball season. Ricardo also made some references to some players not playing hard all the time and a lack of execution by the players.
Particularly disturbing was the recent poor effort seen out of the Buffaloes in a home loss to Nebraska two games ago. That was certainly a game they could and should have won, but they failed to show up in the first half of their conference home opener, scoring just 22 points in the first half to the 'Huskers 37. While they did mount a little come back in the second half, the damage had already been done and it was too much for them to overcome. That is a game that the better Colorado ball clubs of past years would have won. In fact, recent history tells us that the mountain air of the Coors Event Center has been a great home court advantage for the Buffs, as they had gone 15-1 at home over the last two Big 12 seasons. The fact that they have already lost two Big 12 games at home, lends credence to my opinion that this is simply NOT a very good Colorado team, one that will be hard pressed to go on the road and beat even the lowly Big 12 programs, like Baylor.
Reading some of the grumblings written by their own fans on the CU message boards, it seems that the team is not running much of an offense. Lots of one-on-one, create your own shot stuff. The Buffs are not even trying to get the ball inside because they lack capable post-up players, so they have been doing alot of standing around behind the three-point line, passing the ball around the horn with little off the ball movement, cuts, or screening. The result is that they are forced into poor shot selection and a bevy of contested, long-range shots. Their recent poor shooting stats certainly bare witness to that. In recent games against Utah, OU, Nebraska, and KU, the Buffs have hoisted an average of 22.5 threes/game, only connecting on 24% of them. Not pretty.
Bottomline: Even though Colorado holds an edge in overall talent and athleticism against the Bears tonight, they hold very few, if any other edges outside of that. Baylor is at home for a rare, nationally televised contest (ESPN Classic). We all know how big the home court advantage is in college basketball. I fully expect this team to be extremely pumped up, along with the crowd. Let's face it, Baylor won't have too many opportunities to get Big 12 wins this year. This game had to be circle on their calendars as a winnable one. I fully expect the Bears to make the most out of this opportunity tonight and march to a comfortable victory, all the while leaving Colorado as the new front-runners for the dubious distinction of being the worst team in the Big 12. You know that Baylor is anxious to pass on their "crown of sh!t" for good!
Good Luck to All,
-JC
