Pac-12 Preview: Colorado Buffaloes (20-8, 9-6 in Pac-12) vs. Utah Utes (18-9, 7-8 in Pac-12)
By Andrew Dill
Feb 1, 2014; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard Askia Booker (0) shoots against Utah Utes guard Delon Wright (55) and guard Brandon Taylor (11) and center Dallin Bachynski (31) in the second half at the Coors Events Center. The Buffaloes defeated the Utes in overtime 79-75. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Buffaloes (20-8, 9-6 in Pac-12 play) now face a tough road ahead as they finish out the regular season with three-straight road games starting with the Utah Utes. Colorado is coming off of an embarrassing home loss last Saturday night at the hands of the Arizona Wildcats who ran them out of the gym in the second half. Aaron Gordon led the Wildcats with a career-high 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 block as the Cats earned their 25th win. Colorado looks to bounce back as they face a tough test at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
What: Pac-12 Preview: vs.
When: Saturday, March 1st
Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center
Time: 2:00 PM ET, 12:00 PM MT
TV: PAC12 Network
This is the second and final meeting between the two teams as the Buffaloes took the first game back on Feb. 1st in Boulder. The game would go into overtime as back-up point guard Xavier Talton would record five of his total 14 points in the overtime period knocking down a key three-pointer to lead the Buffaloes to victory. Josh Scott would score a game-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, knocking down all eight of his free-throw attempts.
Buffaloes top freshmen recruit Tre’Shaun Fletcher returned to practice this past week for the Buffaloes as the forward injured his knee back in early January and was slated to miss 6-to-8 weeks with an undisclosed knee injury. Good news for Fletcher as it was not an ACL tear in which Spencer Dinwiddie would have happen at Washington. It’s unknown what the status for Fletcher is come game-time against the Utes, here is what head coach Tad Boyle had to say about the situation:
"“He’d better practice better than he practiced (Tuesday),” Boyle said prior to Wednesday’s work. “He’s got to trust that knee and play with a little bit more intensity. It’s not one of those deals where you stick one foot in the pool and check the temperature."
Meanwhile, the Utah Utes are coming off of an impressive win against the Arizona State Sun Devils back on Feb. 23rd by the final of 86-63. Delon Wright would score a game-high 23 points in the win on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field, including 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Players To Watch For:
Colorado Buffaloes: Josh Scott, C: In order for the Buffaloes to get offensive going, they will rely heavily on sophomore center Josh Scott. Scott has averaged 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds in CU’s last five contests.
Utah Utes: Jordan Loveridge, F: Loveridge can tend to be streaky, but if he’s on his game, it will be tough for the Buffs. Here are his results in the last five games in wins & in losses.
Wins: 3 games – 16.6 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, 1 block.
Losses: 2 games – 6.5 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 2 assists.
Projected Starting Lineups:
Colorado Buffaloes:
PG: Xavier Talton
SG: Askia Booker
SF: Xavier Johnson
PF: Dustin Thomas
C: Josh Scott
Utah Utes:
PG: Brandon Taylor
SG: Delon Wright
SF: Princeton Onwas
PF: Jordan Loveridge
C: Dallin Bachynski