Game 16: #15 Colorado Buffaloes (13-2) vs. Washington State Cougars (7-7)
By Andrew Dill
Dec 7, 2013; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard/forward Tre
The Colorado Buffaloes (13-2, 2-0 in PAC-12) jumped up to the #15 seed after defeating the Oregon Ducks at home by the final of 100-91. Colorado was led by juniors Askia Booker and Spencer Dinwiddie, combining for 50 points. Booker would score a career-high 27 points while 11 of them came in the last five minutes and Dinwiddie would score 16 of his 23 points in the second half.
What: Pac-12 Conference Game: #15 Colorado Buffaloes at Washington State Cougars
When: Wednesday, January 8th
Where: Wallis Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum, Pullman, Washington
Time: 9:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM MT
TV: Pac-12 Network
This is the first of two match-ups between the schools while Colorado is winners of four-straight and Washington State is losers of two-straight. Last season, the Buffs and Cougars met up only one time and Colorado came away victorious 58-49 in Pullman. Spencer Dinwiddie scored a game-high 16 points while adding 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal. Both teams would have dreadful results from downtown as Colorado shot 1-9, 11.1% percent while Washington State shot 5-of-24, 20.8% percent.
Colorado’s two losses however have come away from the Coors Event Center; lost to Baylor in Dallas the first game of the season and lost to Oklahoma State on December 21st in Las Vegas. They have only had two road games thus far, defeating Air Force and Colorado State. Head coach Tad Boyle is intrigued to see how his team fares while playing on the road. Here is a fun fact from ESPN:
"The Buffaloes, who went 12-23 on the road during Boyle’s first three seasons, are 2-0 away from home for the first time since opening 4-0 in 1994-95. While Colorado won 58-49 at Washington State last season, Booker is expecting a tough battle Wednesday."
Key Players to Watch For:
Colorado Buffaloes: Josh Scott
In the Buffaloes last five games, Scott has recorded five-straight double-doubles, averaging 14.8 points per game and 12 rebounds. Scott leads the team in rebounds per game with 9.5
Washington State Cougars: DaVonte Lacy
Lacy has been a scoring machine for Washington State but hasn’t put it together of late. Despite just scoring 10 combined points in his last two appearances, Lacy has averaged 17.7 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.
Projected Starting Line-ups:
Colorado Buffaloes:
PG: Spencer Dinwidide
SG: Askia Booker
SF: Xavier Johnson
PF: Wesley Gordon
C: Josh Scott
Washington State Cougars:
PG: Royce Woolridge
SG: DaVonte Lacy
SF: Que Johnson
PF: D.J. Shelton
C: Jordan Railey