The 16-12 (6-9 Big 12) Colorado Buffs are at the Fertitta Center Saturday morning to face the Houston Cougars (23-5, 11-4). The Buffaloes have the youngest team in the Big 12, but they are talented and could be dangerous over the next few years. They have aggressive guards and skilled big men, but lack experience and have been bad on the road (1-7).
Big man Bangot Dak is my favorite player in the Big 12 that does not play for Houston (other than Keanu Dawes of Utah). Freshman guard Isaiah Johnson has been great for them and is their leading scorer. But my head of the snake for the Buffs is guard Barrington Hargess. Hargress is lightning quick to get in the paint to score or draw the defense and kick out for an open shot. He is also shooting above 50% from beyond the arc. The ESPN analyst compared him to Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday night. I’m not ready to go that far, but he is definitely someone to watch.
Houston is looking to get back on track after three straight losses. If this game were in Boulder, I would be legitimately concerned. But the Buffs have struggled too much away from home (1-17 in Big 12 road games since joining the league). I think it could be closer than expected because of their aggressive guard play, but the Coogs will just be too much at home.
Colorado Offensive Notes
- The Buffs are ranked #43 in the nation and #4 in the conference in assist/turnover ratio. They have solid talent at the guard position and do a nice job taking care of the ball while distributing to open teammates.
- Colorado is ranked first in the Big 12 in bench points. This number is a bit skewed, as they were bringing their leading scorer, Isaiah Johnson, off the bench for most of the year. He is now starting for them.
- Because of their guard play, Colorado is ranked 4th in the Big 12 in fast-break points (13.79). They like to push the ball in transition and create easy offense.
- Colorado trails only Houston in turnovers per game in the Big 12. They do an excellent job taking care of the ball. Coach Sampson mentioned that the Coogs need to create more turnovers, which lead to easier baskets. We’ll see what he has dialed up Saturday to bother the young Buffs.
- The Buffaloes have solid big men and guards who get paint touches. That leads them to being ranked 4th in the Big 12 in free-throw percentage (75%) and 6th in free-throw makes (16).
- The Buffs are a bit thin in the front-court and don’t create a ton of extra opportunities on the offensive glass. They are ranked #236 nationally and #13 in the conference in offensive rebounding (10.29). Sampson mentioned that the Coogs need to do a better job on the defensive glass, especially with their guards. This could be an opportunity to fix that issue.
- They struggle from beyond the arc. Their guards would rather get the rim or free-throw line. They are ranked 14th in three-point attempts (21), and 13th in three-point makes (7.5) in the Big 12.
Buffs Defensive Notes
- Colorado primarily plays half-court, man-to-man defense. Their bigs tend to hedge and recover in the pick-and-roll game.
- The Buffs haven’t shown a zone defense in a few games, but when they do, it’s usually a 2-3 zone.
- CU full-court presses 10% of the time. It’s usually a standard man-to-man press, just to get the offense a bit deeper into the shot clock. Occasionally, they will “face-guard” to make it more difficult to inbound the ball. They sometimes get burned when face-guarding, which leads to easy baskets for the offense.
- Colorado is not a good defensive team. They are ranked 290th in the nation and 12th in the Big 12 in scoring defense, giving up 78 points per game.
- It could be a big day for Emanuel Sharp and friends from outside. The Buffs are ranked #329 and dead last in the Big 12 in three-point percentage defense (36.4%). They are ranked #12 in the league in field goal defensive percentage. The Coogs need to be in ATTACK MODE offensively.
- They also are not a great rebounding squad. The Coogs need to hit the glass hard on both ends of the court. They also do not create many turnovers (11 per game).
- The ESPN broadcast compared him to Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday night;
- Head of the Snake. Small but explosive three-level scoring point guard;
- Outstanding/efficient three-point shooter (45-89, 51%);
- Lightning quick first step to get past his defender to get to the rim;
- Nice jumper off the bounce;
- Gets his teammates involved. Has 50 more assists than his next teammate. He is ranked #8 in the nation and #2 in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (3.65).
- LEFTY!
- One of Fran’s favorites (he raves about him). Elite freshman guard;
- He is the kind of player you want on your team, but hate to play against. He’s savvy, but he’s a foul merchant. Think Alabama guards of years past like Mark Sears and Jahvon Quinerly (sells fouls by throwing his head back, etc…);
- Johnson gets to the free-throw line often (137-170, 81%), which is 3rd best in the Big 12. When he drives, he will sometimes hook his defender’s arm, and the officials think the defender is reaching in and call a foul;
- Solid three-point shooter (46-124, 37%);
- He would prefer to get all the way to the rim, but has a nice left-handed floater.
- EXTREMELY long/rangy post player;
- A major lob threat when their guards get paint touches and draw the help-side defenders;
- Excellent offensive rebounder and at getting put-back baskets;
- Really good in the pick and roll/pop game. Can pop and drive to the basket;
- Affects a lot of shots at the rim with his extreme length. He is ranked 7th in the Big 12 in blocks (41);
- He shoots a decent amount of three-pointers, but at a low percentage (11-47, 23%).
- Tall stretch-forward. Much improved from last season. A lot stronger in his second year;
- Good moves in the paint off the bounce. Nice face-up post moves;
- Nice mid-range jumper;
- Rancik is a really good free-throw shooter at his size. He is ranked 3rd in the Big 12 at free-throw percentage at 85%;
- Average three-point shooter, but not bad for 6’11” (38-117, 33%).
- Played at the same high school as incoming UH freshman Ikenna Alozie (Dream City Christian in Glendale, AZ);
- Tall/athletic freshman guard off the bench;
- Not a great three-point shooter (9-36, 25%);
- He wants to get to the rim as much as possible;
- Loves to drive right, spin move, step through for a little jumper in the paint. This seems to be his go-to move, as I saw him do it on several occasions.
- Big freshman forward off the bench. Really nice hands and footwork;
- Solid finisher around the rim;
- Nice touch in the paint. Good pick and roll/pop guy;
- Capable outside shooter from outside at 6’9″ (17-55, 31%);
- Must keep him off the offensive glass. Mitchell plays really hard.
- Houston-area kid who played at College Park HS in the Woodlands;
- Good freshman shooter off the bench;
- Solid three-point shooter (17-42, 41%). Can shoot it from DEEP;
- LOVES the corner three.
- 42 of his 50 field goal attempts have been from beyond the arc.
- LEFTY! Athletic freshman guard off the bench;
- Really good finisher at the rim. Can make some acrobatic finishes.
- NOT a good outside shooter (3-24, 13%). Or a good free-throw shooter (22-44, 50%).
- Toughness plays: I just want to see the Coogs get back to what they do best: first on the floor, owning the glass, elite ball pressure, flying around on defense, and turning their defense into easy offense. They were out-toughed at Kansas, and I know Coach Sampson will get that turned around immediately.
- Paint touches: I’ll be watching this for both teams. Colorado does a great job getting the ball in the paint. The Coogs need to keep them out of there, without cheap fouls! On the other end, Houston needs to get in there more often. They are simply a better team when the ball touches the paint.
