Tag: Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball

Colorado men’s basketball: Buffs endure rollercoaster week

What a week it was for the Colorado men’s basketball team

The Colorado men’s basketball team has lived up to the words of Tad Boyle so far this year, just not in the way we thought they would.

The Buffs have handled their business against their two toughest opponents, but this has been offset by some baffling losses to teams that they probably should have beaten.

Each week this year, we will look back on the week that was and go over the results and stories that you need to know for both CU’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. First up on the docket is a look back at the 3-3 start for the men:

Colorado men’s basketball preview: Buffs face Boise State in Myrtle Beach Invite fifth-place game

Will the Buffs’ two-face season continue? Or will they handle business against Boise State?

Will we see Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde out of the Colorado Buffaloes when they take on the 2-2 Boise State Broncos in the fifth-place game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational?

Colorado enters the game on another high as the Buffs blew out No. 24 Texas A&M in their second-round game after dropping their tournament opener to UMass.

Colorado has developed an interesting habit thus far. It has dropped two games as favorites against Grambling State and UMass but followed those two losses with dominant performances against Tennessee and Texas A&M. Either the 3-2 Buffs only need to play ranked teams or schools that start with the letter T.

KJ Simpson will have the spotlight on him after his 30-point performance against TAMU. Simpson is the leading scorer for the Buffaloes so far this year at 19.2 points per game. Boise State, though, shines defensively as the Broncos only allow an average of 62.3 points per game, so if Colorado can light up the scoreboard again, it will have a great chance of winning.

CU’s defense will need to contain the duo of Tyson Degenhart and Marcus Shaver. Degenhart is a 6-foot-7 forward who leads the Broncos in scoring at 14.8 per game. Shaver is a dynamic senior guard who is second in scoring average at 12.8. He also leads with 4.3 assists and an eye-catching 8.8 rebounds per game.

The game is set for Sunday evening at 5 p.m. MT on ESPNews.

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Buffs men’s basketball to face UMass in Myrtle Beach Invitational opener

The Buffs have UMass in the opening round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational

Fresh off a big win over then-No. 11 Tennessee in Nashville on Sunday, the Buffs are set to kick off the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Thursday morning against UMass.

The early-season double-elimination tournament brings together Colorado, UMass, and six other programs in Murray State, Texas A&M, Boise State, Charlotte, Loyola-Chicago and Tulsa in a bid to both lift a trophy by the beach and to prepare for conference play.

As it stands, if Colorado wins against the Minutemen on Thursday, it’ll play the winner of an intriguing Texas A&M-Murray State matchup on Friday. In the event of a CU loss, the Buffs will play the loser of that game on Friday.

As for the game at hand, though, Colorado holds a considerable advantage over UMass in both depth and size. The Buffs showed that in their win on Sunday, getting lifts from Jalen Gabbidon and KJ Simpson, the former tallying eight points, two steals and a block in his first start for Colorado.

Aside from Gabbidon and Simpson, who earned Pac-12 Player of the Week accolades, Tristan da Silva put up 14 points while J’Vonne Hadley was good for 10 rebounds and three blocks in only 13 minutes. Lawson Lovering should be a solid inside presence against UMass center Wildens Leveque on Thursday, and his ability to pass out of the post should prove to be an asset.

As for where you can catch the game, ESPNU will have coverage for the 11:30 a.m. tipoff.

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Courtney Anderson is a stud

Meet Courtney Anderson, a great signing for the men’s basketball program

Colorado Buffaloes basketball fans have been a buzz after the news of 5-star Cody Williams signing with the program. But Colorado signed two dynamic athletes during their latest signing period. Courtney Anderson is a 6-5 combo guard out of California with impressive lineage. Anderson’s father, Courtney Sr. played six seasons in the NFL.

Rated as the 18th-best player in the state of California and a four-star prospect on ESPN, Anderson brings some impressive athleticism, and shooting, and can play some defense.

Though he will be young when he joins the program, he just turned 17, Courtney Anderson is a significant signee for the program and will be joining an impressive core along with Cody Williams. Tad Boyle has done a great job bringing in talent, which has only been solidified with the signings of Williams and Anderson.

J’Vonne Hadley impresses in CU Buffs’ season-opening win over UC Riverside

J’Vonne Hadley provided a big spark for Colorado in its first win of 2022-23

Most of the talk surrounding Colorado men’s basketball this offseason was centered around the returns of Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson.

In the background, though, was J’Vonne Hadley preparing for his first season in Boulder. He’d had an impressive offseason of his own, but how would the JUCO product fit in when he actually hit the floor in the Pac-12 Conference?

The pride of Indian Hills Community College and the former Northeastern Huskie reserve fit in just fine. A standout, in truth. Hadley scored a team-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting for the Buffs in their 82-66 win over UC Riverside Monday in their season opener.

But it was more than that for the Minnesota native. He tallied nine rebounds and three assists as well, showing the proper patience and ability to see and make the right play, and flustered he was not. Beyond that, he was extremely active defensively, getting one steal and a block.

Additionally, he provided well-timed help for the Buffaloes on defense, playing a large part in stymying UC Riverside’s duo of Zyon Pullin and Flynn Cameron. Cameron improved in the second half, but by then it was far too late for the Highlanders to make a legitimate comeback.

Colorado’s starting five in large part played well, but it was Hadley pulling the strings during a strong Buffs effort.

“Right out of the gate, we had a lot of energy,” Hadley said. “We knew that our head coach is always emphasizing we were 0-0 being out there. We had the Wyoming and Nebraska scrimmages, but this is our biggest one yet.”

If Hadley can continue this level of production, it will provide another element for the rest of the Pac-12 to keep an eye on aside from da Silva and Simpson — and it could even elevate Colorado to the upper echelon of the conference.

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Pac-12 men’s basketball: Five predictions for the 2022-23 season

We predict these five things will come true in the Pac-12

One of the best phrases in sports can now be said: The offseason is over.

The 2022-23 college basketball season starts Monday. Gone are the exhibitions; in are the games where the results matter.

For its part, the Pac-12 has a lot of interesting storylines. While some key players like Bennedict Mathurin, Johnny Juzang, Peyton Watson and Jabari Walker left college for the pros at the end of last season, there are still quality veterans and a few highly-heralded freshmen eager to take their place among the elite of the conference.

Program-wise, it could prove to be a close race down the stretch for the title, as there are quite a few contenders in this deep conference.

With that, here are five predictions for the Pac-12 as we head into the 2022-23 college basketball season.