Tad Boyle’s offensive freedom a blessing and curse for Colorado
Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie, front, looks to pass the ball as Colorado State guard Wes Eikmeier covers in the second half of Colorado's 70-61 victor in Boulder, Colo., on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012.
Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie, front, looks to pass the ball as Colorado State guard Wes Eikmeier covers in the second half of Colorado's 70-61 victor in Boulder, Colo., on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012.
Team: Colorado
Record: 7-1
KenPom (Ken Pomeroy) Ranking: 56
3 Strengths
• Getting to the free throw line: The Buffaloes are averaging 29 free throws per game and also have the fourth-best free throw rate (a statistic used to measure how frequently a team gets to the line compared to its field goal attempts) in the country. CU has three players over 6 foot 5 that all have free throw rates in the nation’s top 250, which means the Jayhawks’ defense will be tested on dribble drives Saturday.
• Three-point shooting: After making 34.6 percent of its threes a year ago, Colorado has made 41.2 percent of its treys this year (11th nationally). Sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie has been a big reason for this, as he’s made an impressive 19 of 35 threes (54.3 percent) so far this season.
• Blocked shots: With its length at the 2 and 3 positions, Colorado is the rare team that that blocks more of its opponents two-point jumpers (10 percent) than layups (9 percent). CU has three players in the nation’s top 400 in block percentage, including Dinwiddie, Andre Robertson and Xavier Johnson. The Buffs have blocked 11.8 percent of opponents’ twos so far this year (75th nationally).
3 Weaknesses
• Forcing turnovers: Much like Oregon State, Colorado plays an extremely passive brand of defense. The Buffaloes force turnovers on just 17.7 percent of opponents’ possessions (297th nationally) and come away with steals on just 8.8 percent of those possessions (250th nationally). This has traditionally been a weakness of coach Tad Boyle’s teams at CU, as in his three years, the Buffaloes have never been above the NCAA average at forcing turnovers.
• Three-point defense: Colorado allows opponents to shoot way too many threes, as 42.8 percent of the opposition’s field goal attempts this year have been three-pointers (ninth-highest split nationally). Teams facing CU have scored 37.8 percent of their points from the three-point line (seventh-highest split nationally) even while shooting a slightly below-average mark from beyond the arc (32.5 percent).
• Bench: Non-starters have played just 25.1 percent of Colorado’s minutes, which ranks 293rd nationally (31.1 percent is average). The Buffaloes have done a good job of avoiding fouls this year, which has helped them keep their best players to remain on the floor. Still in a game at Allen Fieldhouse, Boyle might be a little scared to go deep on his bench with foul trouble when the top six guys all average more than 19 minutes per game and no one else averages more than 12.
3 Players to Watch
• Talent-wise, six-foot-7 forward Andre Roberson (No. 21) is Colorado’s best player. Projected by some sites as a late first-round pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Roberson has shown himself to be a complete player defensively because of his athleticism. He was second in the nation last year in defensive rebounding percentage (
