University of Colorado
In his first four years in Boulder, Tad Boyle didn’t have a losing season. He led the Buffs to the NCAA Tournament (and picked up a win) in his second season and returned the team to the big dance in the two years that followed.
Injuries, and perhaps some overconfidence, resulted in Colorado’s first losing season under Boyle during the 2014-15 campaign, but the Buffs appear to be back in form early in 2015-16.
Colorado dropped its opener to No. 7 Iowa State by only six points on a “neutral” court in Sioux Falls, S.D. Renaud Notaro of Mile High Sports says it’s a very good sign that this year’s Bufs played a very tough Cyclones team so close. Last year, Colorado first faced a ranked opponent in January in No. 9 Utah, a game they lost by 25 points.
Not only did Colorado play Iowa State much closer, they followed that loss with a road win against an SEC opponent, Auburn. Notaro called the win over the Tigers “impressive and decisive.”
He has been particularly impressed in the early going of the play of George King who led all scorers in the Auburn game with 27. King also had 14 points coming off the bench against Iowa State hitting 4-of-8 three-point shots.
Josh Scott, who missed eight games last year due to injury, appears to be back in form to start this season. He posted point totals of 11 and 24 in the Buffs’ first two games and averaged 10 rebounds in those games.
Colorado lost guard and team leader Askia Booker to graduation, but Dom Collier now has a year of experience under his belt and appears ready to step into those shoes.
The early returns on the Buffs have met or exceeded expectations through two games, says Notaro, but they’re not the only Front Rage college hoops program that could step up and garner our attention. Colorado State has plenty of positives as the 2015-16 campaign gets rolling.
Listen to the full conversation about the Rams and Buffs in the podcast below…
