Stanford is in Phoenix for a neutral court game vs. the Buffalos. Colorado is 10-1 and the 2nd highest rated team Stanford has played this season (behind Saint Louis). Colorado lost to Colorado State. Their best wins are against Washington & Providence. They beat Montana State 84-78 (Stanford beat them 77-68) and beat Portland State 84-73 (Stanford beat them 89-79). Colorado is favored by 4.5 and the over/under is 152.5, making the implied score 78.5-74.
Tad Boyle is in his 16th year as the Colorado coach, so he and Kyle Smith have matched up many times going back to the Pac-12 days. The Buffs have a young roster with 8 freshmen (1 redshirt), 4 sophomores (1 redshirt), 2 juniors, no seniors, and 1 grad student. They also have a lot of height, including three 7-footers. If Hakeem Olajuwon & Ralph Sampson (or Tim Duncan & David Robinson) were the Twin Towers, then Colorado's starting line-up includes the Triplet Towers (see below). They have a prolific offense, averaging 88 points per game, while shooting 51.5% from the field and 39.7% on 3s. They have been especially dominant in the 2nd half of their games, averaging 47.5 points, while shooting 55.8% & 43,2% from the field & 3s, respectively.
Colorado has used the same starting line-up for all 11 games:
#7 Sebastian Rancik (6'11/220 So F) From Slovakia, attended JSerra Catholic HS in San Juan Capistrano, 13.1ppg;
#24 Barrington Hargress (6'1/190 Jr G) Transfer from UC Riverside where he was the Big West Freshman of the Year, then 1st team All-Big West in 2 seasons. Leads team with 4.8 apg. Scores 12.7 ppg on 57.1%FGs & 66.7%3s;
#8 Bangot Dak (7'0/203 Jr F) Leads team with 7.1rpg. Chips in with 11.4ppg and 20 blocks;
#15 Felix Kossaras (6'6/192 So G);
#50 Elijah Malone (6'10/270 Gr C)
The other 4 players in what appears to be a 9-man rotation are all freshmen, including: #2 Isaiah Johnson - a 6'1 G who leads the team with 15.2ppg on 54/44/80% shooting on FGs/3s/FTs; #3 Alon Michaeli - a 6'9 F scoring 10.8ppg who played last season in the Israeli Basketball Premier League; #5 Josiah Sanders - a 6'5 G who is the brother of former Stanford grad transfer QB Isaiah Sanders; and #11 6'5 G Jalin Holland.
This game will go a long way to determining how I evaluate Stanford's performance/development in the non-league portion of the schedule. The win over Saint Louis helped me get over the disappointing loss to Seattle. A win today would help to finally get over the even more disappointing loss to UNLV. Obviously it would be great to get Okorie back today - and to get Donavin Young back to provide some additional help in dealing with the Colorado big men. It will be interesting to see how Kyle Smith deals with the Buffalos size - a starting line-up of Cammann, Rohosy, Okpara, Agarwal, and either Okorie or Gealer? More time for Giltay & Skrinda?
Tad Boyle is in his 16th year as the Colorado coach, so he and Kyle Smith have matched up many times going back to the Pac-12 days. The Buffs have a young roster with 8 freshmen (1 redshirt), 4 sophomores (1 redshirt), 2 juniors, no seniors, and 1 grad student. They also have a lot of height, including three 7-footers. If Hakeem Olajuwon & Ralph Sampson (or Tim Duncan & David Robinson) were the Twin Towers, then Colorado's starting line-up includes the Triplet Towers (see below). They have a prolific offense, averaging 88 points per game, while shooting 51.5% from the field and 39.7% on 3s. They have been especially dominant in the 2nd half of their games, averaging 47.5 points, while shooting 55.8% & 43,2% from the field & 3s, respectively.
Colorado has used the same starting line-up for all 11 games:
#7 Sebastian Rancik (6'11/220 So F) From Slovakia, attended JSerra Catholic HS in San Juan Capistrano, 13.1ppg;
#24 Barrington Hargress (6'1/190 Jr G) Transfer from UC Riverside where he was the Big West Freshman of the Year, then 1st team All-Big West in 2 seasons. Leads team with 4.8 apg. Scores 12.7 ppg on 57.1%FGs & 66.7%3s;
#8 Bangot Dak (7'0/203 Jr F) Leads team with 7.1rpg. Chips in with 11.4ppg and 20 blocks;
#15 Felix Kossaras (6'6/192 So G);
#50 Elijah Malone (6'10/270 Gr C)
The other 4 players in what appears to be a 9-man rotation are all freshmen, including: #2 Isaiah Johnson - a 6'1 G who leads the team with 15.2ppg on 54/44/80% shooting on FGs/3s/FTs; #3 Alon Michaeli - a 6'9 F scoring 10.8ppg who played last season in the Israeli Basketball Premier League; #5 Josiah Sanders - a 6'5 G who is the brother of former Stanford grad transfer QB Isaiah Sanders; and #11 6'5 G Jalin Holland.
This game will go a long way to determining how I evaluate Stanford's performance/development in the non-league portion of the schedule. The win over Saint Louis helped me get over the disappointing loss to Seattle. A win today would help to finally get over the even more disappointing loss to UNLV. Obviously it would be great to get Okorie back today - and to get Donavin Young back to provide some additional help in dealing with the Colorado big men. It will be interesting to see how Kyle Smith deals with the Buffalos size - a starting line-up of Cammann, Rohosy, Okpara, Agarwal, and either Okorie or Gealer? More time for Giltay & Skrinda?
