After falling to the Wichita Shockers on Thursday by a score of 67-58 in the opening round of the 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-off Classic, the Colorado Buffaloes look to rebound with a win against the Maryland Terrapins on Friday. Although the Buffaloes' opening-round loss was disappointing, the staff at The Ralphie Report did see some positive things that give some hope going forward:
Things the Buffs did well: Carlon Brown played a great game and is definitely the focal point of this offense.Askia Booker contributed offensively and looks like a legitimate player. The defense was much better compared to the Fort Lewis game and helped keep CU close in the first half when they could not get anything going. Dufault shot well from outside and Dinwiddie had flashes of good basketball throughout the game. Moreover, the team did not do anything great that really stood out to me.
Meanwhile, Maryland had a rough game against the #15-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, losing 62-42 and shooting only 25% from the field. Was it just a bad performance by the Terps, or the sign of a weak team waiting for the Buffaloes? The staff at Testudo Times offers some insight from Thursday's game:
Perhaps most of all, Maryland just plain couldn't find the bottom of the net. It looked like confidence played into it to some extent after the early poor start. But Stoglin and Faust aren't that poor at shooting. In fact, they're pretty good at it. Some of their shots were plain silly and obviously forced, but they also had a half-dozen open looks that clanked or missed everything entirely. We even saw Mosley's lay-up demons re-emerge. It was sort of bizarre.
If you would like to catch there action, here is the information you need to seek it out:
Game date, time: 4:30 pm MST, Friday, November 18th, 2011
Location: Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico
TV channel: ESPN 3
For all your postgame coverage, be sure to visit The Ralphie Report, SB Nation's Colorado Buffaloes blog, and for Maryland analysis fans can head to Testudo Times.