Two seasons ago the University of Colorado men’s basketball team was ranked as high as 18th and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In that same year Colorado State was ranked as high as 13th, and CSU has been a part of March Madness each of the last two seasons, advancing to the second round last year. However the start to this basketball season indicates a power shift.
The University of Denver (7-8) early in the season went up to Fort Collins and upset Colorado State. The Pioneers then earlier this month went to Greeley and defeated Northern Colorado, snapping a six-game losing streak in the series. Northern Colorado (10-3) won at Air Force before suffering its loss to DU. But yesterday the Bears marched into Boulder and knocked off CU for the first time since 1936.
Northern Colorado led all of Division I last year in field goal percentage (50.7%) and this year is shooting 50.8%. The Bears are led in scoring by a pair of experienced players. Graduate student Quinn Denker is averaging 18.7 points per game while shooting 54.7% FG and 38.9% 3pt-FG, one of just 10 players nationwide with those numbers. Senior Brock Wisne is averaging 16.5 ppg and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game, while shooting a blistering 59.6% FG and 41.4% 3pt-FG. Wisne is in elite company with those stats, as North Carolina’s Henri Veesaar is the only other DI player who can boast those numbers. Teammate Zach Bloch ranks fourth in the country in three point FG% (51.9%).
DU has a balanced offense, with four players averaging in double figures, led by three-point threat sophomore Carson Johnson (17.7 ppg, 42.9% 3pt-FG). The Pioneers’ problem is on defense, allowing opponents to shoot over 50% FG and 40% 3pt-FG. DU now begins its final Summit League schedule as the Pioneers are moving to the West Coast Conference next season.
Colorado (10-3) enters Big XII play having lost its last two non-conference games in addition to the loss at in-state rival CSU. The Buffs are shooting exactly 50% FG, which is the third best among Centennial State DI schools. Like DU, the Buffs have their own underclassman named Johnson who is leading the team in scoring. Freshman Isaiah Johnson averages 15.6 ppg while coming off the bench for a team that has just one senior on the roster. Johnson is one of 15 freshmen in the country to average 15.5+ points a game and is the only player regardless of class to average at least 15 points while not starting any game.
Colorado State (9-3) also has just one senior on the roster. CSU’s 52.9% FG is fifth best in the country and two of the three losses have been by two points. The Rams have already begun conference play and are picked to finish in the middle of the pack after winning the conference tournament last season. The top three scorers on the team combine for 58.0% FG and 49.6% 3pt-FG, with Josh Pascarelli, a junior transfer, leading the team at 13.9 ppg and is eighth in the nation in 3pt-FG% (50.6%).
Basketball is a game of runs and Air Force (3-9) is showing that this season is a game of runs for the Falcons. AFA began with four straight losses, then notched three consecutive wins. However now the Falcons are in the midst of a five-game losing streak. There is not a single senior on the roster, and a pair of freshmen lead the team in scoring, Lucas Hobin (12.6 ppg) and Kam Sanders (12.3 ppg).
