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College Hoops Week in Review: Team of the Week - Colorado

Askia BOOKER

Colorado’s Askia Booker, center, dribbles the ball upcourt against Baylor during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Charleston Classic at TD Arena, Friday Nov. 16, 2012, in Charleston, S.C. Colorado won 60-58. (AP Photo/Alice Keeney)

AP

Team of the Week: Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado dispatched of Murray State late on Sunday night, giving the Buffaloes their second tournament title in the calender year. The last one they won? The Pac-12 tournament back in March, which sent Tad Boyle’s club off to the NCAA tournament. But with a number of key pieces leaving that group and coming off of an up-and-down regular season, there were those that doubted the Buffs heading into the year.

Well, not anymore. Not after Colorado knocked off Dayton, Baylor and Murray State. Not after Askia Booker looked like Colorado’s star despite the fact that Andre Roberson did everything we all expected him to do this season. Not after Spencer Dinwiddie appeared to be one of the nation’s most versatile defenders and Josh Scott and Xavier Johnson proved to be much further along than typical freshmen. Until otherwise noted, Arizona and UCLA have to be considered the favorites to win the Pac-12.

But Colorado is not all that far behind.

Five teams deserving of a shoutout:


  • Oklahoma State: We talked about Oklahoma State at more length in the Player of the Week post, but the bottom line is this: they ran over a top half of the SEC team in Tennessee and they thoroughly dominated a top ten team in NC State. Oh, and Marcus Smart is a star. That’s quite a turnaround from their opener, when the Pokes struggled to beat UC Davis.

  • Duke: The Blue Devils went down to Georgia, and while it wasn’t a soul they were looking to steal, they did manage to make a statement early in the season when they knocked off reigning champ Kentucky. It wasn’t just the fact that they won, either; it was how they won: by putting on a big second half run and surviving when the more athletic Wildcats started pressing. That’s a big win for a Duke team that had plenty of doubters heading into the season.

  • Hofstra: The Pride won all three games at home this week, including thrillers against both South Dakota State and Marshall. Shaq Stokes hit a game-winner at the buzzer to knock off the Jackrabbits, while the Pride went into double-overtime against the Thundering Herd. The best news? Jamal Coombs-McDaniel still hasn’t played. They’ll get better.

  • Belmont: The Bruins scored unquestionably their biggest win of the season by going into Palo Alto and knocking off Stanford. The Bruin’s dynamic backcourt of Ian Clark and Kerron Johnosn combined for 29 points in the win. Murray State may not be the best team in the Ohio Valley this season, and Belmont has set themselves up nicely for a run at an at-large bid.

  • Florida State: After losing the opener to South Alabama at home, the Seminoles bounced back with a win in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic by knocking off both Notre Dame and St. Joe’s. In the process, Leonard Hamilton’s club has figured out that they’ll be a different team this season, one that relies on guard play heavily. The MVP of the week for FSU was freshman point guard Devon Bookert, who looked ready to takeover the role of primary ball-handler.

Also deserving a mention: Florida, Gonzaga, Michigan State, New Mexico, Santa Clara, SMU, St. Mary’s, Xavier, Wichita State, Youngstown State

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.