Spencer Dinwiddie spoke but then backed up his words in win over Colorado State

Dec 6, 2012, 10:01 AM EDT

One reason why rivalry games are so entertaining is the fact that players tend to make far more candid statements than usual. That was the case for Colorado point guard Spencer Dinwiddie the day before the Buffaloes took on Colorado State in Boulder.

“You just kind of see when the little brother beats the big brother once, then they are going to be happy, they are going to rush the court,” Dinwiddie remarked. “When we win tomorrow night, I don’t think our fans are going to do that.”

It’s one thing to talk the talk and another to back it up. Dinwiddie did just that in the Buffaloes’ 70-61 win over Colorado State on Wednesday night, scoring a game-high 29 points and dishing out three assists.

Colorado head coach Tad Boyle showed his players video of Colorado State fans rushing the court at the end of last year’s game, a 65-54 CSU win in Fort Collins, and the tactic paid off as the Buffs stampeded out of the gates and eventually led by as many as 25 points.

But the viewing of said video may have led to Dinwiddie’s comment, one that Boyle said that he plans to address.

“Well I have to talk to Spencer about that, but I purposefully didn’t say anything to him about it before the game, I wanted to see if he was going to back it up or not,” Boyle said following the win.

“And he backed it up now, but we have to be smarter of how we approach the media, because we don’t want to make a habit out of that. The thing I love about Spencer is he believes in himself, he believes in his teammates, and he played tonight like an All-Pac 12 player.”

Dinwiddie also got the job done on the defensive end of the floor, as he limited Wes Eikmeier to seven points and no assists on 3-of-15 shooting from the field. Colton Iverson (19 points, 14 rebounds) and Dorian Green (18 points) led the way for the Rams, who would fight back to within three (54-51) but could not get over the hump.

If there’s a pressing concern for Colorado to address in the aftermath of last night’s game it would have to be their second half foul shooting. Colorado made 12 of their 25 free throws in the second half, and for the season their percentage (68.1%) ranks ninth in the Pac-12. Last night wasn’t as bad as the 4-of-18 performance put forth in their win over Baylor, but Colorado’s proficiency at the charity stripe is something that they’ll want to clean up.

As for Dinwiddie, who was Colorado’s best foul shooter last night (8-of-10), it will feel much better to have a conversation about his statement following his performance.

“It was an analogy, but I think they took it as disrespectful. I didn’t mean it in a disrespectful manner; I have a lot of respect for their team. They have a lot of good players and senior leadership so I wasn’t trying to disrespect their team in any way.”

Luckily for Dinwiddie his “little brother” comment didn’t have a conclusion similar to that of former Michigan running back Mike Hart.

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.