Forum Regeln » s. Pittsburghs Pedro Alvarez led the National League

BOULDER, Colo. -- For a team that built its reputation on stifling defence, fourth-ranked Arizona sure showed some offensive prowess Saturday night. The Wildcats routed the Buffaloes 88-61 for their first win in Boulder since 1973. They did it by holding Colorado without a bucket until 9:50 remained in the first half, then by shooting 84.6 per cent in the second half. "They whipped us tonight every which way you can whip a team," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. Freshman Aaron Gordon shook off a poor performance at Utah last week by scoring 21 of his season-best 23 points in the second half and Nick Johnson added 20 points for the Wildcats, who made 22 of 26 shots after halftime. "Weve had a few shootarounds here, we felt comfortable in their gym, it all just clicked for us," Johnson said. It was a rare breather for the Wildcats (25-2, 12-2 Pac-12), who scrapped their way through a series of close games since beating Colorado by 12 in Tucson, Ariz., on Jan. 23, before close losses at Cal and archrival Arizona State dropped them from the top spot in the AP Top 25. After that first game in Tempe, Buffaloes forward Xavier Johnson dissed the Cats, saying, "theyre not that good." He also said that even without injured star Spencer Dinwiddie, the Buffaloes were the more talented team and he suggested the rematch in Boulder would be a blowout. He was right, but it was the Wildcats who made this one a laugher, not the Buffaloes, who were throttled by Arizonas suffocating defence and their hot shooting hands. "I dont think you have any of our players saying anything negative about Colorado, saying, Were going to win by 20," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "We dont do that. For us, we have to play the right way. We have to compete hard. And certainly we respect Colorado." Coming off an emotionally draining win over the Sun Devils on Wednesday night that burnished their NCAA tournament credentials, the Buffaloes (20-8, 9-6) came out ice cold, missing their first 14 shots. They trailed 22-5 before Jaron Hopkins sank a 3-pointer from the left side 10:10 into the game. That sparked a 16-4 run by Colorado -- with seven points coming from the free throw line -- to make it 26-21 and force an Arizona timeout. The Wildcats settled down thanks to a baseline drive by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and a pull-up jumper by T.J. McConnell. The only field goal by a Buffaloes starter before halftime came on Askia Bookers jumper with 2 seconds left in the first half. After a horrendous start, however, the Buffaloes clawed their way back before Gordon sank three straight layups and Johnsons jumpers helped the Wildcats pull away. In celebration of senior night, Boyle gave 7-foot centre Ben Mills his first start of his career. He took the place of Josh Scott, who had started every game since Feb. 27, 2013, when he was dealing with a concussion. Scotts absence was quickly felt as Colorado was outrebounded 6-1 and fell behind 8-1 before Scott replaced Mills 2:49 into the game. But the Buffaloes didnt turn things around right away, as the Wildcats built those advantages to 10-3 on the boards and 14-3 on the scoreboard by the 14:39 timeout. Thanks to a 12-3 advantage at the stripe, however, the Buffs trailed just 31-25 at the half after shooting 6-for-27 from the floor. Scott, who led the Buffs with 18 points, sank a jumper to open the second half that made it a four-point game, but the Buffs couldnt get any closer and the Wildcats began to pull away when Kaleb Tarczewskis 3-pointer made it 40-33. "I think we got a little jump shot-happy, but I think thats a credit to them," Scott said. "I think we turned the ball over a couple of times at some key points in the game and its mainly because they pack the paint." About the only thing the crowd had to cheer about by the end was Mills 3-pointer in the final minute, the first of his college career. The 27-point loss was the biggest at home in the Boyle era, and he said it was particularly disconcerting with ESPNs College GameDay crew in town. "Our fans were so ready for this game, for this win, and we gave them nothing," Boyle said. "Thats a sick feeling to go home with and to live with. I havent been embarrassed many times as a coach, but I was embarrassed tonight at the way our team played." His players were, too. "Were all embarrassed, man, really embarrassed," Booker said. "This is something that, whether were on the road or at home, this should never happen again." Cheap Saucony Shoes Australia . In question is whether 26-year-old Matt Frattin will be on it. A a€?mediocrea€? training camp, as Carlyle put it earlier this week, has Frattin lingering nervously on the bubble at the end of the exhibition season, pushed out of a likely job by Brandon Kozun, the small, but feisty winger determined to make the NHL for the first time. Saucony Shoes Online Australia . In a series of tweets, it is explained by the Department of Player Safety that Niederreiter makes full body contact with Burrows and although there is head contact, he does not "pick" the head in the course of making the hit. http://www.cheapsauconyaustralia.com/ .7 million, one-year contract.The deal, announced Friday, includes a $50,000 performance bonus if the left-hander appears in 60 games. Saucony Shoes Outlet . Which is to say, the top of this years draft class is not as dynamic or exciting as the 2013 class of Nate MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and Seth Jones and its not as strikingly promising as the highly-anticipated 2015 slate of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. Saucony Shoes Factory Outlet . Seriously. Seven years of losing has brought many different faces, players and management, to the annual pre-season get-to-know-the-team round up.Third base is a relatively shallow position, giving the best hot corner options even more relative value. Leaving aside now-first-baseman Miguel Cabrera, the best of the bunch has been Texas Adrian Beltre who, over the past five seasons, sits just behind Tampa Bays Evan Longoria in runs, home runs and RBI, but has a batting average nearly 30 points higher, enough to get the nod, particularly since Beltre has stayed relatively healthy throughout his career. Thats not to say that Longoria isnt great; hes hit 30-plus homers three times and he played 160 games last season, but missed 117 in the previous two years, so that hangs over any decision to take him. The injury bug has caught the Mets David Wright in two of the past three seasons, causing him to miss 50 or more games in 2011 and 2013, but hes also a career .301 hitter who has power and has added at least 15 stolen bases per season in eight of the past nine years. Washingtons Ryan Zimmerman has belted at least 25 homers in four of the past five seasons, and that consistency makes him better than most at the position. While those have the longer track record, there are some that are newer to the hot corner that also have put up big numbers. Oaklands Josh Donaldson had a breakout season in 2013 and Seattles Kyle Seager has back-to-back 20 home run seasons. St. Louis Matt Carpenter, who might have more value at his previous position of second base, but he led the NNational League with 126 runs scored last year, while hitting .dddddddddddd18, and that works at any position. Beyond that, there are more challenges involved. San Diegos Chase Headley followed up a breakthrough 2012 season with a dramatic drop-off in 2013, so take your chances. Pittsburghs Pedro Alvarez led the National League with 36 home runs last season, but also whiffed a league-high 186 times on his way to a .233 batting average, so you pay a price to get that power; probably enough to avoid Alvarez unless hes filling a corner infield spot. In his mid-30s and coming an injury-shortened season, Milwaukees Aramis Ramirez can still mash when healthy -- more than 25 home runs in eight of the past 10 seasons. A couple of rising stars may still be a year or two away from being huge fantasy contributors, but its worth keeping Baltimores Manny Machado, coming back from knee injury, and Colorados Nolan Arenado have potential thats worth investing in at some point. Others with upside include Torontos Brett Lawrie, who is still untapped potential, and San Franciscos Pablo Sandoval has dropped some weight, so might be a bit of a sleeper. Really, beyond the top handful of choices at third base, a lot of the appeal is in the eye of the beholder Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '