Colorado University Athletics
Boyle's Buffs Aim To Regain Shooting Touch As Visit From No. 13 Xavier Looms
December 05, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes returned home from a one-game road trip to Portland with a little offensive confidence in hand.
They'll need all of that and then some Wednesday when No. 13 Xavier (7-1) pays a visit to the Coors Events Center for a 7 p.m. game (Pac-12 Networks).
When the season began, the general consensus was the only offensive problems the Buffs would have would be finding enough shots to go around. With a veteran lineup loaded with shooters, scoring was going to be the least of the Buffs' worries.
But after eight games, the 6-2 Buffs have struggled to produce any semblance of consistency in the shooting and scoring departments. CU is shooting just 43.2 percent from the field, with just two games above 50 percent and two below 36 percent, including last week's 72-58 loss to Colorado State. The Buffs banged the rim for a season-low 32.2 percent field goal percentage in that game (19 for 59), a night that included a 3-for-19 effort from 3-point range.
They did, however, seem to regain their shooting touch in Saturday's 76-63 win at Portland, particularly in the second half. After hitting just 11 of 30 shots in the first half, the Buffs rebounded to shoot 14-of-28 after intermission to erase a 30-28 deficit and come home with a win.
"It was sure nice to make some shots in the second half," Boyle said after Monday morning's practice. "To see the ball go through the basket gives you a little bit more confidence as a player and certainly as a coach. We've been struggling a little bit offensively in terms of the ball going in the basket for us. … Hopefully that's behind us."
As any basketball coach worth his whistle will tell you, shooting is something that occasionally abandons team. Getting the touch back is a matter of getting good shots, executing the offense — and rebuilding confidence.
"We've been doing a lot of shooting in practice," Boyle said. "The whole emphasis for us right now is play with confidence on the offensive end. We have good players, we just have to go play."
It's not as if just one or two Buffs have been struggling on the offensive end. The most maddening part is that they have been consistently inconsistent. While CU has four players averaging double-figure scoring, only one of them — Derrick White — has hit double figures in seven of CU's eight games.
The others have bounced back and forth, scoring 27 points one night and six the next (Xavier Johnson) or putting together four double-figure games only to end the streak with a five-point outing (George King).
"That's why I, as a coach, always go back to defense and rebounding because at least I feel I can control that," Boyle said. "You can control that energy, you can control contesting a shot defensively. You can't control offensively the shot going in or not."
The Buffs haven't been bad defensively. They're still holding opponents to 37.6 percent shooting for the season, and they held CSU to 38.5 percent shooting in the loss.
At some point, they'll have to rediscover their shooting touch, something Boyle says is more a matter of confidence than anything else — and that's something he can't coach.
"You just have to be positive," Boyle said. "Show them good things and encourage good behavior. Confidence is not a commodity, it's not something I can go buy and give to these guys. … As a player you have to get it by getting in the gym. A coach can't give you confidence. It's not something I can go max my credit card out at Wal-Mart and buy. It just doesn't work like that."
The good thing about a shooting touch is that it can come back in a hurry — something Boyle and the Buffs would no doubt prefer with the visit from Xavier now directly on the horizon.
"We have good players," Boyle said. "They want to do well. It's not like they're not trying. It's not like their effort is awful. But they have to play better."
NOTEWORTHY: Xavier has been ranked in the top 10 for much of the season, reaching as high as No. 7 before dropping to No. 13 this week in the wake of a 76-61 loss at Baylor over the weekend. … Wednesday night's game will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks with Ted Robinson providing play-by-play, Bill Walton handling analysis and Lewis Johnson reporting from the sidelines. … After Wednesday night's game, the Buffs head back on the road Saturday for an 8 p.m. game at Brigham Young (ESPN2). They'll then take much of the following week off for final exams before returning to action Dec. 17 with a noon home game vs. Fort Hays State.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
