Colorado University Athletics
Buffs To Hit Road In Search Of Pac-12 Win
January 16, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Mired in a five-game skid and still searching for their first Pac-12 win, the 10-8 Colorado Buffaloes hit the road this week for a pair of games, hoping to discover a cure for what has ailed them in conference play.
The Buffs' problems since opening the Pac-12 portion of their schedule have not been limited to one particular area. They've been beset, at various junctures, by poor shooting from the floor, rebounding issues, turnover difficulties and defensive lapses. Not all have come at once, but in each loss, one or two of those areas has proven to be the difference.
In two of those games, the difference has been razor-thin. In losses to Arizona State and USC, one possession in the final minute made the difference between a win and a loss.
The task for the Buffs as they head to Washington this week for games at UW (Wednesday, 9 p.m.) and Washington State (Saturday, 2 p.m.) will be figuring out not only how to get to crunch time, but make the play that makes the difference when they get there.
"The bottom line is we are finding ways to lose instead of finding ways to win," said CU coach Tad Boyle, who is in the midst of his first five-game losing streak in seven years in Boulder. "We have to find ways to win. It's all in the little details of what we do."
Overall, the Buffs' biggest deficiency has come because of turnovers, specifically points opponents are scoring off of those miscues. While Colorado had managed to keep the damage minimal prior to Sunday's loss to the Trojans, the issue reared its head in a big way in the latest loss as USC outscored the Buffs 20-5 in points off turnovers in a 71-68 win.
The other key area came in USC's second-chance points. The Buffs entered the game with a plus-17 margin in that category over the first four Pac-12 games; the Trojans outscored Colorado 16-14 in that area on Sunday.
"I've said it many times, consistency is an issue with this team," Boyle said. "It's all in different places. Sometimes it's rebounding. For the most part we've taken care of the ball better this year than we did last year, but turnovers reared their ugly head last night with 17 of them. … We've got to concentrate on the things we need to do to get wins. It's not about trying to get a win; everybody wants to win. You have to be willing to do the things it takes to win."
What makes the situation even more confounding for Boyle is that this is a team not only laden with experienced upperclassmen, but a team with players who have plenty of experience in big games. Eight of the 11 players who saw the floor in Sunday's loss have NCAA Tournament experience.
"We're close, and I think that's why it hurts so much," junior forward George King said. "When you lose a game like we did that's just one possession, you automatically sit back and think, 'What if I would have stopped that one layup, or what if I would have made two more free throws?' You replay it in your mind and keep doing it."
After an up-and-down nonconference season, King has been playing some steady, consistent ball since the Buffs hit Pac-12 play. He's averaging 11.2 points and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds in conference games. He led the Buffs in rebounding Sunday with nine, the third straight game he's led the Buffs on the boards and the eighth time this season.
He insists the Buffs haven't lost their confidence.
"Absolutely we can get over that hump," King said. "We have the guys to do it. Our spirit is still there. We're still confident. We just have to play team defense, not allow one guy getting beat to make the difference and play 40 minutes of Colorado basketball."
But Boyle also knows his players are beginning to feel the pressure of an 0-5 start to the conference.
"The challenge is keeping their spirits up and understanding that there's such a fine line between winning and losing in college athletics," Boyle said. "We're two possessions away from having two wins in the win column, but we don't. We have zero in the win column. That's a very fine line when it comes to the basketball court. The feeling that you have between being 2-3 and 0-5 is like being on opposite sides of the Grand Canyon or the base of Mount Everest and the top. That's how wide the emotional feelings are in terms of winning and losing."
What's clear is that a team that began the season focused on producing the program's fifth NCAA berth in the last six years has now narrowed that focus considerably.
"It's about getting better and trying to win the next game," Boyle said. "That's what we've got to focus on. Understand there's a lot of basketball to be played yet. We've got to continue to fight and scratch and claw and not give up. This is when you're tested and we're being tested right now."
NOTEWORTHY: It was just four years ago that Colorado opened the Pac-12 season with a 1-4 start, but won nine of the last 13 to finish 10-8 in league play and claim an NCAA Tournament berth. ... Wednesday's game at Washington will be televised by ESPNU, with Saturday's game at WSU to be broadcast by the Pac-12 Networks. … The Buffs haven't opened a conference season with six straight losses since the 1992-93 season, when they went 0-8 to begin Big Eight play.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
