Buffs Open Pac-12 Play With Pair On The Road

BOULDER — Sooner or later, Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes need to pick up a road victory.

Colorado's coach would no doubt prefer the "sooner" part of that equation — preferably beginning this weekend, when the 8-4 Buffs open Pac-12 play with a pair of road games. CU starts conference play Friday with a 9 p.m. contest at Oregon State; then plays an 8 p.m. game Sunday at Oregon.

Those are the first of four road games the Buffs will see in their first six conference games.

Colorado played only two true road games in its non-conference schedule, at Colorado State and at Xavier, and dropped both. CU did win three neutral-court games at the Paradise Jam in Lynchburg, Va., but closed out non-conference play with a loss against Iowa in Sioux Falls, S.D. — a neutral-floor game by the strict definition, but a home game for the Hawkeyes in terms of the crowd.

Now the stakes increase significantly for the Buffs, who have played well in spurts but have yet to establish anything resembling consistency over long stretches of time.

"The level of play goes up when conference play happens, much like the level of play goes up in postseason," Boyle said after Wednesday's practice. "They need to understand that. … When we do what we're supposed to do, the wins and losses take care of themselves. I'm still getting our young guys to figure that out and our older guys to impart their sense of urgency."

Last Friday's loss to the Hawkeyes was in many ways a microcosm of how the Buffs have played for much of the year. The Buffs started slow and fell behind by 10, only to come back and take the lead midway through the second half. But another slow stretch allowed Iowa to regain the lead and the Buffs could not make up the difference in the final minutes.

"That's what I'm talking about with this team," Boyle said. "They've got fight. We've shown flashes. Midway through the second half we're ahead, 30 minutes into the game in a tough road environment. But we don't have the toughness, or you can say consistency, to finish it off."

It's not difficult to identify what makes the difference between winning and losing for the Buffs.

When Colorado has outrebounded an opponent this year, the Buffs are 7-0. In games when they have lost the rebounding battle, they are just 1-4.

It's the same from a shooting perspective. When the Buffs shoot a better percentage from the field than their opponent, they are 8-0. When they have a worse shooting percentage, they are 0-4.

"There's been a common theme in our four losses," Boyle said. "We haven't rebounded the ball — minus-7.8 on the boards in our four losses — and we're giving up 48 percent field goal percentage defense. In our eight wins we're holding them to 39 percent field goal percentage and we're plus-12 rebounding."

The Buffs' shooting woes are spread throughout the team. Of the players who have hoisted up at least 50 field goal tries this year, only one — freshman McKinley Wright IV — is shooting better than 50 percent from the field (74-for-146).

But it is defense and rebounding, the two foundational tenets of Boyle's program, where the head coach most wants to see more consistency. So far, Boyle said, he's seen steady play in those areas from just three players: Wright, George King and, most recently, Tyler Bey.

It means he is still waiting to see more from the rest of his team, in particular junior Namon Wright and senior Dominique Collier.

"Defensively is where guys like Namon (Wright) — and rebounding the ball — has to make his presence felt," Boyle said. "He's not the only one. I would put Dom Collier in that boat, I would put D'Shawn Schwartz in that boat, I would put Dallas Walton in that boat, I would put Lucas Siewert in that boat. Tyler, George, McKinley — those guys I know are going to rebound the ball or attempt to rebound the ball on a consistent basis. But outside of those three I don't see it. That's where I'm at."

Bey has been improving steadily over the last couple of weeks. He had a breakout 12-point, nine-rebound performance in CU's double-overtime win against South Dakota State, then followed it up with five points and seven rebounds against Iowa, along with another solid defensive effort.

"Tyler continues to get better and better defensively," Boyle said. "He can be as good as he wants to be. He's starting to figure it out … but again, the consistency factor is what we're searching for."

MILLER-STEWART STATUS: Boyle said Wednesday he won't rush a decision from Tory Miller-Stewart's on whether the CU senior will return next season.

Miller-Stewart, out for the season with a foot injury, could play one more year in Boulder. Or, he could transfer, and because he will graduate in the spring, he could play immediately wherever he transfers instead of having to sit out a year.

The question for Miller-Stewart will likely involve whether he will be willing to accept what would probably be a reduced role. With CU's other two big men — Lucas Siewert and Dallas Walton — also returning next year, as well as current freshman Evan Battey (redshirting this season), Miller-Stewart's playing time would likely be diminished.

"Tory's decision will be Tory's decision," Boyle said. "If he wants to return he can. … It's something I'm being very frank and very honest with him about every situation. … I've gone through every option with Tory. What is best for him, that's for him to decide. If I can help him in that decision I will."i

ONLY TIME VS. OREGON TEAMS: Every year, the Pac-12 schedule results in each team in the conference playing four of the teams in the conference just once. This year, the Buffs will travel to the Oregon schools but not see either the Beavers or the Ducks in Boulder. CU will host Cal and Stanford but will not make the Bay Area trip this season.

WEEKEND BROADCASTS: Friday's game will be televised by ESPNU while Sunday's game will be carried by the Pac-12 Network. The radio for the OSU game can be heard on KOA 850 AM while the Oregon game will be carried by KDSP 760 AM.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu