Colorado University Athletics
Boyle's Buffs Aim To Bounce Back Vs. New Mexico
December 05, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado coach Tad Boyle hinted strongly Tuesday that he will make some changes in his playing time rotation when the Buffs host New Mexico on Wednesday.
"When we're not doing what we're supposed to do, I have to make changes," Boyle said after Tuesday's practice. "That's the beauty of having a team with depth. … The definition of insanity is you keep doing the same thing and expect different results. Maybe we need to shake things up."
The 6-1 Buffs, coming off Saturday's loss at Colorado State, face the 3-5 Lobos in a 7 p.m. meeting at the Coors Events Center (Pac-12 Networks).
"The number of guys that we play probably isn't going to change, the guys that play probably isn't going to change," Boyle said. "What's going to change maybe is how long guys play and how much guys play versus other guys."
Foremost on Boyle's mind is correcting a rebounding issue that led to Colorado State owning a 46-32 edge on the boards in a 72-63 loss. That rebounding edge included a 25-9 differential among the starting front lines for both teams.
"We had some really sub-par rebounding efforts, certainly as a team but also individually against CSU," Boyle said. "I'm going to have to address those with playing time."
While the Buffs have been characterized as a young team — CU started two freshmen against CSU and at one time had four freshmen and a sophomore on the court — the Buffs' upperclassmen have by no means been the picture of consistency. As Boyle noted Tuesday, Colorado's freshmen were 14-for-24 from the field Saturday but CU's juniors and seniors were just 9-for-32.
"I talked about it early in the season — we didn't have much separation, and we still don't have a lot of separation," Boyle said. "I think McKinley (Wright IV) has separated himself; I think George (King) has separated himself. Outside of that, I'm not sure we have anybody that's really separated themselves in multiple areas."
Wright had a 19-point, eight-rebound, four-assist game against the Rams while King had nine points, seven rebounds and a pair of assists.
With senior post player Tory Miller-Stewart likely out for the season with a foot injury, rebounding will become even more of a focal point for the rest of the team. Sophomore big man Lucas Siewert has been hampered recently by a sore ankle recently and played just six minutes against CSU, but has been improving and could see more time Wednesday. The Buffs also need more consistency from junior Namon Wright, who had four assists and five points against CSU but no rebounds.
Wednesday night, the Buffs will see a high-scoring Lobos team that loves to shoot 3-pointers and plays pressure defense. UNM is averaging 86 points per game and is averaging 11.8 3-pointers per contest (tied for eighth in the nation). The Lobos are also forcing 20.38 turnovers per contest (sixth in the nation), but are still just 3-5 because they are yielding nearly 78 points per game.
"Guarding the 3-point line has not been one of our strengths the last few games," Boyle said. "We're going to have to guard the 3-point line. We're going to have to take care of the ball. We have to attack their pressure. … They'll try to junk it up defensively and really create turnovers. We better take care of the ball on offense and defensively we'd better guard the 3-point line and take them out of transition. They will run and they will shoot the ball in transition."
New Mexico opened the season with a pair of wins followed by four losses, then split its last two games, with a home win over Evansville and a loss at UTEP.
"No secrets," Boyle said of the scouting report. "They know what our deficiencies are, we know what theirs are. They know what our strengths are, we know what theirs are. Now it comes down to can we play to our strengths and attack their weaknesses and try to take their strengths away from them."
MILLER-STEWART UPDATE: CU's senior watched Tuesday's practice from the sidelines, but Boyle said it is too early to discuss what Miller-Stewart's future might be.
"Big-picture conversations with Tory are probably going to come after finals," Boyle said. "He's had this surgery now, let's get rehab going, get through finals … I don't want Tory's mind to be thinking about the future when it needs to be thinking about the present. Mid-December when those finals are over, that's when we'll have a chance to sit down and really talk and have some heart-to-heart discussions."
Since Miller-Stewart played in just six games before suffering the foot injury, he would likely be eligible for an injury redshirt this year.
"I'm open to what's best for Tory Miller and what's best for this basketball program," Boyle said. "If those are two and the same, he'll be back … but I'm not going to go there yet. Those are going to be private conversations. My main concern is for Tory Miller and his full recovery and what's best for him going forward. My close secondary is what's best for this program. We're in this business to help young men and help kids and I want to do whatever I can to help Tory get through this very emotional injury and do what's best for him next year … But all options will be on the table."
THE SERIES: New Mexico holds a 7-6 all-time edge, with the last meeting an 89-76 win in Las Vegas in 2010 in Boyle's first season in Boulder. The Lobos swept a home-and-home series in 2006-07, with Colorado's last win a 77-65 win in Albuquerque in 1980. Boyle is 0-1 all-time vs. the Lobos while UNM's Paul Weir has never faced Colorado as a head coach.
CU LEADERS: McKinley Wright leads Colorado at 16.1 points and 4.1 assists per game. Wright has scored in double figures in every game thus far and his seven double-figure games to begin his career are the most by a Buffalo since 2011 NBA lottery pick Alec Burks scored at least 10 points in his first 20 games in 2009-10. King leads Colorado in rebounding at 8.6 per game while ranking second in scoring at 15 points an outing. Namon Wright is third on the team in scoring at 11.6 points while grabbing 2.9 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING THE LOBOS: Senior Sam Logwood leads New Mexico at 16.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the free throw line. Junior guard Chris McNeal is second on the team in scoring at 15.6 points and is the team's co-leader in both 3-pointers made (23) and assists (28). Junior guard Anthony Mathis joins McNeal with a team-best 23 3-pointers while averaging 10.6 points an outing. Mathis and McNeal are a combined 46 of 101 from 3-point range (.455). Senior guard Antino Jackson matches McNeal's assists number at 28 while averaging 8.5 points per game.
TV/RADIO: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network with JB Long and Mike Montgomery. 850 AM KOA will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
