Buffs Ready For Theft-Minded Stanford Defense

BOULDER — For the most part, the Colorado Buffaloes have done a better job taking care of the ball this year.

A year ago, the Buffs finished the season with eight games with 18 or more turnovers, and three of those games were plus-20. This season, the Buffs have just two games with 18 or more and only one with plus-20.

But Thursday, the 16-13 Buffs (6-10 Pac-12) will see the team that forced that plus-20 number when they play host to Stanford (14-14, 6-10) in a 7 p.m. game at the Coors Events Center.

In their first meeting this year, the Cardinal forced 23 Colorado turnovers — nearly twice CU's season average of 12.7 per game. The Buffs, though, managed to overcome that season high in miscues and came away with an 81-74 win on Stanford's home floor.

Since that game, however, the Cardinal has continued to play havoc on opponents on the defensive end. Stanford has forced 119 turnovers in the last seven games, with 60 steals in that stretch. Guard Marcus Allen has been the biggest culprit with 14 steals in those games.

"They're playing with energy, they've got smart players who anticipate, they're getting in passing lanes," head coach Tad Boyle said. "Allen is really quick and fast. (Guard Robert) Cartwright has got great anticipation skills. They get their hands on a lot of balls and those deflections sometimes turn into steals."

As a result, the Buffs spent plenty of time this week working against the zone defense they expect to see from the Cardinal on Thursday.

"It's been a major emphasis this week, taking care of the basketball," Boyle said. "Major emphasis."

Another point of emphasis for the Buffs has been how to contain junior forward Reid Travis, a 6-foot-8, 245-pounder who leads the team in scoring (17.7 points per game) and rebounding (8.8 rpg). He'll be a big load not only for CU's men in the middle — Wesley Gordon, Xavier Johnson and Tory Miller — but also CU's perimeter defenders, who will be expected to provide help defense when possible.

"You have to limit his touches," Boyle said. "You're not going to eliminate his touches, but you have to limit them and limit them on the block. … He's going to catch it down there some. But when he does, he's got to feel like he's being swarmed. We have to help off of guys that aren't great shooters on the perimeter, we've got to get great pressure on him."

The Buffs would also like to rediscover their shooting touch. After shooting better than 50 percent from the field in four of six games (all four wins), they haven't managed better than 44 percent from the field in their last three games (two losses).

While no one player has been responsible for the shooting slump, the recent woes of senior Xavier Johnson are indicative of the problems. Johnson is just 5-for-18 from the field in the Buffs' last two games — losses to Oregon and Utah — including just 1-for-11 from 3-point range.

"He's been hunting shots and he's been taking a lot of quick shots," Boyle said. "'X' is good when he lets the game come to him. But when he's hunting shots or if he is pressing, it's not a good thing for him or our team."

A key, Boyle said, will be producing good ball movement and creating plays for teammates.

"We want shots to come as a result of the offense, and the other thing we've worked hard on this week offensively is making plays for each other," Boyle said. "We went through a series of drills this week where the basket doesn't count unless it's off an assist. That really forces our guys to look for each other and make plays for each other.

"When we do that, we're a fun team to watch and we're really good offensively. But when we hunt and try to do everything of the dribble one on one, we struggle a little bit."

The Buffs will close their regular season Saturday with a noon game at home vs. Cal.

TOURNEY SEEDING: With two games remaining, the Buffs could technically still finish as high as a tie for sixth in the conference standings, but with tiebreakers involved, will finish somewhere in the No. 7 to No. 10 spot when it comes to seeding for next week's conference tournament. The Buffs will open play in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday. A win on Thursday would guarantee them of no lower than the No. 9 spot.

NICE NUMBERS: CU senior Derrick White leads CU in scoring (17.3 ppg), assists (4.1 apg) and steals (1.2 spg). He is the conference's second-leading scorer in Pac-12 games, averaging 19.2 per game and he and Washington's Markelle Fultz are the only two players in the league to rank in the conference top 10 in scoring, assists and blocks. White is fourth in scoring for the season, fifth in blocks and seventh in steals.

BROADCAST: The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Dave Pasch and Bill Walton. Denver Sports 760 AM will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu