Boyle's Buffs Have History On Their Side In Pac-12 Tourney Opener
March 06, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
CU coach is 6-0 in conference tourney openers with Colorado
BOULDER — When the Colorado Buffaloes open play against Washington State in Wednesday's opening round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network), the Buffs will have history on their side.
For starters, the game is a rematch of last year's tourney opener, when the Buffs claimed an 80-56 win over WSU.
The setup is similar this time around, although the two teams split their season series this year. The Buffs dropped a 91-89 overtime decision in their first meeting Jan. 21 in Pullman; then rolled to an 81-49 win three weeks later in Boulder.
Now, the rubber match will again come in the Pac-12 tournament, where Tad Boyle's Buffs hope to repeat last year's result.
"We know each other, we know each other's plays, we know each other's tendencies and personnel," Boyle said. "It's the third time for them, third time for us — there's no advantage either way."
But there's more to history being on the Buffs' side than just last year's game.
Also in CU's corner is Colorado's tournament performances under Boyle.
Since taking the reins in Boulder, Boyle is a perfect 6-0 in conference tourney openers (1-0 Big 12, 5-0 Pac-12). Boyle owns a 9-4 record at CU in Pac-12 tournament play (2-1 Big 12), and his teams have advanced to at least the semifinals in three of his six conference tournaments with the Buffs.
But perhaps the most astounding stat is this: since CU began playing in a postseason conference tournament in 1981, the Buffs have won a grand total of 22 tournament games.
Boyle's teams have produced 11 of those wins.
"The key is to be aggressive, hungry — aggressive without fouling," Boyle said. "Take the fight to your opponent. You can't come out walking on eggshells, worried about making mistakes. You've got to come out guns a blazing, playing with confidence, playing with aggressiveness and not playing afraid to lose. Playing to win and playing expecting to leave it all out on the floor. In a 7-10 matchup like this, the winner is going to refuse to lose."
The Buffs enter the tournament knowing they will need to win four games in four days to earn an NCAA Tournament berth. It's been done before — Boyle's team did it in CU's first year in the Pac-12, running the table in the 2012 tournament.
But that was a much weaker Pac-12, a conference that ended up sending just two teams to the NCAA Tournament.
This year's Pac-12, while not as strong top to bottom as last year, when the conference sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament, is nevertheless loaded at the top, boasting three teams currently ranked in the nation's top 10: No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 Oregon and No. 7 Arizona.
To run the table this year — if the "chalk" holds — the Buffs would have to beat all three of those top 10 teams, beginning with a Thursday night matchup against Arizona, also at 7 p.m.
But the Buffs are vowing not to look past Washington State, a team that pushed UCLA to its limits on the Bruins' home floor over the weekend before finally succumbing down the stretch.
"You know they (the top teams) are there, but if we don't focus on Washington State, we won't even get to face them," said CU's Derrick White, who was named first team All-Pac-12 on Monday, along with also being named to the conference's all-defensive team. "We have to focus on Washington State and play our butts off and get the win first. Then we can focus on the other good teams in the Pac-12."
BOYLE ON WHITE: Just a few days ago, Boyle said White was among the best players in the Pac-12. Conference coaches seemed to agree with CU's coach, as they voted White first team All-Pac-12 on Monday, as well as a first-team all defensive-team selection.
"I couldn't vote for any of our players, so this is a true award based on other coaches in the league recognizing what kind of year he had," Boyle said. "It goes without saying that's pretty special when you get that kind of award. Both first team all-league means he's one of the top nine or 10 players in the league and all-defensive team, top five defenders. ... I'm really proud of him."
White, ever the humble player, credited his teammates.
"I have to thank all my teammates for putting me in the situation where I can succeed," said the CU senior, who is playing his only year in Boulder after three years at Division II UC-Colorado Springs. "Individual awards are all because of the team so I'm just thankful for my teammates."
NEW ARENA: After four years of tournament play at the MGM in Las Vegas, this year's tournament moves to the new T-Mobile Arena. The Buffs will get their first look at the new venue Tuesday night, when they have a shootaround at the arena — an important time, according to Boyle.
"It's important because we don't have a practice time the day of the game," Boyle said. "If we had an hour on the floor the day of the game it wouldn't be as big a deal, it wouldn't be as important. The fact that we don't have any time on Wednesday, the day we play, that's all we get to see until we're on the floor. We want to use it and make the most of it."
BROADCAST: Wednesday's game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson, Bill Walton and Lewis Johnson.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
