Buffs Hope To Keep Momentum Rolling As No. 14 Arizona Visits Saturday
January 05, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — For much of the season, Colorado coach Tad Boyle has maintained that his Buffs could play with anyone in the Pac-12 — if they could maintain long stretches of consistency.
Thursday night, the 9-6 Buffs backed up Boyle's belief in a big way with a 90-81 overtime win over fourth-ranked Arizona State. After yet another slow start — one that resulted in an early 13-1 deficit — the Buffs then put together their best 40 minutes of basketball this season.
It was a quality win over a quality team. Arizona State's only previous loss came at Arizona, and the Sun Devils have wins at Kansas, and over Kansas State and Xavier (currently the fifth-ranked Musketeers' only loss) on a neutral floor.
You will hear more from the Sun Devils in March.
Of course, the question now is whether the Buffs can maintain that level of play from game to game and week to week.
CU fans won't have to wait long for an answer, as Colorado will be back on the Coors Events Center floor Saturday for a noon matchup with No. 14 Arizona (Pac-12 Networks).
What we saw Thursday night is how good the Buffs can be if everyone in the lineup contributes. The Buffs produced balanced scoring, tenacious rebounding and defense with an edge.
Balance was the key ingredient. McKinley Wright IV and Namon Wright each scored 19 points, with McKinley Wright adding five assists and Namon Wright grabbing seven rebounds. George King finished with an 18-point, nine-rebound night and Dominique Collier had 11 points, six assists and just one turnover. Tyler Bey finished eight points and eight rebounds and Dallas Walton notched seven rebounds, three blocked shots and two points.
But perhaps most importantly, the Buffs showed resilience. They refused to hang their heads, even when the situation looked less than optimal. Colorado battled back from a 12-point deficit in the first half to narrow the gap to one, and erased an eight-point lead in the second half to take the lead for the first time with just more than eight minutes to play.
Then, even when the Sun Devils appeared to have regained momentum by scoring late to force overtime, the Buffs bowed their necks and made plays in the extra period.
Throw in Boyle's decision to go to a zone defense early, a move that frustrated the guard-oriented Sun Devils the rest of the night, and it was overall Colorado's best game of the year — from the coaching staff on down.
But Saturday, as Boyle said, will be a "different animal."
The 12-3 Wildcats, coming off a win at Utah on Thursday, do have outstanding guards, beginning with 6-foot-5 junior Allonzo Trier, who leads UA in scoring with 20.3 points per game.
But right behind Trier is freshman Deandre Ayton, a 7-foot-1, 250-pounder already being tabbed as a top three NBA Draft pick. A native of the Bahamas, Ayton is averaging 20.0 points and 12.1 rebounds, and had 23 points and 19 rebounds in Arizona's win over ASU last week.
"Limit his touches down low and keep him off the offensive glass," Boyle said of the plan against Ayton. "He's capable of making jump shots and facing the basket and scoring in transition, but to me it's got to be limiting his post touches and keeping him off the offensive glass."
The Wildcats also have another 7-footer in the starting lineup, senior Dusan Ristic — making it easy to see why UA leads the Pac-12 in rebounding margin, averaging 7.3 more boards per game than their opponents.
Thursday, the Buffs won the rebound battle against ASU, 48-41.
But, Boyle warned, "Rebounding against Arizona State is a different animal than rebounding against Arizona. It's always important, but against Arizona it becomes even more paramount. If you don't rebound, you don't win."
THE SERIES: Arizona leads the all-time series 16-12, including wins in the last three meetings.The Buffaloes are 8-4 against the Wildcats in Boulder, including a 75-72 win over No. 9 Arizona in February 2016 in their last meeting at the Coors Events Center. The 'Cats are 11-3 against the Buffs since CU joined the Pac-12 in 2011.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks with Ted Robinson, Bill Walton and Cindy Brunson. KOA 850 AM will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
