Buffs Head To Los Angeles Seeking Road Win, Face USC Wednesday
January 09, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LOS ANGELES — Still without a road win this year, the Colorado Buffaloes have two chances to clear that obstacle this week.
The 10-6 Buffs (2-2 Pac-12) would no doubt like to get it out of the way Wednesday when they meet USC (11-6, 2-2) in an 8 p.m. game at the Galen Center (FS1). After that, their next chance comes Saturday when they travel across town to UCLA for an 8:30 p.m. meeting with the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion (Pac-12 Networks).
CU will head into this week's games brimming with confidence and the riding the tailwind of the most successful weekend of the season, one that produced back-to-back victories over fourth-ranked Arizona State and No. 14 Arizona.
But the question is whether the Buffs can take that kind of performance with them on the road. CU is 0-4 in true road games this year, including two Pac-12 losses to start the conference season.
"That's the challenge," CU head coach Tad Boyle said earlier this week. "Defense travels. Rebounding travels. Taking care of the ball travels. Toughness travels. Energy travels. Those are the things we have to take on the road."
The difference between the Buffs' opening Pac-12 weekend on the road and the ensuing homestand was stark on both ends of the floor.
Offensively, Colorado shot just 42 percent from the field in losses at Oregon and Oregon State, including just 29.7 percent from 3-point range. But when they hit the Coors Events Center floor, they improved their shooting to 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
The story was the same on the defensive end.
The Oregon schools combined to hit 51.4 percent of their field goal tries, including 35.3 percent from 3-point range. But the Arizona schools struggled from the field, hitting just 38.3 percent of all their field-goal attempts, including just 27 percent from 3-point range.
That defense is what Boyle believes the Buffs can take with them to Los Angeles.
"Shots may go in, they may not go in, you may get the calls, you may not get the calls," Boyle said. "We have to travel with the things we can count on and we have to go play that way."
Since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, the Buffs have had some success at USC, winning two games on the Trojans' home floor. But CU's last trip to the Galen Center is one the Buffs would rather forget. Colorado led by 15 in the second half, only to see USC put together a 31-10 run over the final eight minutes to collect a 79-72 win.
This season, Andy Enfield's Trojans were picked in the preseason media poll to finish second in the Pac-12. But they have experienced an up-and-down season thus far, with their most recent outing Sunday's 77-76 loss to Stanford on a buzzer-beater.
But the Buffs know they will see a talented, veteran squad, led by 6-11 forward Chimezie Metu. The Trojans junior is averaging 17.2 points and 7.2 rebounds this year and CU players remember him well. It was Metu who last year drained a shot in the waning seconds in Boulder to lead USC to a come-from-behind 71-68 win and he will be the latest test for CU redshirt freshman Dallas Walton.
"A lot of talent," was Boyle's succinct description of the Trojans' lineup. "(Arizona's) Deandre Ayton, everybody talks about how special he is, (USC's) Chimezie Metu is not too far behind. He's got great length, he can shoot the ball from the perimeter, he beat us in here with a 14-foot jump hook that was nothing but net last year. A big time play by a big time player. Benny Boatright is playing extremely well … (Jordan) Mclaughlin is one of the best point guards in the country that nobody talks about. He's fifth in the country in assists. They have players."
The Trojans are 6-3 at home this year, with one of the losses an 88-81 decision to Washington in their Pac-12 opener. They are fifth in the league in scoring offense (81.5 ppg) and fifth in scoring defense (73.4 ppg). McLaughlin leads the league in assists, averaging 7.9 per game, and the Trojans can get hot from 3-point range — they are third in the league in long-distance percentage, hitting nearly 38 percent of their tries.
"Talent is something that USC is not lacking," Boyle said "We have to counteract that with the things I just talked about — defense, rebounding, toughness, energy."
The road trip will provide CU's freshmen with their first look at the Los Angeles schools. Point guard McKinley Wright IV, who Monday earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for his efforts in CU's weekend wins, would like to add a road win to his resume.
"We haven't won a game on the road this year. I don't know what that feels like as a freshman," Wright said. "We talked about that today. Some of the older guys know what a road win feels like and I don't. This week I'm looking forward to the opportunity to play the LA schools and hopefully getting our first road win."
THE SERIES: Colorado holds a 9-5 all-time lead in the series, including a 7-2 edge since joining the Pac-12. The Trojans, though, have one the last two — in Boulder last year and at USC two seasons ago.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by FS1 with Kevin Burkhardt and Casey Jacobsen. KOA 850 AM radio will broadcast the game with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
