Buffs Aim For 6-0 Start As Air Force Visits Events Center Sunday

BOULDER — Not since the 2012-13 season have the Colorado Buffaloes opened the year with six straight wins.

Sunday, Tad Boyle's current Buffs will try to match that start when they play host to 3-1 Air Force in a matinee performance at the Coors Events Center (2 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

The 5-0 Buffs are coming off a Paradise Jam tourney championship last week that saw them win three games in three days in three very different ways: a buzzer-beater that culminated a 13-point rally in the final four minutes against Quinnipiac, a down-the-stretch regrouping after a 17-point lead had been cut to one by Drake, and a solid beginning-to-end effort against a good Mercer team in the tournament finale.

Now, a team picked to finish ninth in the Pac-12 has found itself with a heady No. 27 national RPI in the latest CBS Sports computer rankings.

Of course, those early rankings don't mean a whole lot in the big picture — but they still give the Buffs a nice early season lift, and history suggests it is easier to maintain a top-100 RPI than it is to climb into the top 100 after a slow start.

Thus far, the Buffs have followed the two main cornerstones of Boyle's foundational demands: rebounding and defense. Colorado has outrebounded its opponents by more than seven boards per game (39.0-31.8) while holding opponents to under 40 percent shooting (.393).

CU has also produced balanced scoring, led by freshman McKinley Wright IV, who is averaging 15 points per game, followed closely by senior George King (14.2 ppg) and junior Namon Wright (13.8).

McKinley Wright has no doubt been the Buffs' main spark plug. Along with leading the team in scoring, he has also produced a team-high 23 assists and just 12 turnovers, as well as a team-best seven steals. King, meanwhile, leads the team in rebounding (7.6 rpg).

But along with the big three, the Buffs are getting some solid efforts throughout the lineup. Senior post Tory Miller-Stewart is shooting a team-high .647 from the field and is averaging 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds while sophomore Deleon Brown has carved out a niche as the Buffs' sixth man, averaging 8.0 points per game off the bench.

Air Force opened the season with three straight wins before dropping an 81-73 decision to Pacific on Tuesday. The Falcons are led in scoring by junior forward Ryan Manning (12.8 ppg) while senior guard Trevor Lyons is averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds.

Sunday's game is the first of four home contests in a six-game stretch for Colorado. The Buffs hit the road the following Saturday (Dec. 2) for an 11 a.m. game at in-state rival Colorado State, then return home for a Dec. 6 meeting with New Mexico.

What will likely be their biggest non-conference test will come Dec. 9, when they play at Xavier (currently ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press poll). Colorado then closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule with home games vs. San Diego (Dec. 12) and South Dakota State (Dec. 15), followed by a matchup with Iowa (Dec. 22) in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Buffs then open Pac-12 play Dec. 29 at Oregon State, followed by a Dec. 31 tilt at Oregon.

CU's Pac-12 home opener is Jan. 4 against Arizona State, followed by a Jan. 6 home game with Arizona.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu