Buffs Head To Tempe In Search Of Road Win Vs. No. 21 Sun Devils
January 26, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
TEMPE, Ariz. — Halfway through their 18-game Pac-12 schedule, the Colorado Buffaloes have one road win to their credit.
The 12-9 Buffs (4-5 Pac-12) would love to add another to their ledger Saturday, when they meet No. 21 Arizona State in a 6 p.m. game at Wells Fargo Arena (ESPNU).
The last time the two teams met — just more than three weeks ago — the Sun Devils were among the nation's highest-flying teams, ranked No. 4 in the country after a spectacular 12-0 run through non-conference play. Among ASU's victims were Xavier and Kansas, both top-10 teams.
But since that 12-0 start, Bobby Hurley's Sun Devils have dropped five of their last eight since entering league play. That includes a 90-81 overtime loss to the Buffs in Boulder and an 80-77 overtime loss at home to Utah on Thursday.
The Buffs, however, aren't buying that the 15-5 Sun Devils still aren't among the Pac-12's elite. Even though ASU is currently 10th in the league standings with a 3-5 conference mark, a half-game behind the seventh-place Buffs, Colorado coaches and players maintain that the Sun Devils are a quality team — and will now have the attitude of a cornered animal after falling at home to the Utes.
"It doesn't get any easier in this league," CU coach Tad Boyle said after Thursday's 80-71 loss at Arizona. "You go on the road, you want to sweep. You shoot for a split and the only way we get a split is winning on Saturday."
A win over the Sun Devils would be a major step for Colorado. Along with getting CU back to .500 in conference play, it would set the stage for a strong stretch run. After their date with ASU, the Buffs have five of their remaining eight regular season games at home, beginning with next Friday's matchup with Utah.
Despite their recent skid, it's not as if the Sun Devils have fallen apart. Rather, they have been losing the close games they won in non-conference play. Along with the overtime losses to Colorado and Utah, their other Pac-12 losses have all been by single-digit margins.
Still, their numbers have dropped. For the season, ASU is first in the conference in scoring, averaging 86.2 points per game. But that number has dropped to 77.9 in conference play. Meanwhile, they are yielding 80.1 points per game on defense, a five-point jump from the 75.1 they have given up over the course of the season.
But perhaps most telling is ASU's shooting percentage. After scorching their opponents in nonconference play by shooting nearly 48 percent from the field, that number has dropped to 42 percent in league play.
The Sun Devils are, however, still a dangerous team — and with what once appeared to be a guaranteed spot in the NCAA Tournament now teetering on bubble status, the Buffs expect to get ASU's best shot.
While the Buffs spent Thursday battling against Arizona's 7-foot twin towers of Deandre Ayton and Dusan Ristic, they will see a guard oriented squad in ASU that loves to hoist shots from behind the 3-point line. The Sun Devils are attempting nearly 24 3-pointers per game in league play.
ASU boasts four players averaging in double figures, led by guards Tra Holder (19.2 ppg) and Shannon Evans (16.6). In their first meeting this year, Holder scored 24 points, but shot just 8-for-20 from the field as the Buffs surprised ASU with a 2-3 zone defense. Overall, ASU shot just 35.5 percent from the field against Colorado (27-for-76), including a dismal 9-for-34 effort from 3-point range.
This time around, there will be no surprises from either team.
"This time of the season, people are 20, 22 games in — there's no secrets," Boyle said. "There's no surprises that we're going to throw on them."
But what Boyle does want to see is the same kind of effort his team put forth in Thursday's game against the Wildcats. While CU came out on the short end, the Buffs played well defensively in the first half and showed enough grit in the second half to shave a 12-point deficit down to one with seven minutes to play.
"We have to play with the same kind of focus, energy and effort on Saturday against Arizona State that we did tonight," Boyle said. "That's the challenge."
THE SERIES: Colorado holds a narrow 8-7 all-time edge in the series, but the Sun Devils have won six of seven in Tempe. Colorado's only win at ASU came in CU's first season in the Pac-12, a 63-49 win in February 2012.
The Buffs have won four of the last six overall, and Boyle is 6-6 against ASU while Hurley is 1-2 against Colorado.
BROADCAST: ESPNU will televise the game with Steve Quis and Adrian Branch. KOA 850 AM will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu