Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Buffs Look For Pair Of 'W's Against Rams
December 07, 2010 | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
Boyle's Greeley upbringing and recent Northern Colorado coaching career kept him plugged into in-state hoops. Ditto for Lappe, who played at CU, was a CSU assistant for one season and coached at Metro State before coming to Boulder.
Still, CU's women's/men's doubleheader Wednesday night against Colorado State at the CU Events Center represents a first-time event for the Buffaloes' first-year coaches. And each needs to look no further than last season's game tape to realize the passion the series inspires.
Both Buffs teams lost to the Rams last season in Fort Collins, the men falling 77-62 the night before the women were beaten 69-61.
When Boyle reviewed the game tape, a couple of things caught his eye, and maybe even stuck in his throat.
"The one stat that we shared with our guys from last year is the rebounding margin - 42-27 and they had 12 offensive rebounds," he said. "It can't be like that."
Also evident from the tape was the Rams' intensity from the opening tip - which the Buffs failed to match.
"A lot of (the loss) was on us just not being ready to go from the beginning," sophomore forward Austin Dufault said. "We just came in there flat and they jumped on us and took advantage . . . you have to realize how important every single game is and thinking back to that, you have to learn something from it."
In last season's loss, CSU used its fast start to roll to a 10-point halftime lead that was increased to 18 midway through the second half. CU pulled to within seven points late in the game but got no closer.
Improving to 4-3, CU rolled past Oregon State (83-57) on Saturday night, temporarily putting Boyle in a good mood. A sloppy and uninspired Monday practice took him out of it, but Tuesday morning's work was better.
At courtside afterwards, he said he wanted the Buffs' execution against CSU (4-1) to match their performance against Oregon State. Even more critical, though, "This game comes down to pride and toughness," he said. "Those are the two things we're trying to hammer home with our guys. We have to have pride in who we are and who we represent and we have to play with an unbelievable amount of toughness."
The December defeat in Fort Collins might have been at the forefront of several that haunted the Buffs most in March, when their 15-16 finish kept them out of postseason play.
Perhaps because he wasn't involved, Boyle said avenging that loss and avoiding the long-term consequences of another is not as important as "just having the frame of mind we have to have. It's an in-state rivalry so it shouldn't be one of those games where you have to pump your guys up. We've talked a lot in the last two days about the importance of this game, this rivalry, as far as feeling good about ourselves."
But Dufault, of Killdeer, N.D., was among those Buffs players who showed up flat in the Fort - and the disappointment took awhile to disperse.
"It's definitely was in the back of my mind the whole summer while I was working out . . . just how tough a loss it was," Dufault said. "The reason it was so tough was that we really weren't prepared (mentally) to play that game.
"The intensity of it is something else. My freshman year we had pretty intense crowd here, then going on the road last year, you really realize how big a game it is . . . it's unlike anything we'll see in the Big 12."
Historically, CU has been difficult for CSU to defeat in the Events Center; the Buffs own a 14-1 advantage, with the lone loss coming on Dec. 9, 2006 (72-69). But Boyle doesn't take great consolation from the past.
He's been pleased recently with the Buffs' balance - "We've had seven guys score in double figures this season" - but he adds that the Rams are a couple of players better in that category. Plus, he said, they play hard and disciplined.
As for matchups, Boyle said, "It's a lot like playing ourselves . . . the two teams match up very, very well. They've got basically four guards around a big guy who can step out and shoot from the perimeter and play down low. We've got four guards we play around a big who can step out as well in 'AD' (Austin Dufault). We're two very similar teams."
Lappe, of Morningstar, Iowa, recalls quickly learning about the intensity of the CU-CSU rivalry during her court days: "I can remember when I was a player, it didn't take long. You had a couple of people say this is important and you caught it very, very fast. You knew exactly how important it was and what it meant. I would guarantee our players - especially the sophomores, juniors and seniors - they've all been to the football games every year, and we played (CSU) last year. They know how important it is."
Junior post player Julie Seabrook, of North Vancouver, B.C., said she wasn't on CU's campus long before learning of the emphasis on CSU.
"When I went to the football game my freshman year, you could sense the Colorado pride," she said. "And from all the other players on the team, you got the feeling that it was very important to represent our school and beat the 'state' school. You know, we're the University of Colorado, they're Colorado State."
CU is 6-4 against CSU in the most recent 10 meetings, but the Buffs own a 20-2 advantage in Boulder. After losing their first two games this season, the Rams are on a five-game winning streak - their longest since 2004. The 6-2 Buffs saw their five-game winning streak end Saturday night in a 63-59 loss to Illinois.
Seabrook and her teammates were stung by lapses down the stretch in last season's loss in Fort Collins.
"I'm so excited to play against them this year, especially after last year being at their gym," she said. "Now, having it in Coors, I can't wait to bring them in here and do the best we can and get a 'W.'"
As important as winning a rivalry game for Lappe, though, is for her team to continue its game-by-game trend of improving. "We've continued to get better every single game; we don't want that to stop for this game," she said.
Freshman guard Ashley Wilson, who missed the Illinois loss after suffering a concussion in the previous game, will be available for the Buffs Wednesday night. Lappe said freshman volleyball player Nikki Lindow, who suited up against the Illini but didn't play, probably won't even be on the Buffs bench against the Rams.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
