Brooks: Did The Buffs Learn A Lesson (Or Two) In Lincoln?

BOULDER - I usually don't put much credence in what "mic'd up" basketball coaches tell their teams (and ESPN's audience) before tip-off. Generalities normally outweigh specifics, and the rare specifics are worded carefully enough to not disclose any strategies.

Outfitted with a microphone before Tuesday night's home game against Colorado, Nebraska's Doc Sadler first went general for ESPNU, earnestly telling his Cornhuskers, "It's time to make a stand" - which was true. The Huskers were winless (0-3) in Big 12 Conference play and were coming off a three-point loss three days earlier at now-No. 2 Kansas. Falling to 0-4 was unfathomable for Sadler.

But he also said for public consumption that one of the ways he intended on taking the Buffs out of their offense was double teaming guards Cory Higgins and Alec Burks any time they ventured into the lane. The Huskers did it to perfection, frustrating CU's terrific tandem and disrupting the Buffs in general. Higgins finished with a season-low eight points, while Burks worked hard for his 22 - 14 of them in the second half of CU's 79-67 loss.

If the Buffs don't see another Big 12 team that defends in the same style as the Huskers, they will see defenses that come at them with the same fervor. And, they'll encounter teams that have watched Sadler's strategy and will roll out portions of it when CU appears on the schedule.

"I think teams will definitely learn from the Nebraska film," CU junior forward Austin Dufault said. "They just kind of sagged off, switched a lot and whenever we tried to drive to the basket they had help defenders there early. We have to pass out of that quicker, get the ball moving quicker than that.

"They executed on the offensive end really well, and we didn't execute at all . . . we had too many turnovers (16) and took some tough shots. They really tried to double team guys when they got in the lane, which made it difficult and took us out of a lot things we do normally."

Defensively, Dufault said he and his teammates "gave up way too many layups. We let guys in too much and a lot of times we didn't have help-side - and they ran some stuff inside that confused us a little bit . . . it wasn't really stuff we weren't expecting, but as far as our principles go, they put us in positions where we had to make decisions quick. They'd have a guy posted and guys on opposite sides (wings) would be exchanging; that confused us some about help-side defenders, which guy should go and whether we were switching or not."

And there was this factor: In the previous game against Oklahoma State, CU hit 34 of 39 free throws. At Nebraska, those numbers nearly dropped out of sight, dwindling to seven of nine. Part of the reason was the Huskers denying the Buffs guards their frequent trips to the rim. Whatever else was to blame, CU can't afford to leave that many points at the free throw line.

"That's something we rely on a lot," Dufault said. "That's pretty much half of our offense at times - getting to free throw line and making them. They took that away from us, made us take tough jump shots. That's something we need to figure out how to get past, be aggressive and get to the line."

Something else the Huskers showed that the Buffs will see more of as they get deeper into Big 12 play - see: Kansas and Baylor next week - is teams trying to exploit a size advantage in the post. Nebraska rotated a pair of 6-foot-11 inside players, capitalizing on CU's lack thereof and inconsistent inside help defense. The Huskers got 20 points from their two post players and wound up outscoring the Buffs 44-22 in the paint.

Dufault called Nebraska "the most consistent team as far as throwing it into the post that we'd seen. A lot of teams will start off the game doing it, then go away from it and their guards will take over. But (Nebraska) is completely oriented around getting post touches the entire game. We hadn't really seen anything like that this year, but it's something we've got to get used to. We're going to see it coming up in the next few games."

Being exposed is not a bad thing, provided the shortcomings are fixable and something is learned in the process. And in this case the fixes - moving the ball quicker, sharing it more on offense; helping on defense and playing tougher overall - are identical to what CU Coach Tad Boyle has wanted from his team since mid-October.

So the Lincoln experience can be as much a learning tool for the Buffs as for their upcoming opponents.

Saturday in Norman, Okla., where CU will try to right itself after losing for the first time in eight games overall and for the first time in four Big 12 games, the Buffs won't see Husker-sized front-line players. With the tallest player on their roster standing 6-9 (Dufault's dimensions), the Sooners resemble the Buffs - built for speed and reliant on athleticism in a four-guard offense.

Still, Boyle is impressed with steadily-improving sophomore Andrew Fitzgerald, a 6-8 inside player that the Sooners' offense flows through. "That doesn't mean they don't have other weapons, because they do," Boyle added. "We've got to make him work to catch the ball . . . we just have to have a great team defensive effort, which we didn't have at Nebraska."

With 20 points, Fitzgerald was among five starters reaching double figures in OU's 83-74 win against Texas Tech on Tuesday night. It was the Sooners' first conference win (1-3, 9-9 overall) and the first of consecutive Big 12 home games at Lloyd Noble Arena, where OU is 9-1 this season.

CU hasn't won at OU (0-7) since the formation of the Big 12, and for reasons obvious to all, the Buffs' final trip to Norman poses an ideal time to end the streak. After opening 3-0 in the league and defeating a pair of ranked opponents (Missouri, Kansas State) in back-to-back games, CU was among "others receiving votes" in both of this week's national polls.

The message from that is this: Nationally, the Buffs turned heads in their direction with their 3-0 league start. But their loss at Nebraska has once again rallied the doubters. Climbing to 4-1 - with Kansas and Baylor on deck - is highly preferable to sliding to 3-2.

"It's huge," Boyle said of Saturday's bounce-back potential. "I've told our team that this is a game where we prove ourselves to be contenders in this league or pretenders . . . it's one of those games. If we want to make a stand in this league, we have to go in and give ourselves a chance to win on the road."

The Buffs didn't do it at Nebraska, but maybe they left Lincoln that much more aware of what it takes.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU