Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Buffs, Cyclones Stuck In 'Need-A-Win' Mode
January 31, 2011 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
Iowa State's first-year basketball coach endeared himself to Cyclones fans as a player in the early '90s with his non-stop hustle and marksmanship. Named ISU's coach last spring after a 10-year NBA career and a season as a league exec in Minnesota, Hoiberg's team is emulating its driven, competitive coach.
With non-conference wins at Iowa and Virginia, the Cyclones appeared to be compensating for an undersized and undermanned roster. But in Big 12 Conference play, ISU's rewards have been scarce. It's come to Hoiberg now assessing his team like this: "Struggling teams find ways to lose . . . we're a group that needs to find a way to win a game."
That goes for the group the Cyclones will face Tuesday night at the Coors Events Center.
With the exception of Colorado's swift start (3-0) in league play, the Buffs and Cyclones have traveled a similarly frustrating path. They're not mirror images of each other, but both teams are undersized in comparison to the rest of the league, have to rebound and defend every time they take the floor to stay competitive, and don't have much wiggle room in the overall margin-for-error category.
Plus, each is on a four-game losing streak, and both coaches probably considered three of those defeats agonizingly avoidable.
Two of ISU most recent four losses have come in overtime - 96-87 at Oklahoma State on Jan. 19, 82-76 vs. Oklahoma on Saturday. Three days earlier, the Cyclones lost another winnable home game - 92-83 to Texas Tech.
The lone Big 12 win for Hoiberg's team was against Baylor, which overtook CU 70-66 Saturday in Waco. Meanwhile, ISU got Baylor - really got - at home, bashing the Bears 72-57 at mid-month. Three nights earlier, the Cyclones lost by five points (84-79) at home to then-No. 3 Kansas. CU lost by four points (82-78) at home a week ago to now-No. 2 KU.
Upshot: As their 14-8 overall records hint, the teams that play Tuesday (7 p.m., FSN Rocky Mountain) aren't vastly different.
For the sake of his sanity, here's a stat that Hoiberg can't afford to dwell on: In five of ISU's eight losses, the Cyclones have been tied or held a lead with under a minute remaining in regulation. But it's been ISU's starts - not finishes - in Big 12 play that gnaw at Hoiberg.
"Slow starts have been a big thing . . . we've had double-digit deficits in all but one conference game," he said on Monday's Big 12 coaches teleconference. "We have to become the aggressors."
Falling behind early and big is difficult for teams that lack depth - and Hoiberg's settles squarely into that category. He routinely uses seven players and notes, "We just don't have the depth to dig out . . . you just use up so much juice" after falling behind by double figures and trying to catch up.
The Buffs' recent problems have been on the flip side - finishing. They opened a 17-point first-half lead at Baylor and held off the Bears until the final 3 minutes. In the previous game, they rallied from 10 back and stuck with KU until the final minute. In the game before that at Oklahoma, they started sloppily, caught the Sooners but couldn't close them out.
Like Hoiberg's team, Tad Boyle's isn't particularly deep. "We've got a relatively short rotation," Boyle said. "Our production has to come from our most productive players . . . some teams may be able to supplement that production from another one or two players (but) that's indicative of where our program is right now."
The Buffs were productive enough in non-conference play and three games into the Big 12 schedule to be averaging about 84 points a game. Their scoring average in all games has dipped to 81, and in conference games they're at 72.7. The across-the-board productivity from their four or five top players isn't there like it was a month ago.
Nevertheless, there's ample time for a recovery. Tuesday night's game marks the halfway point of conference play. With a win, CU goes into the final eight games with a 4-4 record. Of those final eight, home games are against Texas A&M, Kansas State, Texas and Nebraska, with trips to Missouri, Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State.
Holding serve at home against two ranked teams - No. 3 Texas, No. 16 A&M - will be a challenge, as will winning at No. 2 Kansas and at No. 14 Missouri. But Boyle's team continues to battle and, according to him, hasn't suffered a setback in confidence during its four-game slide.
"I like our guys . . . I like our resiliency," he said. "The effort's going to be there, that's one thing I can count on."
But like Hoiberg's team, Boyle's simply needs to find a way to win.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
