Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Aim For Solid 40 Minutes Vs. BYU
December 11, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — It's the kind of game that causes coaches to lose sleep, the kind that has all kinds of possible pitfalls just waiting to trip up the home team.
Welcome to Colorado coach Tad Boyle's week, one in which he's tried to make sure his players maintain a steady focus on Saturday's home game vs. BYU while also making sure they are well-prepped for their semester final exams, which begin Sunday on the CU campus.
“The message is we've got to be mentally dialed in and focused, emotionally ready,” Boyle said Friday morning. “I just talked about it with the guys. We're not the only team in America that has finals. Everybody has finals this time of year at some point. The challenge is to keep them dialed in when they're out here between these lines to what our task is at hand and not let their minds float and their minds drift.”
There are other factors as well. The 7-1 Buffs — winners of seven straight — are coming off last weekend's emotional win over Colorado State, and by the time they hit the floor Saturday (6 p.m. tipoff, Pac-12 Networks), it will have been six days since they last played. It's a layoff that's necessary to give players ample time to study, but not one that's conducive to keeping a team sharp.
But the biggest concern for Boyle all week has been the 6-2 Cougars, a top-100 RPI team that he says is “without a doubt” the best team the Buffs have seen since they opened the season vs. seventh-ranked Iowa State.
“They're a very good team; they're a very balanced team,” Boyle said. “They've got good inside players, they've got good outside players, they've got two really good shooters. CSU on the perimeter was really good but these guys have an inside-out presence.”
BYU does have a solid inside game, led by 6-8 forward Kyle Davis (12.8 points per game, 11.3 rebounds) and 6-10 forward Corbin Kaufusi (8.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg).
But it is the Cougars' perimeter game, led by point guard Kyle Collinsworth, that makes BYU go. Collinsworth earlier this year recorded his seventh career triple-double — an NCAA record — and is averaging 14.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game.
“He's as good as there is,” Boyle said simply.
Collinsworth has a variety of options when it comes to handing out assists. Senior guard Chase Fischer leads the team in scoring (16.0 ppg), while freshman guard Nick Emery — the Cougars' sixth man — is right behind at 15.0 per game.
It means the Buffs will have to be sharp defensively, particularly on the perimeter, exactly where they've been susceptible at times this season. Boyle spent the week challenging his perimeter defenders — Dominique Collier, George King, Tre'Shaun Fletcher and Josh Fortune — to be prepared to defend BYU's 3-point threat as well as be ready to rebound.
“This is a toughness game,” Boyle said. “Rebounding margin is going to be huge. It's a great defensive challenge for our guys on the perimeter.”
The Buffs lead the Pac-12 in rebound margin, averaging 11.8 more boards per game than their opponent, a number that is currently 13th-best in the nation.
What Boyle would love to see is the Buffs jump out to an early lead and maintain the edge for the entire game. Thus far, it's a formula that has eluded them for the most part, even while putting together their current seven-game win streak. Three times this season, the Buffs have had to overcome double-digit deficits to pick up a win.
“The challenge for this team is we've got to do it for 40 minute, not 20,” Boyle said. “We've had some great halves this year, great halves of basketball. Second half at Auburn, great half. Second half at CSU was a great half.
“What we want is a great 40 minutes.”
CROWD UPDATE: Officials are expecting the largest crowd of the season by a substantial margin. The game was not yet sold out by Friday afternoon, however, and CU ticket office officials said they expected to have some tickets available for walk-up before the game.
The game is part of a women's-men's doubleheader, with the CU women tipping it off against 9-0 Missouri at 1:30 p.m.
THE SERIES: Don't worry if you don't remember the last time Colorado and BYU squared off in basketball. While it will be the 23rd all-time meeting between the two schools, the last one came on Dec. 17, 1955, when BYU won in Provo. The Buffs are 10-0 against the Cougars in Boulder.
SCORING STREAK: CU has scored at least 80 points in a school-record seven straight games. Three Buffs are averaging double-digit scoring, led by Josh Scott at 18.3 points per game. George King is averaging 15.0 per game while Josh Fortune is checking in with 12.1 per game.
ON THE AIR: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network with Jim Watson and Lamar Hurd on the call while 850 KOA will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
