Buffs Take Aim At 'Second Season'

BOULDER — When the Colorado Buffaloes reported for their first post-Christmas break practice Monday, Tad Boyle's message was simple:

“The second season starts today.”

That season, of course, is Pac-12 play, a stretch of 18 games in the league that currently owns the second-highest RPI in the nation (trailing only the Big 12), and is considered to be one of the deepest conferences in the country. Games start this weekend, when the Buffs play at Cal on Friday (9 p.m., Pac-12 Networks) and at Stanford on Sunday (8 p.m., ESPNU).

The “first” season, of course, was a solid if not resounding success. The 11-2 Buffs put together an 11-game win streak, won two road games and beat three teams currently ranked in the nation's top 100 RPI.

But they also lost a pair of games to top 25 squads — one to start the nonconference schedule (68-62 to No. 7 Iowa State) and one to finish the nonconference slate (70-66 vs. SMU). Those two defeats still gnaw at Boyle, particularly last week's loss to SMU in a game the Buffs led by seven points with seven minutes to play.

Still, the Buffs have done enough to convince Boyle that they have the potential to be a very good team. It would also appear that the computers that decide such things as RPI rankings would agree, as they currently have CU positioned anywhere from No. 18 to No. 22.

Among the things the Buffs have done well thus far is shoot 3-pointers. They're currently the No. 1 team in the Pac-12 and 16th in the nation from beyond the arc, hitting 41.3 percent of their attempts. They're also second in the conference in scoring (83.1 points per game), second in the conference in free throw percentage (72.8, despite a sub-.500 effort in the SMU loss) and first in assists (16.5 per game).

But they've also struggled in each of those areas at least once or twice this year. The one place they've been most consistent, the one area in which they've been more dominant than any other, is rebounding.

The Buffs are currently second in the Pac-12 and 10th in the nation in rebound margin. Since being outrebounded by Iowa State in the season opener, the Buffs haven't lost a battle on the boards since — and that includes a 38-34 edge against 18th-ranked SMU. It is the only time this season the Mustangs — who still lead the nation in rebounding margin — have come up short in that department.

“We're a good rebounding team,” Boyle said. “We've showed great toughness on the boards. (Now) we have to build on the things we've been doing well. Rebounding the ball, playing inside out through our bigs. Having our 3-point shots come as a result of paint touches.”

It's been a team effort. Josh Scott leads CU in rebounds with 9.4 per game, with Wesley Gordon chipping in 6.7 per game and Tory Miller, Josh Fortune and George King all adding more than four per contest.

But at the same time, Boyle noted, the Buffs must improve in the areas he believes they are still deficient. The Buffs still suffer from defensive lapses — they gave up a 14-1 decisive run to SMU down the stretch, and they are still plagued with the occasional turnover issues (16 against the Mustangs).

“What we have to do is guard with more of a sense of urgency,” he said. “Defensively, we have to get better, and we have to take better care of the basketball. If we make significant strides in those areas, there's nobody on our schedule we can't beat.”

Indeed, while the Pac-12 is deep — 10 teams currently in the top 100 RPI — there doesn't yet appear to be an overpowering, clear-cut favorite to win the conference. Still, many of the teams in the league do have at least one “marquee” win this season, but the Buffs aren't on that list — and it's why the SMU loss still eats at Boyle.

“Turnovers, free throws and six layups — you add those things up and we could've won that game by 15 or 20 if we do all those things,” Boyle said. “A winnable game and it really hurts. Again, it was a good SMU team. But it tells me how good we can be if we quit talking about things and do them.”

The Buffs won't have to wait long to test themselves against another good team. Cal will bring a 10-3 record into Friday night's game, with one of the Golden Bears' losses a 63-62 decision at No. 5 Virginia last week.

NOTABLE: Boyle said Monday he expects to meet with injured forward Xavier Johnson and his family this weekend to discuss Johnson's future. Johnson has been out since last summer with an Achilles injury, and they'll discuss whether he will attempt to come back this season or sit the year out and return next year. … Cal finished up its nonconference schedule Monday night with an 86-60 win over Davidson. … Stanford finished nonconference play with a 7-4 record, which included an 85-70 loss to SMU early in the season.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu