Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Gear For 'Hostile' Environment At CSU
December 05, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
FORT COLLINS — After five straight home games, the Colorado Buffaloes will get a taste of the road again Sunday in Fort Collins when they tip it off at noon against rival Colorado State (ROOT Sports).
The 6-1 Buffs aren't exactly expecting a warm welcome from their 5-2 Ram brethren and their fans.
"You can make an argument that this will be the most hostile environment we'll play in all year long," CU coach Tad Boyle said Friday. "We don't go to Arizona this year. Utah is probably the next closest ... This and Utah will be the two toughest environments as I look forward."
Boyle has been warning his team all week about what to expect when they step foot in Moby Arena, a building that's traditionally been a difficult place to play for the Buffs. While CU holds an all-time 88-37 edge in the series, it's a much-closer 36-27 spread in Fort Collins. The Rams have won two of the last three in Moby, although CU did take home a 67-62 win in 2013 in the last game in Fort Collins.
Not that the Buffs haven't seen some difficult environments this year. They opened the season with a pair of games away from home, dropping the season opener vs. Iowa State on a technically neutral court (although the vast majority of fans were ISU supporters) before rebounding to collect a victory at Auburn, the first in their current six-game win streak.
But as Boyle explained to his team, "Auburn was a good hostile environment, but Auburn doesn't hate Colorado. Colorado State hates Colorado. So it's going to be a little different level of hostility."
Indeed, it is a rivalry, and the Rams have owned bragging rights to the game for the last year, thanks to their 62-60 win in Boulder last season.
"I know when they left our building last year they felt pretty good about themselves," Boyle said. "It was a heck of an environment and they came in here and they got one. They earned it and they deserved it, and I'm sure they felt really really good about themselves — and they should have."
While some of the names on both sides have changed from a year ago, Boyle is reasonably sure what to expect from Larry Eustachy's team.
"The two things when you play them, certainly since Larry Eustachy has been there, is toughness and rebounding," Boyle said. "Those are the two things when I think of CSU basketball. They're usually really mentally tough and physically tough, and they play hard and they rebound the ball, both offensively and defensively."
There are, however, some differences in this CSU team as opposed to the "typical" Eustachy squad.
One is that they are dependent far more on 3-pointers than normal, having tossed up nearly 28 per game this year. Their shooting eye, however, has deserted them in the last two games, as they've hit just 24 of 73 attempts from 3-point range in two losses.
"They're a little bit of a live-by-the-jumper, die-by-the-jumper team right now," Boyle said. "But they are dangerous. They're very, very good."
The other divergence from typical Eustachy teams is on the defensive end of the court, where the Rams are giving up more than 85 points per game. Along with their poor shooting, their defense has been a problem in their last two losses — a 99-90 in overtime to UTEP and 83-77 to Long Beach State at home earlier this week.
That's good news for a CU team that has had no problems scoring this year. Led by center Josh Scott, the Buffs are averaging more than 83 points per game. Scott is averaging almost a double-double for the season — 17.9 points and 9.6 rebounds — with two other Buffs, George King (15.6) and Josh Fortune (11.6), also averaging double-figure scoring. The Buffs have been potent from 3-point range, hitting more than 43 percent of their tries this season (61-for-141).
But if the last three games in the series are any indication, the Rams won't worry about CU's 3-point shooters, at least early in the game. Instead, they'll do their best to hound, harass and generally make life miserable for Scott.
Last year, Scott scored just two points — two free throws — against CSU while going 0-for-7 from the field. In three games against CSU, he's totaled just 12 points. One of the Rams who had a hand in Scott's sub-par performance a year ago, Tiel Daniels, is back this year, and Boyle expects a similar strategy.
"They're going to front the post, if they play like they did last year," Boyle said. "Tiel Daniels did a great job on Josh and frustrated him a little bit. What we have to understand is if they front Josh, we have to attack from other spots on the floor and that should free him on the offensive glass. They can't front him and box him out at the same time."
And that, the Buffs hope, will be the biggest difference this year. Last season, the Buffs did not have a consistent outside option. This year, they have three — King, Fortune and Tre'Shaun Fletcher.
"I think if they try to pack it on us, people are going to be open to shoot," Scott said. "Defensively, this is our test. They have some good players and we're going to have to guard them."
The Rams have played a four-guard lineup for much of the season, with Gian Clavell (21.3 points per game) and John Gillon (16.4) handling the bulk of the scoring. Clavell, a 6-4 guard, is also second on the team in rebounding with 8.6 per game, trailing only Emmanuel Omogbo (8.9).
It is the Rams' rebounding that concerns Boyle.
"They are relentless," Boyle said. "They do it every time. It's not like every other time or every third time, it's every time that ball goes up they are pursuing it, and they've got multiple guys that do it."
Sunday's game should be a good barometer for the Buffs, especially after five straight games at home.
"For us, it's a test of where we're at, probably the biggest game we've played since Auburn," Scott said. "It's exciting. It's going to be a fun environment."
After Sunday's game, the Buffs return home next Saturday for a 6 p.m. contest against BYU, part of a men's-women's doubleheader. The CU women host Missouri in a 1:30 p.m. game that day.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
