Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Buffs Look For Northwest Split Against Slumping Cougars
January 22, 2016 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
PULLMAN, Wash. – The Colorado Buffaloes believed a Pacific Northwest sweep was possible when they arrived in Seattle Tuesday evening. As they end their trip here Saturday night about 285 miles east, their objective has changed.
"We came here to get two, just like we tried in the Bay Area," CU coach Tad Boyle said Friday. "You can't get two unless you get the first one, and we're oh-for-two in that deal. So we've got the win the next one, that's all we can do."
The Buffs' visions of a sweep on their first Pac-12 road trip were erased by Cal, 79-65, on New Year's Day. Two days later, they held tight for a 56-55 win at Stanford. CU launched its Washington trip on Wednesday with a 95-83 loss at UW, putting the Buffs in salvage mode for Saturday night's game at Washington State (7 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks).
The opportunity for a road win might not get any better than this one. The Cougars (9-9, 1-5) have struggled under Ernie Kent, the former Oregon coach turned broadcaster turned WSU coach. He's in his second year here, with an overall record of 22-27 (8-16 Pac-12).
With 15 years of head coaching experience in the Pac-12 (13 at Oregon), Kent is the league's elder statesman. But he's trying to post a winning record for only the fifth time. A pair of his Ducks teams finished 9-9, and he guided an Oregon team to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight on two occasions.
Boyle said the Cougars under Kent this season are "a little bit more familiar with what they want to do. They're trying to play fast, which is what Ernie likes to do. They're better in transition than they've been in the past."
After opening the season 4-0, WSU has lost seven of nine and four straight. On Thursday night, Utah dismantled WSU 92-71, shooting 57 percent from the field and converting 13 Cougars turnovers into 22 points.
One reason for the Utes' dominance, noted Boyle, "They got the ball inside and (Jakob) Poeltl was very effective. They play through him and when you play through him and he's seven-for-nine, when they do double-down on him he's kicking it out and they're getting wide open shots. And they made them.
"When you have that inside-out presence, you're pretty good. When you're making jump shots and your post guy is scoring, you're really good. We've got the ability to do that. We've done it at times. So hopefully we do the same thing. We want to establish our presence inside."
The Buffs (13-5, 2-3) would do that with 6-10 senior Josh Scott, who has matched a personal high with his fifth consecutive double-double – 18 points, 12 rebounds – on Wednesday night. But to match Utah's efficiency, Scott's kick-out passes to the perimeter have to pay off.
The Buffs have enough shooters to make that happen. Point guard Dom Collier had career highs in points (21) and 3-pointers (6) against the Huskies.
"I was feeling it," Collier said. "I was trying to help our team with the comeback and give us a chance . . . my teammates found me and I just wanted to take the shot, make the shot when I was open."
The Cougars have an inside presence of their own in 6-10 junior Josh Hawkinson, who leads the Pac-12 in rebounding (11.8 in conference) and is No. 7 in scoring (17.2 in conference). Scott has 11 double-doubles this season, but Hawkinson has a league-leading 13 and came close to another Thursday night (16 points, 8 rebounds).
Said Boyle: "Hawkinson is really a good player, obviously."
Guard Ike Iroegbu also will draw much of CU's attention defensively. He's averaging 13.8 points and 3.8 assists in league play, and teamed with Que Johnson and Charles Callison in a three-guard lineup they are very capable of pushing the tempo. Boyle called WSU's guards "good, fast and active."
A factor that makes the Cougars difficult to scout is the number of players Kent uses. Against Utah, the number was 11 – but one of them wasn't 6-10 center Valentine Izundu, who leads the team with 38 blocked shots. The Huskies blocked 15 of the Buffs' shots Wednesday – a CU opponent's all-time high.
But Izundu has missed four straight games with a foot injury and his status for Saturday night is unknown.
"They play a ton of guys and that's what it makes hard to scout," Boyle said. "Iroegbu and Hawkinson are the guys you key into, but the rest of them are capable players."
More than the Cougars, though, Boyle is focused on his players and prodding them past Wednesday night's subpar performance at UW. "I expect our guys to bounce back, absolutely," he said.
Senior guard Xavier Talton said the Buffs' intensity "will probably be there even more now that we've dropped the first one. We know we've got to get back on track."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
