Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Quickly Turn Attention To Visit From Utes
January 04, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — It didn't take Colorado coach Tad Boyle long to turn his attention to his team's Pac-12 home opener.
Less than an hour after the Buffs hung on Sunday night for a 56-55 road win at Stanford, Boyle noted the importance of Friday's 7 p.m. matchup with Utah (Fox Sports 1).
"We have to hold serve at home with this league the way it is," Boyle said. "I think our guys are tough enough mentally. We have to hold serve and it starts with Utah. They're going to be hungry, they're going to be angry."
Indeed, while the 12-3 Buffs came home with a 1-1 record from their first Pac-12 road trip of the season, earning a win over Stanford and losing to Cal, Utah limped back to Salt Lake City with an 0-2 mark from the same trip. The Utes lost a 12-point lead at Stanford on Friday and dropped a 70-68 overtime decision; then fell 71-58 at Cal on Sunday.
"We have got to win at home, and part of winning at home is having a great home-court advantage," Boyle said. "Part of having a great home-court advantage is our fans showing up with unbelievable energy to make the Coors Events Center the toughest place to play in the Pac-12."
In the latest national polls, released Monday, the Buffs still received a handful of votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches rankings. Perhaps more importantly, CU held steady in the RPI, checking in at No. 23 in the NCAA RPI and No. 22 in ESPN's version of the computer rankings.
The Buffs currently have the second-highest RPI in the Pac-12, trailing only Oregon (No. 21). Overall, 11 Pac-12 teams are ranked in the nation's top 100, with the conference currently holding on to the second spot in the nation's rankings, trailing only the Big 12.
Utah, ranked No. 21 a week ago, fell out of the top 25 in both polls, but still checked in at No. 32 in the RPI.
Friday's game will also put two of the leading candidates for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award on the floor together. Utah's Jakob Poeltl and CU's Josh Scott are on the national watch list for the award, and are among the list's statistical leaders in rebounding and scoring.
"It's going to be a big game for us," said Scott, who had his seventh double-double of the season vs. Stanford (14 points and 14 rebounds). "They're a good team. We're a good team. We're going to be ready for them and I'm sure they're going to be ready."
The Buffs dropped both games against Utah last season, falling 74-49 in Salt Lake City and 79-51 in Boulder.
LOOKING BACK: It's not difficult to figure out what the Buffs will spend a considerable amount of time working on this week — offense, ball movement and turnovers. The Buffs were solid in those categories for 23 minutes in the win over Stanford, carving out a 16-point lead just three minutes into the second half.
But their offense went stagnant from that point on, as CU managed to score just 10 points in the final 17 minutes, and just four in the last 10 minutes of the game.
"I think we need to realize we got up by moving the ball, sharing the ball with each other, making plays for one another," CU senior Josh Scott said after the game. "That's how people get open. When we play together like that, our offense flows. I don't think we did that down the stretch. This isn't a selfish group, it's something we can improve on next game."
Indeed, after recording 11 assists in the first half, the Buffs finished with just 14 for the game.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Buffs will play their next three games at home. After Friday's game against Utah, Colorado plays host to Oregon State on Jan. 13 (9 p.m., ESPNU), then welcomes Oregon to the Coors Events Center on Jan. 17 (5 p.m., Pac-12 Networks).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
