Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Know They Need Quality Wins Down Stretch
February 22, 2016 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER — A 19-9 record, a minimum of four games to go, a mid-30s RPI and some work to do.
In simple terms, that's how the Colorado Buffaloes' NCAA Tournament resume´ looks heading down the home stretch of the Pac-12 regular season.
The Buffs have at least four games remaining before the NCAA Selection Committee reveals its bracket March 13 in New York. That's two home games — Wednesday's 7 p.m. meeting with ninth-ranked Arizona and Sunday's 2:30 p.m. home finale with Arizona State — followed by the March 5 regular season finale at Utah.
Then comes the Pac-12 Tournament, in which the Buffs will begin play either March 9 or 10, depending upon their seed. CU is guaranteed one game in the tournament; obviously the Buffs would like more games and an extended stay in Las Vegas.
In the wake of last week's losses at USC and UCLA, Monday's NCAA RPI had the Buffs at No. 34, one of their lowest positions this season. Still, the Buffs are in good shape to earn an NCAA berth if they take care of business over the next two-plus weeks.
“We put ourselves in good position, but we're in a position where we need some quality wins down the stretch,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said after Monday afternoon's practice. “Wednesday night, you can't ask for a more quality win than Arizona. It's not going to be easy. Arizona is playing at a high level. They've got good players, a good coach and they are the most consistent team in our league.”
Tickets remain for Wednesday night's 7 p.m. game vs. the Wildcats at the Coors Events Center.
The Buffs would be in much better position had they not wasted an opportunity or two over the last two weeks. Road losses at Oregon State and USC — two games the Buffs were in position to win — loom large.
But Monday, Boyle vowed his team will learn from the past and apply those lessons to the future.
“We're turning the page,” Boyle said. “We're going to learn from the L.A. road trip just like we learned from the Oregon road trip. We don't have time to sulk or feel sorry for ourselves. We learned. We watched a lot of film.We had a good practice today, good energy level today. The whole message to this team is to control the things we can control. That's what we have to do.”
If the Buffs need any lesson in how to turn a season in the right direction, they need look no farther than Wednesday night's opponent.
On Jan. 28, the Wildcats lost an 83-75 decision at home to Oregon. The loss ended Arizona's 49-game home win streak and dropped the Wildcats to 4-4 in conference play. During the game, Arizona coach Sean Miller got plenty of air time when he delivered a tongue-lashing to Wildcat center Kaleb Tarczewski. After the game, Miller earned headlines with a pointed criticism of his team.
The Wildcats haven't lost since, hammering out six straight wins, a streak that hasn't escaped Boyle's notice.
“They're playing with great passion, they're playing with great competitiveness, they're playing with great energy and effort — all the things that I've been talking about with our team that we're looking for,” Boyle said. “We've had it in stretches of games, we've had it in pockets of games. We haven't had it consistently. They've had it consistently.”
Indeed, consistency has been the Buffs' biggest issue in Pac-12 play — thus Boyle's message to “control what we can control.”
“What it comes down to is things like effort, things like energy level, confidence, playing with defensive principles,” Boyle said. “It's not about making shots or making free throws … it's about doing the things we have control over, which is execution on offense, shot selection, energy, effort, attitude, sprinting the floor.”
RESUME´ UPDATE: Colorado checked in at No. 34 in the NCAA RPI on Monday, sixth-best in the Pac-12. The Buffs have a 7-9 record against top 100 teams, with their best wins over No. 4 Oregon and No. 9 Cal. Another plus: the Buffs have not lost to anyone outside the top 100, with their worst loss thus far to No. 71 Washington.
The nation's “bracketology” experts, meanwhile, are still including the Buffs in their projected NCAA Tournament fields, although they dropped a notch or two from last week.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi's latest projections had the Buffs as a No. 10 seed, with six Pac-12 teams in the tournament. CBS Sports' Jerry Palm had CU at No. 8, with seven Pac-12 teams in the field. USA Today had Colorado a No. 9 seed, with seven Pac-12 teams in.
FINAL HOMESTAND FOR SENIORS: This week marks the final conference homestand for CU's four seniors: Josh Scott, Xavier Talton, Eli Stalzer and Brett Brady. They will be honored at Sunday's home finale vs. Arizona State (2:30 p.m. tipoff).
“We want to send them out on a great note,” Boyle said. “To win two games the last week when you have an opportunity to do that would be awesome, but you can't win both of them unless you win the first one.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
