
Buffs Return To Basics With Beavers, Ducks On Horizon
January 25, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes went back to the basics this week.
It's a natural step when things aren't going well. Still in search of their first Pac-12 win, the 10-10 Buffs (0-7 Pac-12) have spent extra time this week attempting to correct all the little things that have gone wrong since they began conference play.
Nothing fancy, nothing complicated — just the fundamentals that have evaded the Buffs at the most crucial of moments.
"We went back to playing the ball, guarding the ball, boxing out," Boyle said after a vigorous Tuesday afternoon practice. "We basically went back to Defense 101 on Monday. You go back to what your philosophies and what your values are, what you need to emphasize, and that's what you practice. … We'll see."
The Buffs' next chance to end a skid that has hit seven games — the longest in the Boyle era in Boulder — comes Thursday night when Oregon State pays a 6:30 p.m. visit to the Coors Events Center. That will be followed by a 7:30 p.m. home matchup Saturday with Oregon.
If misery loves company, Thursday's game is one both teams should enjoy. The Beavers are just 4-16 overall and are also 0-7 in Pac-12 play. The Buffs haven't won since a victory over Eastern Washington on Dec. 22; the Beavers' last win came against Kent State on Dec. 21.
Boyle characterized Oregon State as being in the same boat as the Buffs — "very desperate."
"Stevie Thompson is as good of a guard as there is in this league," Boyle said of the OSU senior. "(He) shoots the heck out of the ball. Drew Eubanks is as athletic of a big as there is in this league, and they've got some good young players that are coming along. Certainly I'm not going to say Oregon State is the juggernaut of the league, but neither are we. We've got to figure out a way."
The Beavers won't have the services of leading scorer Tres Tinkle, who's been out since early in the season with a broken wrist.
But the Buffs are far more concerned about healing their recent woes than any injuries that might be hampering their opponents.
"This group, if anything, should be playing with a chip on our shoulder and a little bit of nasty to us," Boyle said. "The one thing I'm not going to let happen is, I'm not going to let these guys feel sorry for themselves. I'm not going to feel sorry for myself as a coach. I've coached teams that have not had winning records before. We're still a .500 team. For right now we're 10-10. But we're on a slide and the only people that can bring us out of it is ourselves."
While a number of things have contributed to the Buffs troubles, defense — or a lack thereof — has been the biggest problem of late. In conference play, Colorado is 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring defense, allowing opponents a hefty 83.9 points per game; 10th in field goal percentage defense and 11th in 3-point defense.
"The other thing we've talked about is being 'thumb guys' first," Boyle said while directing his thumb at his chest. "We have to look in the mirror. What am I doing as a coach? What is an assistant coach doing or not doing? What is the trainer doing or not doing? What is our strength coach doing or not doing? Each individual player needs to do the same thing — they've got to be thumb guys first. Look in the mirror and then we come together and we talk about the reasons and now it's our job to go out and correct those."
It hasn't all been completely bleak during the skid. Rebounding — one of the Boyle's fundamental staples — has been good as of late. In both of their last two losses, both of which came in overtime, the Buffs held double-digit leads on the boards.
"Rebounding is good enough," Boyle said. "We've rebounded well enough to win; we just haven't defended well enough, especially at critical times."
Maybe most importantly, Boyle said he hasn't seen any signs that his players are ready to check it in.
"The one thing this team has done is they've competed," Boyle said. "They've got a competitive spirit about them, we're just not getting it done on one end of the floor."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu