Colorado University Athletics
Boyle's Buffs Prepare For Saturday Visit To Colorado State
November 28, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Just a few minutes into his postgame press conference following Sunday's win over Air Force, Colorado coach Tad Boyle needed no reminder about who was next on the Buffs' schedule.
Boyle didn't even need to be prompted to discuss the game. Less than two minutes into his opening statement, CU's head coach made clear what next on the Buffs' agenda.
"We need to keep taking care of business, but we need to keep getting better," Boyle said after the Buffs' 81-69 win. "Next Saturday at 11 a.m. we'd better be ready to play because Colorado State will be a great challenge for us."
Indeed, Saturday's game at Moby Arena will be a good test for Boyle's young team. Not only will it be the Buffs' first true road game of the season, it will come in what will no doubt be a hostile environment.
"You'd better have your hard hat on," Boyle said of playing at Moby. "Nothing is going to be given to you. We have to go in there and earn everything we get. They don't like us up there. We know that. We respect everybody, we fear nobody."
Boyle's Buffs are off to a great start, currently sporting a 6-0 record and a No. 12 spot in the most-recent CBS Sports RPI ratings. The Rams, meanwhile, have had an up-and-down start, sporting a 3-3 record heading into Tuesday night's home game against Missouri State.
But this is one instance where the old saw about rivalries rings true — records haven't mattered much in this series, and neither has home-court advantage.
In fact, home court has been anything but an edge in recent years. The last four games in the series have been won by the visiting team, with Colorado collecting wins in Fort Collins in 2013 and 2015 and the Rams returning the favor with wins in Boulder in 2014 and 2016.
Colorado senior George King knows what is in store for the Buffs on Saturday. He was on the floor in Moby two years ago when the Buffs erased a 13-point halftime deficit to claim an 88-77 win — and he was on the floor in Boulder last year when the Rams marched into the Coors Events Center and dominated Colorado in a 72-58 CSU win.
One of King's jobs this week will be to prepare CU's younger players for what they can expect Saturday.
"It's going to be a hostile environment," King said. "We can watch film from their last two games but they're not going to be the team we saw on film. They're going to be a better team. That's something we're not going to be able to scout. What we can do this week is really practice hard and prepare ourselves for war …. That's what we're really getting into."
The Rams almost always seem to be at their best for the Buffs. CSU head coach Larry Eustachy usually spends the week reminding his players that they are the underdogs (even when they aren't), and they usually deliver a tough, physical performance.
"We know CSU will be ready," Boyle said. "They play us hard and we have to match that. Their coach really stresses playing hard and rebounding the ball, and we have to match them in those areas."
After Saturday, the Buffs will play three of their next four at home, beginning with a Dec. 6 matchup with New Mexico. That will be followed by a Dec. 9 game at Xavier (currently ranked No. 21 in the nation) before a Dec. 12 home game with San Diego and a Dec. 15 home contest vs. South Dakota State.
But this week, CU's entire focus is on Saturday's game in Fort Collins, where CU's freshmen, including starting point guard McKinley Wright, will get their first glimpse of what it means to play on the road in Division I basketball.
"Our freshmen have to understand that it's on," Boyle said. "We have that mantra, 'It's on,' when we come to practice before we take the court. At 11 o'clock next Saturday, it's on."
TV-RADIO: Along with being available on the Buffs' usual radio network with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke, the game will also be televised by AT&T Sportsnet.
HIGH RPI: No doubt, it's far too early in the year to be concerned with the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), one of the measures used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
Still, even the early RPI is at least a starting point for where a team stands — and history suggests that it's easier for a team with a high RPI early to maintain a top-100 standing than it is for a team with a low RPI to climb the ranks later in the season.
Colorado currently holds a No. 12 RPI, no doubt a little high for a team that is not receiving any mention in either of the national polls.
But, this might also be worth remembering: of the top 25 teams in last year's RPI rankings in the first week of December, 20 of those teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
