Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Seek Third Straight Win As Stanford Visits On Sunday
February 10, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — It is a mantra that Colorado coach Tad Boyle has lived by throughout his career as a college basketball coach.
Every win in February is a good win.
Sunday afternoon, Boyle's 14-10 Buffs (6-6 Pac-12) will seek to go 3-0 in February when they play host to Stanford (13-12, 7-5) in a 2 p.m. game at the Coors Events Center (Pac-12 Network).
Currently tied for seventh in the tightly packed conference standings, the Buffs would move up at least one spot — and possibly more — with a win. A victory would also keep them squarely in the hunt for a top-four Pac-12 finish, something that would give them a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
But Stanford is also in the hunt for a top-four finish, and after a disappointing 75-60 loss at Utah on Thursday, the Cardinal would love to return home with at least a split on their mountain road trip. To accomplish that, the Cardinal will have to end an eight-game losing streak to the Buffs. Stanford hasn't beaten Colorado since taking two from the Buffs in 2012, CU's first year in the Pac-12.
Boyle, though, said the past has no bearing on this season.
"Stanford is talented," Boyle said after Saturday's practice. "Really talented. Reid Travis is as good of a low post player ... nationally, he's a guy people should be talking about. The way he's scoring the ball, rebounding the ball, his toughness. He's a load. If he catches close to the basket, we don't have anybody one-on-one that can stop him. Not many people in this league do."
Indeed, Travis has been one of the league's most-dominant players this year. The 6-foot-8, 245-pound senior is averaging 19.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while also shooting .529 from the field.
"It's really difficult on the block to guard him one on one because he's so strong and his low center of gravity is so good," Boyle said. "He just overpowers you. He doesn't do it with size, he does it with his strength and his shot fakes and keeping people off balance."
But Travis is by no means the Cardinal's only weapon. Stanford has four players averaging double-digit scoring, with senior guard Dorian Pickens (14.9 ppg), senior forward Michael Humphrey (10.7 ppg) and freshman guard Daejon Davis (10.6 ppg) joining Travis. Freshman forward KZ Okpala (9.3 ppg) is the only player in the starting lineup not to average double digits, but Boyle said, "he might be their best NBA prospect."
Stanford has been a streaky team since the beginning of conference play. After losing the league opener to Cal, the Cardinal reeled off five straight wins before losing three in a row, then winning two straight.
But then came one of the Cardinal's more disappointing performances of the season, Thursday's defeat in Salt Lake City. Stymied by the Utes' zone defense all night, the Cardinal trailed by as much as 23 late in the game before finally losing by 15.
Boyle, though, won't spend time worrying about how the Cardinal will play. He's more concerned with how his Buffs will perform. In their last outing, they committed 19 turnovers in the game and gave up 18 offensive rebounds, but still eked out a 68-64 win against Cal on Wednesday.
"You take the floor in February and really as a coach all you're concerned about is what your team is doing and how ready your guys are," Boyle said. "I have no control over Stanford, if they're going to be ready or not ready, play well or not play well. Really you're just concerned with yourself."
But Boyle is convinced of one thing: "We're going to have to play better against Stanford to win than we did against Cal. We know that."
SHOOTING PERCENTAGES: While there are plenty of factors in Colorado's wins and losses this year, a couple numbers stand out in Pac-12 play:
When the Buffs shoot at least 43 percent from the field, they are 6-1 in conference play, with the only loss coming at Arizona, where they shot 55.8 percent for the game but still fell to the Wildcats.
As for individuals, it seems that freshman McKinley Wright's shooting numbers are also a decent barometer. When Wright shoots at least 40 percent from the field in Pac-12 games, Colorado is 5-1, with the only anomaly coming when he shot just 1-for-8 in a Colorado win at UCLA. Meanwhile, when he shoots less than 40 percent from the field, CU is just 1-5 in Pac-12 play, with the only exception coming when he shot 66.7 percent in the loss at Arizona.
SERIES: CU holds an 11-9 all-time edge on Stanford. CU holds an 8-2 edge since joining the Pac-12, and has won the last eight in a row, including four in a row at home. CU's Boyle is 8-2 against Stanford while Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase — like Boyle, a Kansas alum — is 0-2 against the Buffs as a head coach.
BROADCAST: The Pac-12 Network will televise the game with JB Long and Eldridge Recasner. KOA 850 AM radio will carry the game with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
