Buffs Head To Utah Seeking Momentum For Pac-12 Tournament

SALT LAKE CITY — Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes would love to head to next week's Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas with a little wind in their sails.

They will have the chance to build some momentum Saturday when they face Utah in their regular season finale at the Huntsman Center (5 p.m., Pac-12 Mountain).

The 16-13 Buffs (8-9 Pac-12) already know who they will play in their conference tournament opener and when. That would be Arizona State next Wednesday at 1 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. The matchup and time is set; the only question still to be answered is who will be the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds.

But the Buffs would still like a win Saturday for several reasons. No. 1, it would give them a two-game win streak heading into the tournament, both coming against teams from the top half of the league (CU beat UCLA last Sunday). A win would also give the Buffs a 9-9 conference mark, marking the fifth time in their seven years in the Pac-12 they have finished at least .500 in league play; and it would give them a rare season sweep of the Utes, something they haven't managed since 2012.

But perhaps most importantly, a win would greatly enhance their postseason resume. While they need to run the table next week in Las Vegas to earn an NCAA Tournament automatic berth, a victory Saturday would be a boon to their NIT hopes.

Trouble is, they have picked a difficult place and equally difficult circumstances to achieve those goals.

For starters, the Huntsman Center has not been a friendly setting for Colorado. Since their 2012 three-game sweep of the Utes (Colorado also had a win over Utah in the conference tournament), the Buffs have lost five in a row on the floor Utes' home floor, and Colorado is just 1-9 on the road this season.

To make the situation even more difficult, the Utes (18-10, 10-7) will be playing on Senior Night in front of an expected sellout crowd, as well as playing for a top-four conference finish while hoping to enhance their NCAA at-large bid hopes.

Still, the Buffs will be operating with the knowledge that they beat Utah in their first matchup this year, a dominating 67-55 effort in early February that ended a seven-game losing streak to the Utes. The Buffs also know the Utes aren't perfect at home, as they will be coming off a 74-58 loss to USC at home last week.

The formula for another win over the Utes, Boyle said, isn't complicated.

"We have to be ready to make plays both offensively and defensively," Boyle said. "We have to play with toughness. Great ball security and defense and travels. That's the one thing you know. When you look at our nine road losses this year, it's toughness, it's defense, it's rebounding, it's taking care of the ball. One of those four things or a combination of all four of those is the reason."

Colorado's win over Utah in February was the beginning of a three-game win streak during which the Buffs might have played some of their most consistent ball of the year. The Buffs took the lead late in the first half and never trailed again, pushing the margin to as much as 21 in the second half.

It was one of Colorado's more balanced efforts of the year. Point guard McKinley Wright had a 21-point, four-assist night; senior George King produced a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double; and CU's front line of Lucas Siewert, Dallas Walton and Tyler Bey combined for 18 points and 14 rebounds, along with providing some stellar defense against Utah big men David Collette and Tyler Rawson.

Overall, the Buffs limited the Utes to just 35 percent shooting from the floor (20-for-57), with Utah's three leading scorers — Collette, Rawson and Justin Bibbins — combining for just 20 points.

"Now we have to go on the road with that same mentality of limiting their post touches," Boyle said. "When they do catch it down there, we have to make them score over us, not around us. We can't foul them, they're good foul shooters … and we have to guard the 3-point line."

But more than anything, Boyle said, the Buffs can't make the mistakes that have plagued them so often on the road this year.

"With Utah, much like some of the better teams in our league, you have to go beat them," he said. "They're not going to beat themselves."

SERIES: Colorado holds a 27-21 all-time edge in the series, but the Utes have an 8-6 edge since both teams began Pac-12 play in 2011-12, including a five-game win streak in Utah.

BROADCAST: The game will be televised on Pac-12 Mountain with Guy Haberman and Mike Montgomery. KOA 850 AM radio is scheduled to carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke. However, if the Colorado Rockies spring training game is running long, the broadcast will begin on 760 AM and then join 850 AM in progress when the Rockies game is completed.

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu