Buffs Gear For Key Home Matchup With Huskies
January 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — If the Colorado Buffaloes want to prove they belong in the conversation when it comes to Pac-12 contenders, they have the perfect opportunity Saturday night to make such a statement.
Fresh off a 92-60 thumping of Washington State on Thursday, the Buffs (10-5 overall, 1-2 Pac-12) Â hit their home floor again Saturday when they play host to Washington in an 8 p.m. game at the CU Events Center.
The Huskies are already proving they belong in the contender discussion. Currently boasting the best NCAA NET ranking of any team in the Pac-12 (No. 44), the Huskies improved to 11-4 overall and 2-0 in Pac-12 play Thursday with a convincing 69-53 win at Utah. It was the same Utah team that won at Arizona State and took Arizona to overtime last weekend — and Washington dominated the game, holding the Utes to a season low in points and 22 under their season average.
That the Huskies are making a living on defense — they are second in the Pac-12, holding opponents to just 65.6 points per game — is no surprise. Second-year head coach Mike Hopkins, a disciple of Syracuse Jim Boeheim, has made the 2-3 zone defense a Huskies staple.
"It's all they do," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "When it's all you do, you're usually pretty good at it."
Indeed, while most teams will play a variety of defenses throughout the course of a game, alternating between man-to-man and zone, the Huskies play 40 minutes of 2-3 zone — and they have the experience and athletes to make it work. The Huskies start three seniors, including 6-foot-5 guard Matisse Thybulle, last year's Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. Throw in another senior guard in 6-0 David Crisp, along with a front line that includes 6-8 senior Noah Dickerson and 6-9 sophomore Hameir Wright and talented 6-4 sophomore Jaylen Nowell, and it is a formidable lineup.
"Their personnel is a lot different than Washington State's," Boyle allowed. "Thybulle is a first-team all-league guy, defensive player of the year last year. Nowell is an NBA-type prospect. Dickerson is a load down low. Crisp can make shots. They've got some guys that can play. We've got our hands full."
In Thursday's win over Utah, Nowell had 12 rebounds while Thybulle and Sam Timmins each had four blocks.
Offensively, the Huskies are a patient bunch. They are last in the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging just under 72 points per game, but they do have dangerous shooters. They are shooting a respectable 45 percent from the field this year, and in Thursday's win, Crisp and Nahziah Carter combined for 35 points, with eight 3-pointers between them.
Still, it was UW's defense that made the difference, as the Huskies held Utah to an anemic 6-for-30 from 3-point range.
The Buffs, who broke out of a shooting slump in Thursday's win by hitting 54.7 percent of their field goal tries — including an 11-for-27 night from 3-point range — know they will have to be equally accurate on Saturday. The good news is the Buffs have been consistent on their home floor, where they are 7-0 this season.
"We know we're going to see 40 minutes of zone and we're going to have to really make some shots," Boyle said. "Whether it's zone offense or man offense, our goal is no different. We want paint touches, we want to play inside out, we want to get a great shot for our team every time we have it."
Nothing the Buffs do will surprise the Huskies. As Boyle noted, because they play zone on a full-time basis, they have seen virtually every zone offensive set imaginable. The key is execution on offense — and good defense.
"It's a matter of your players making plays against that zone," Boyle said. "That's what we're going to have to do on Saturday night, is make plays against that zone. The best way to do that is not let it get set up and get stops and get transition baskets. But in the halfcourt, you'd better play with patience and play with your head, shot fake, pass fake, dribble penetrate, get the ball where you want it and get good shots."
After shooting less than 35 percent from the field in their first two Pac-12 games, the Buffs found their shooting eye at home. Six different players hit at least 50 percent of their field goal tries, led by a terrific 10-for-13, 26-point night from sophomore Tyler Bey. Sophomore D'Shawn Schwartz added a 7-for-12, 16-point night, Shane Gatling was 5-for-10 (all from 3-point range) and point guard McKinley Wright was a "quiet" 5-for-8 for 10 points.
LOOKING AHEAD: After Saturday, the Buffs hit the road again for three straight games to wrap up one of the more brutal schedule stretches CU has encountered in recent years. With games at Utah (Jan. 20), Cal (Jan. 24) and Stanford (Jan. 26), it will encompass a stretch that saw Colorado play nine of 11 games away from home, including five of their first seven Pac-12 contests.
The good news, however, is that the schedule reverses at the end of the regular season. That's when the Buffs will have the benefit of playing five of their last seven conference games at home.
THE SERIES: The Huskies lead the all-time series 14-11, but the Buffs are 8-3 in games in Boulder. UW swept last year's set, 2-0, with Colorado's last win in the series coming in Boulder in 2017.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by ESPNU with Eric Rothman and Adrian Branch. KOA will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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