Buffs Get Extra Time This Week To Prepare For Three-Game Road Trip

BOULDER — Colorado coach Tad Boyle is not always a "glass half-full" kind of guy.

Boyle seldom finds a bright spot in a loss, especially a Pac-12 loss at home.

But late Saturday night, as he reflected on the Buffs' 77-70 loss to Washington, CU's head coach found some positives.

For starters, the Buffs rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to cut the UW lead to one, and still trailed by just three with under four minutes to play. That the Buffs also managed the comeback despite missing starting point guard McKinley Wright (shoulder injury) for much of the game, as well as seeing their frontcourt hampered all evening by foul troubles, was no doubt a plus.

Throw in the fact that CU started the game without the services of two other veteran guards, Namon Wright (injury) and Deleon Brown (academics), and the Buffs' performance in the second half was an admirable one.

The flip side, of course, is that the Buffs put themselves in that hole by allowing Washington to shoot 63 percent from the field in the first half, including eight 3-pointers, en route to a 48-35 lead.

"Defensively that first half is where we lost that game," Boyle said. "I want our players to understand that. (But) the second half, the toughness and adversity we overcame, I want to commend our players for that because I think they deserve it."

But the bottom line is that the Buffs let a winnable game slip away at home — a cardinal sin when it comes to conference races. An upper-tier Pac-12 finish requires holding serve at home and stealing a handful on the road, and the 10-6 Buffs are now 1-3 in league play.

Thus, the importance of the Buffs' next three games — all on the road — is magnified. CU opens the stretch on Sunday with a 4 p.m. game at Utah, followed by games at Cal (Jan. 24) and Stanford (Jan. 26).

"We've got to dig our heels in, get better, figure out how to win on the road," Boyle said. "We've got three road games coming up and if we can figure that out, we've got five of our last seven at home coming down the stretch."

Indeed, after playing five of their first seven conference games on the road — a stretch that concludes with the Bay Area trip — the Buffs will wrap up their Pac-12 season with five of seven at home. That is a stretch that could be very beneficial to Colorado's pursuit of an upper-division finish, but to take full advantage, Colorado needs to pick up some road wins.

Their upcoming road trip should present an opportunity or two. None of the next three opponents have a winning record, with Utah (8-8 overall, 2-2 Pac-12) the most formidable on paper. Stanford also sports an 8-8 record and is just 1-3 in conference play (although that one win did come over Arizona State, a team that handled Colorado easily). Cal, meanwhile, is just 5-11 overall and 0-4 in conference play.

But the Buffs have their own issues to deal with this week, beginning with Wright's injury. Boyle said Saturday night that team officials had no idea yet of the severity of Wright's injury, and thus predicting when he might be back was not possible.

The good news is the Buffs have a long week this week, with just one game. That means a little extra time not only for Wright's shoulder to heal, but also for Namon Wright's foot problems to clear up.

In that vein, Saturday night also had a bright spot in the play of junior Shane Gatling, who has been struggling for much of the year at the off-guard spot. With McKinley Wright out, Gatling took over at point guard and finished with a career-high six assists and just one turnover. That helped make up for a 1-for-10 shooting night.

This week, the Buffs will concentrate on fixing the issues that put them in a 15-point hole against the Huskies. Those include operating against a zone defense — something they will likely see plenty of in the future — as well as improving their defense.

If they can correct those issues, they have a chance to pick up a road win or two in the next two weeks.

"I told our team in the locker room, this week of practice is the most important week of practice we're going to have all year long," Boyle said. "We're going to have to get better during this stretch before we play Utah next Sunday."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu