Buffs Head To Desert For Two Games To Open Pac-12 Play
January 02, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
TUCSON, Ariz. — In what might be the most wide-open Pac-12 in recent years — not a single conference team is ranked in the nation's top 25 — the Colorado Buffaloes believe opportunity awaits this week as they begin conference play.
But taking advantage of that opportunity won't be easy. It begins with a weekend trip to the desert, where they will open conference play with games at Arizona (7 p.m. Thursday) and Arizona State (4 p.m. Saturday) and an eye on collecting at least one road win — a rarity in conference play.
How rare? Last season, Colorado won just one road game, a victory at UCLA.
But this year, the 9-3 Buffs already have two road wins under their belts, and would like to push that number to at least seven — which means they will need five Pac-12 road wins to hit their goal.
"Every league — it doesn't matter if you're in the Pac-12 or the Big Sky or the ACC — if you want to finish in the top half of the league and have a chance to win a championship, you have to win on the road," CU head coach Tad Boyle said Tuesday, just before the Buffs left for their Arizona trip. "You don't have to win every game on the road, but you have to win games on the road. … You can't win five unless you win the first one."
Since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, Colorado is 0-6 at Arizona's McKale Center. But that is certainly no disgrace, as Arizona seldom loses to anyone on its home floor. Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Sean Miller's Wildcats are a sparkling 89-4 at home.
But this year's team is not a "typical" Miller squad. Currently sporting a 9-4 record, they have already suffered one home loss, a 58-49 decision to Baylor in mid-December.
Still, Boyle noted, they are a talented bunch, led by sophomore guard Brandon Randolph (16.6 points per game) and 6-foot-10 junior center Chase Jeter, a transfer from Duke who is averaging 12.8 points and 7.0 rebounds.
"They've shown that they have some vulnerabilities this year," Boyle allowed. "But they've been off since Dec. 22 and they've had a lot of time to practice. One thing about Sean Miller's teams, usually when they have good breaks, they get better. He's a good coach."
Boyle's recipe for a win at McKale doesn't involve much of anything different than it does for any other game: "Compete is the number one thing, defend, rebound and take care of the ball. Those are the things we've got to do a good job of down there. If you don't take care of the ball in Arizona's building, that turns into transition baskets and their crowd gets involved. That's why their record is what it is at McKale."
The Buffs haven't played since Christmas day, when they salvaged a win over Charlotte in the Diamond Head Classic after losing their first two in the tournament. They entered the tournament with six straight wins, but their shooting eye and rebounding ability both abandoned them on the trip, while their propensity for turnovers reappeared.
They will need to be at their best in all three areas to get a win Thursday in one of college basketball's toughest environments.
The good news, however, is that CU earlier this year collected a road win in a similar building.
"We just did it a couple weeks before Christmas," Boyle said. "We went to New Mexico and the building's very similar and their fan base is really rabid and into it and educated. They support their team."
The Buffs will see all of that and more Thursday, and likely a similar atmosphere Saturday in Tempe, where the Sun Devils have been playing some good basketball — including a win over No. 1 Kansas.
"Coach Boyle has a huge emphasis on things that have never been done — and we've never beaten Arizona at Arizona in his career here," CU redshirt freshan Evan Battey said. "That's huge. We would like to be the first team to do that. We want to go down there and beat Arizona and Arizona State."
FIVE ROAD WINS IN CONFERENCE A RARITY: The Buffs' goal of winning five conference road games is a high bar, to say the least.
To put that number into perspective, figure this: not since the early 1960s has a CU team won five conference road games.
Boyle's 2012-13 team came close, winning four times on the road in Pac-12 play en route to a 10-8 conference finish and NCAA Tournament berth.
But that season was just one of a handful in which CU teams have managed even four conference wins. Prior to 2012-13, the last team to win four league games on the road was the 1996-97 Buffs, when sophomore Chauncey Billups led Colorado to an 11-5 league record and NCAA Tournament appearance.
But five? The last CU team to win five league games on the road was the 1961-62 group, which won six Big Eight games on the road en route to a 13-1 league finish and, yes, an NCAA Tournament appearance.
THE SERIES: This will be the 32nd meeting between Colorado and Arizona, with the Wildcats holding an 18-13 series lead. Arizona won two of three meetings last season. Both teams won on their respective home floors before the Wildcats took the rubber match in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. Arizona leads the series 13-5 since Colorado joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12, including a 6-0 mark at the McKale Center.
BROADCAST: Thursday's game will be televised by FS1 with Aaron Goldsmith and Steve Lavin. KOA will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
