Buffs Return Home For Pac-12 Matchups With Oregon Schools
January 28, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — There were no surprises in Monday afternoon's film session for the Colorado Buffaloes.
The Buffs watched film from Saturday's loss at Stanford — a game in which Colorado led by 12 late in the first half and by nine early in the second half — and the mistakes that paved the way for a second-half meltdown were still there.
After a first half in which Colorado held Stanford to just 37 percent shooting from the field, they allowed the Cardinal to hit 72 percent of its shots after halftime — including a blistering 16-for-18 from inside the arc (89 percent). Meanwhile, the Buffs shot just 35.7 percent in the second half and gave up a 15-8 edge on the boards.
"It's frustrating because we were so good for the first 18 minutes," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said.  "So good. … In terms of things we were trying to take away from them we did as good a job as we've done all year, in terms of executing the game plan."
But then, "Brain dead for the next 20 (minutes). Just absolute opposite."
Still, even with the second half mistakes that allowed the Cardinal to take control of the game, Colorado managed to stay within reach. With just more than five minutes to play, CU cut Stanford's lead to four — but couldn't come up with a defensive stop, then missed an easy shot in the lane on the other end.
"We don't handle adversity well when things don't go our way," Boyle said. "It's the old thing — frustrations on offense, maybe a foul that was called that we didn't think was a foul or frustration with an official, missed an open shot. That bleeds into defense and our focus isn't on what it should be on that end. Handling that adversity and part of handling that adversity is mental toughness, and that's where we're lacking right now."
Of course, there's no magic potion that will automatically cure the Buffs' ills. But they also have no time to dwell on what could have been in the Bay Area. Instead, they have three days to learn from their mistakes, improve — and prepare for a pair of home games this weekend. Even though CU is currently 10th in the conference standings, they are still just two games away from a spot in the league's top four, and a pair of wins this week would no doubt push them up the conference ladder.
The homestand begins with a 7 p.m. game Thursday against Oregon State at the CU Events Center, followed by a 7:30 matchup with Oregon on Saturday.
The Buffs are down to just nine available scholarship players, meaning there is little room for error. It means players who have had up-and-down conference seasons must find a way to become more productive on a consistent basis.
"We have some guys that have to step up," Boyle said. "We've got guys in different roles this year. Lucas Siewert's role this year is much different than it was last year. It's much more prominent. His minutes are much higher. He played 38 minutes the other night. We need Lucas Siewert for us to win. It doesn't mean he has to get 20 points and 10 rebounds every night, but we need him to be a good, solid player for us."
Siewert has had an up-and-down stretch in Pac-12 play. After being held to single digits in three of CU's first four conference games, he has averaged more than 14 points per game over the last three.
It's the same for sophomore forward D'Shawn Schwartz and junior guard Shane Gatling. Schwartz averaged nearly 15 points per game in CU's first five conference games, but scored just two at Cal and Stanford. Gatling, meanwhile, has scored in double figures in four of CU's last five games, but is shooting just 31 percent from 3-point range.
"D'Shawn Schwartz's role on this year's team is much bigger than it was last year," Boyle said. "He's not playing behind George King anymore. George is gone, now it's D'Shawn's time to step up. … Shane Gatling came here out of junior college, could have gone a lot of places. He came here because he knew we had a need. He knew he had an opportunity to play a lot of minutes and he's getting the minutes. It's time for him — he's got to produce. I'm not just talking about shooting or scoring, I'm talking about the whole gamut of playing basketball on both sides of the floor."
But Boyle hasn't lost confidence in his team. In Monday's film session, he told his players, "I believe in you, I believe in this team, I believe in our players."
And with 11 conference games to go, Boyle believes the Buffs have the time — and talent —  to flip the script and develop the consistency that has evaded them for much of the conference season.
"We can," Boyle said. "There's no doubt. I believe in this team, I believe in our guys. We're not going to lose hope, we're not going to lose heart. We just have to get better in the areas I'm talking about — the toughness area, the handling of adversity better. Those are areas we have to get better in."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Â
