Buffs Hope To End Skid As Washington State Visits Thursday
January 09, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With their worst loss of the season — an 83-61 loss at Arizona State on Saturday — still fresh in their minds, there is no doubt the Colorado Buffaloes are glad to finally be playing on their home floor this week.
After a month-long stretch that saw CU play six in a row away from home, the Buffs return to the Events Center this week for a pair of Pac-12 games, with Washington State on tap Thursday (7 p.m.) and Washington on Saturday (8 p.m.).
"I think we're all excited to get back out here and be in front of our home fans," sophomore point guard McKinley Wright IV said. "We're definitely excited to have the opportunity to get back on track. We have a good opportunity and we have to take advantage of it."
Indeed, with the 9-5 Buffs already in an 0-2 hole in the Pac-12 standings, the weekend represents a crucial juncture. With four losses in the their last six games — and their next three after this weekend back on the road — it is imperative that the Buffs find a way to cure their recent ills and get into the conference win column.
Or, as head coach Tad Boyle put it earlier in the week, "We have to get ourselves out of this funk."
Thursday night, the Buffs will be facing a team in a similar situation. The Cougars (7-7, 0-1) have lost four in a row and are 0-6 away from home this year. While they lead the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 81.1 points per game, they are 11th in the conference in defense, giving up 76.7 points per game.
The Buffs have never lost to WSU in Boulder, a 7-0 stretch that includes a 6-0 mark since CU joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12.
But three of their last eight overall meetings have gone to overtime, and the Cougars usually have someone who hits the Buffs with a career-type night. Last year in an 82-73 win in Boulder — a game that saw the Cougars shave a 26-point second-half deficit down to single digits — it was guards Carter Skaggs and Viont'e Daniels making life tough for the Buffs. The two combined to shoot 11-for-20 from 3-point range to throw a scare into Colorado down the stretch.
But while Skaggs and Daniels are both back this year for the Cougars, neither has been atop WSU's list of go-to players. That designation goes to senior forward Robert Franks and freshman forward CJ Elleby.
Franks has missed the last two games with a hip injury, but when the 6-9 senior is healthy, he is the Cougars' biggest weapon. Franks leads the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 22.1 points per game while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor.
Elleby, meanwhile, has quickly made the adjustment to the college game, averaging 16.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. The 6-6 forward had 26 points and 10 rebounds last weekend in WSU's loss to Washington, his third double-double of the year. Elleby is also shooting 40 percent from 3-point range this year, as the Cougars currently lead the Pac-12 in 3-pointers made this year with 134.
As for the Buffs, a team that thought depth would be a strength at the beginning of the year is finding itself increasingly short-handed.
The CU lineup first took a blow before the first game when 7-0 sophomore Dallas Walton was lost for the season to a knee injury. Senior guard Namon Wright, meanwhile, has been hampered recently by a foot injury and did not play in last weekend's loss to Arizona State, and junior guard Deleon Brown is unavailable because of academic issues.
It means the Buffs will depend more upon true freshmen Daylen Kountz and Eli Parquet in the front court, while Boyle could also tinker with his lineup up front if he decides he needs more size this weekend against the Cougars and Huskies.
But Boyle is more concerned about how the Buffs play than who draws a starting assignment.
"What matters is we're ready to play and play the right way," Boyle said. "Play with unbelievable energy and emotion and toughness. That's what we have to do and that's what we did not do in Tempe."
AMONG PAC-12 LEADERS: McKinley Wright is second in the conference in assists (5.4 apg), fourth in steals (1.6 spg) and 15th in field goal percentage (.504). … Junior forward Lucas Siewert is second in 3-point percentage (.471), 12th in 3-pointers made (1.7 per game) and 14th in shooting percentage (.504). … Sophomore forward Tyler Bey is third in the conference in rebounding (9.0 per game), and he has averaged 10 boards per game over his last nine games. Bey is also sixth in the conference in blocked shots (2.2 per game).
AT HOME: Colorado has won 39 of its last 46 and 49 of its last 57 at the Events Center. Under Boyle, CU is 119-22 at home.
THE SERIES: Colorado holds an all-time 12-4 edge in the series, including an 11-3 mark since joining the Pac-12. CU is also 7-0 all-time vs. the Cougars in Boulder (6-0 in Pac-12 play).
BROADCAST: Thursday's game will be televised the Pac-12 Network with JB Long and Matt Muehlebach. KOA radio will carry the broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke. Saturday's game against Washington will be televised by ESPNU.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
