Colorado University Athletics
Boyle's Buffs Use Extra Time To Work On Fundamentals
December 16, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With a little extra time this week to prepare for their next two games, the Colorado Buffaloes returned to some basic fundamentals at their Monday practice.
"We started with passing the ball and trying to catch the ball — just simple fundamentals," coach Tad Boyle said after the workout. "Ten of our 21 turnovers against Colorado State were passing and catching … fundamental basketball."
The Buffs will play two games this week before taking time off for the holiday break. They play host to Prairie View A&M on Thursday in a 6:30 p.m. game at the CU Events Center (Pac-12 Network), then travel to Chicago on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. matchup with 13th-ranked Dayton at the United Center (CBS Sports Network).
Thus far this year, the 8-2 Buffs are averaging 15.5 turnovers per game, well above Boyle's target of 11, and 1.5 ahead of last year's pace after 10 games.
Strictly in terms of the win-loss columns, those turnovers haven't been particularly damaging — CU actually had fewer turnovers than its opponent in both losses. But the Buffs also know they are playing with fire if they continue the trend. While their season-high 21 turnovers at Colorado State didn't cost them the game, they did allow the Rams to erase a 15-point deficit and turn the game into a nail-biter.
The next time the Buffs might not be so lucky.
Thus, along with some extra work on fundamentals, Boyle instituted some practice tweaks to drive home the point. In Monday's scrimmage work, he subtracted two points from a team's total after a turnover.Â
"When you're turning the ball over, you're giving (an opponent) another opportunity," Boyle said. "Good teams are going to use those opportunities to score points on us. So it was just to get our guys to understand immediately the significance of taking care of the ball."
One point Boyle is stressing in particular this week is to stop focusing on the big picture and play to win each possession. Boyle drew the analogy to baseball, emphasizing that his players don't need to hit a home run on every possession.
"Right now we've got guys who want grand slams every time they have the ball and that's not going to happen," he said. "We don't need that. We have to make the simple plays."
It all adds up to consistency, something that has so far evaded the Buffs. They have had outstanding defensive stretches and solid offensive stretches, but have yet to put together a complete game. Those inconsistencies have made some games closer than perhaps necessary and were no doubt costly in their two losses. Just two CU starters — McKinley Wright IV and D'Shawn Schwartz — have more assists than turnovers.
"We've got to be able to put two halves together," point guard Wright said. "That's been an issue for us since last year. Play one half good, one half terrible. CSU, first half was great. Second half was trash. You have to put your halves together."
But aside from last week's stumble against Northern Iowa, the Buffs are still playing solid defense. CU is still tied for 23rd in the nation in scoring defense, giving up just 59.3 points per game, and is forcing 17.1 turnovers per game (42nd in the nation).
"My expectation level is we should be getting better shots than we're getting and we should be having better consistent defensive possessions," Boyle said. "It's the breakdowns we have to eliminate. When you do that, then teams have to beat you. You don't beat yourself — and right now, we're beating ourselves on possessions."
But one thing Boyle isn't doubting is his team's toughness. While the Buffs have put themselves in some difficult positions, they have also still managed to put together an 8-2 record that currently has them No. 31 in the nation in the first NCAA NET rankings.
"We're tough enough," he said. "That's why we're 8-2 and not 2-8. But for us to beat the teams that we want to beat, we have to be more consistent with our execution."
NEW RANKINGS OUT: To no one's surprise, the Buffs dropped out of the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches top 25 polls, falling into the "others receiving votes" category.
But in the ranking that matters — the NCAA NET — they emerged at No. 31 in the first release.
The NET rankings have replaced the old RPI as a significant tool for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, and there were seven Pac-12 teams in the top 50. Surprising Stanford led the group at No. 9, followed by Arizona (15), Oregon (17), Arizona State (30), Colorado (31), Washington (35) and Oregon State (40).
The two teams to beat Colorado this year were in the top 30, with Kansas No. 2 and Northern Iowa No. 28.Â
DAYTON 'REMATCH': Saturday's game against Dayton will a rematch of the two teams' first-round NIT game last year, and the rosters from both teams are similar this season. The Buffs played one of their best games of the year in collecting a 78-73 win, committing just seven turnovers in the entire game while also getting a 5-for-8 night from 3-point range from D'Shawn Schwartz.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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