Buffs Aim To Extend Win Streak As Sun Devils Visit Wednesday
February 12, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — While it has been just a little more than a month since Colorado and Arizona State met for the first time this season, in some ways it seems like ages.
"I watched our first game against Arizona State and I didn't even recognize the Buffs, relative to what I've seen the last two weeks," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said earlier this week. "We're a different team. We're in a different spot."
Indeed, the Buffs are a much different team than the one that traveled to Tempe in early January and suffered an 83-61 loss — their largest margin of defeat this season. That game saw the Buffs endure their worst shooting percentage of the year (32.7) while the Sun Devils recorded the best shooting percentage this season by a CU opponent (57.1). Throw in the fact that ASU outrebounded the Buffs by 14 — CU's biggest deficit of the year on the boards — while outscoring Colorado 50-20 in the paint, and it was overall a night the Buffs would like to forget.
But since then, Colorado (14-9 overall, 5-6Â Pac-12) has taken big steps forward, especially over the last two weeks. The Buffs are currently riding a three-game win streak and aim to push it to four Wednesday when they play host to the Sun Devils (16-7, 7-4) in an 8:45 p.m. game at the CU Events Center.
"They manhandled us back in early January," CU head coach Tad Boyle said after Tuesday's practice. "Transition defense was not good and they're a very good team in transition. Second shots were huge, they're a very good offensive rebounding team. There's a lot of things we have to do well. But I think the big thing with Arizona State is you have to match their intensity. They play extremely hard. They're very physical on the glass and we have to match that physicality."
While Bobby Hurley's Sun Devils are talented, they have also been inconsistent at times.
In non-conference play, they knocked off No. 1 Kansas at home — then lost to Princeton a week later. Last week, they lost to the Pac-12's 11th-place team, Washington State at home, then turned around and knocked of league leader Washington just two days later.
But when they are good, they are very, very good.
"They've got as much talent as anybody in the country," Boyle said. "They really do … they've got good athletes, good basketball players and they have some guys who can shoot it."
The Sun Devils are indeed balanced, with four players averaging double-figure scoring, led by 6-foot-4 freshman guard Luguentz Dort, who is averaging 16.2 points per game. Inside, they have a rebounding machine in 6-8 forward Zylan Cheatham, who is averaging 11.5 points and a league-leading 11.0 rebounds, along with a team-leading 3.7 assists.
"Cheatham is as good a rebounder as there is in the country," Boyle said. "He's averaging 16 rebounds a game over the last five games. He's a beast. Romello White is a load down low. Remy Martin is a really good scorer. Dort is a great freshman, strong and physical. … They've got a good team. We have to be really, really smart in executing our game plan defensively and offensively we have to be able to take care of the ball and get great shots."
One key will be making sure the Sun Devils don't get off to a quick start. In their first meeting this year, Colorado missed its first seven shots from the field while the Sun Devils hit seven of their first 13. ASU led by 18 at the half and the Buffs never threatened to make it closer after intermission.
"They're a fast-paced team like we are," CU point guard McKinley Wright IV said. "They get out in transition, they're very dangerous and a very good team. Forty minutes is going to be huge. We have to get out to a good start. The game plan is simple: defense, rebound, guard the ball, take good shots, take care of the ball. It's pretty simple. Do those things, I like our chances."
While the Sun Devils' offense has grabbed headlines — they average a league-leading 78.9 points per game this season — their defense is much improved from last year. ASU leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 41 percent shooting from the field this year.
"We have to make them guard," Wright said. "You can't come down and force up quick shots. I think that's what a lot of teams do against them. That's one of the reasons they're first in the league in field goal defense percentage. They try to force you to take quick shots and they're a very good rebounding team. If they can get you to take one shot, they're most likely going to grab the rebound and get out and run. It's about making them guard."
The Sun Devils are indeed dominant on the boards, out-rebounding opponents by an average of 7.1 per game. They also average 13 offensive rebounds per game.
"We have to be dialed in, we have to be focused for 40 minutes, and we have to be physical for 40 minutes," Boyle said. "We don't have to play perfect, but we have to play well and we have to play smart, and again, just understand who we're guarding and we have to limit them to one shot. If Arizona State comes in here and gets 12 to 15 offensive rebounds, it's going to be a really rough night for us. They're very, very good when they get second and third attempts at the rim because they're so long and athletic."
BUFFS NOTES: Wright last week moved past former Buffs great Chauncey Billups on CU's career assist list. Wright now has 284 assists in two years, passing Billups (282). … Sophomore guard D'Shawn Schwartz is coming off a pair of solid games in CU's wins over USC and UCLA, when he averaged 14 points and four rebounds per game. … The Buffs' current three-game win streak is the 11th time Colorado has won three in a row in regular season conference play in the Pac-12. While CU did win four in a row in 2012 to win the Pac-12 tournament, the last time Colorado won more than three straight regular season conference games came in 2005-06, when the Buffs won five straight Big 12 games.
REUNION WEEKEND: For the last four years, CU's Boyle has hosted a former CU coach and players from his era for a weekend reunion. This weekend, CU will host the Ricardo Patton era. Patton, currently an assistant for Rodney Billups at Denver, was Colorado's head coach from 1996-2007. He compiled a 184-160 record in his tenure — the second-most wins in CU history, trailing only Sox Walseth's 261 victories — and he took his teams to two NCAA Tournament appearances. Patton will be on hand for this weekend's reunion, along with a number of his former players, including Chauncey Billups.
THE SERIES: The all-time series between the two programs is tied at 9-9, with the Buffs winning five of the last nine. CU won two of three against ASU last year, with each team winning at home before Colorado won the rubber match in the Pac-12 tourney opener. CU is also 7-1 all-time against the Sun Devils in Boulder, including four straight wins.
ON THE AIR: The game will be televised by FS1 with Kevin Burkhardt and Casey Jacobsen. KOA will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
UP NEXT: The Buffs wrap up a two-game homestand Sunday with a 6 p.m. game against Arizona.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
