Buffs Seek Road Sweep Saturday Night At USC
February 08, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LOS ANGELES — There should be no shortage of motivation Saturday night for the Colorado Buffaloes when they square off with USC in an 8 p.m. matchup at the Galen Center (ESPNU).
For starters, the Buffs haven't beaten USC since 2015, a stretch that now includes four straight losses to the Trojans. With a win, the Buffs could also collect their first Pac-12 road sweep since 2014, Â and only their second overall since joining the conference. A win would also be their third in a row, something they haven't accomplished this year since early December, and something they haven't accomplished in Pac-12 play since February of last season, when they won three in a row at home.
But far more important than streaks and such is what a win could do for the Buffs' pursuit of a top-four finish in the Pac-12 standings. Currently in 10th place with a 4-6 conference record (13-9 overall), Colorado is still just two games away from second place, where four teams are tied with 6-4 marks — including USC (13-10 overall).
Pick up a road win against the Trojans, and Colorado's stretch run schedule — five of seven at home — sets up nicely for a potential strong finish.
But nobody in CU's locker room is looking past Saturday night's game. The only thing on the Buffs' mind is maintaining the momentum they have built over the last two games, when they put together their strongest outings of the season in a 73-51 win at home over Oregon last Saturday and an 84-73 win at UCLA on Wednesday.
"We're growing up," head coach Tad Boyle said after Wednesday's win over the Bruins. "It's taking some time. Saturday's not going to be easy, but I told our team, the way we're playing right now, if we continue to buy into defense and rebounding the ball, we can play with anybody."
The Buffs have indeed been good on both ends of the floor in their last two games, shooting a combined 48.6 percent from the field, including a 13-for-24 effort from 3-point range against UCLA. Meanwhile, on the defensive end, they have held their last two opponents to a combined 39.2 percent shooting, and overall, CU had a 74-64 edge on the boards.
As for the Trojans, they are similar to just about everyone in the Pac-12 outside of league-leading Washington and cellar-dwelling Cal. USC has been good enough to win three in a row at home over UCLA, Arizona and Arizona State — but also looked relatively anemic in a 77-70 home loss to Utah on Wednesday, the Trojans' first home conference loss this year.
USC is led by senior forward Bennie Boatwright, the Pac-12's fifth-leading scorer (17.3 points per game). But the Trojans' biggest weapon might be 6-11 junior Nick Rakocevic, who is averaging 16 points and 9.9 rebounds. USC also has a bona fide 3-point threat in junior guard Jonah Mathews, who is averaging 2.5 3-pointers per game while shooting at a 42.5 percent clip from long distance.
If the Buffs are going to break their losing streak against the Trojans, they will need their starters to produce. In Wednesday's win at UCLA, Colorado's five starters all played at least 30 minutes, and they finished with four players in double-figure scoring. Junior guard Shane Gatling had a career-high 28 points that included a 7-for-9 effort from 3-point range and Tyler Bey notched his second straight double-double (and eighth of the season) with a 16-point, 10-rebound effort. Sophomore guard McKinley Wright IV, meanwhile, finished with 12 points, eight assists and just one turnover.
But while the offense was clicking, it was Colorado's defensive effort that made the difference against the Bruins. CU broke open a tight game in the last seven minutes with a 16-4 run that saw Colorado force five straight empty possessions from the Bruins. CU also held UCLA's Kris Wilkes to just eight points — his first game this year without double-digit scoring.
"Great job defensively," Boyle said. "I'm sure people get sick of me talking about it, but when we do it, it's amazing how the wins take care of themselves."
THE SERIES: Colorado holds a 9-7 all-time lead in the series, but the Trojans have won the last four, including a two-game sweep last season. Colorado's last win over USC was a 98-94 triple-overtime thriller at the Galen Center on Jan. 29, 2015. CU is 3-4 all-time against the Trojans in Los Angeles. A win would be CU's third straight conference win, something the Buffs have accomplished 10 times in regular season play in the Pac-12. CU has never won four straight Pac-12 games in the regular season (but did win four in a row in the 2012 conference tournament). The last time CU won at least four conference games in a row came in 2006, when the Buffs won five straight Big 12 games.
BROADCAST: ESPNU will carry the telecast with Kanoa Leahey and Adrian Branch. KOA will have the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
UP NEXT: The Buffs return home next week for a pair of games, beginning with an 8:30 p.m. game Wednesday against Arizona State, followed by a 6 p.m. Sunday matchup with Arizona.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Â
Â
