Buffs Open Pac-12 Tournament Against Bears
March 12, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LAS VEGAS — Colorado head coach Tad Boyle was in full tournament mode Tuesday afternoon.
One day before his Buffaloes were set to open the Pac-12 tournament with a first-round game against Cal, Boyle was asked about the Buffs' chances of winning the whole thing.
Boyle politely shook his head and said, "Not even thinking about that. All we're concerned about is trying to beat Cal on Wednesday. You can't win the thing unless you win your first game, so we're trying to concentrate on that and keep our players concentrating on that."
Boyle, of course, is the only Pac-12 coach to win four straight tournament games and claim a tournament title, accomplishing the feat in 2012 — CU's first year in the league. Boyle is also one of only two Pac-12 coaches to win at least one game in the tournament every year since the league expanded (Arizona's Sean Miller is the other), and he is 8-0 at Colorado in conference tourney openers (7-0 Pac-12, 1-0 Big 12).
As the tournament's fifth seed, the Buffs (19-11 overall, 10-8 Pac-12) will be favored to push Boyle's tourney opening mark to 9-0, but it won't be easy against 12th-seeded Cal (8-22, 3-15) in Wednesday's 3:30 p.m. game. After losing 16 straight games — including 15 in a row in conference play — the Bears emerged from hibernation to close the regular season with three straight wins. The streak includes a win over conference champion Washington, as well as a victory at rival Stanford.
"Cal has a new life about them," Boyle said. "They have a new season just like we do, so we have to be ready to go. This is not a typical 5-12 matchup."
But the Buffs also enter the tournament with some momentum, owning their own three-game win streak and victories in eight of their last 10. The Buffs have arguably been playing as well as anyone down the stretch, thanks in big part to sophomores Tyler Bey and McKinley Wright IV, both of whom earned first-team all-conference honors earlier this week.
The winner of Wednesday's game will face No. 4 Oregon State on Thursday. To get there, the Buffs will have to beat a team they beat in their only meeting earlier this year, but not without some difficulty. Colorado raced to an 18-point second half lead on the Bears in Berkeley in late January, only to see Cal put together a 31-12 run and take a 54-53 lead with just seven minutes to go.
The Buffs then regained their composure, answered with a 7-0 run and held on for a 68-59 win.
"We didn't panic and we didn't let it get our heads down," Boyle said. "What impressed me was we said, 'OK, they made their run,' and then we scored a couple buckets and kind of got our mojo back. That's what you have to do — you cannot play on your heels when a team is making a run at you. I think we did a good job of that in Berkeley."
Both teams have made some strides since then. In their first meeting, Cal's Connor Vanover was a non-factor, failing to score or collect a rebound in just six minutes on the floor.
But down the stretch, the 7-foot-3 freshman has been a difference-maker for the Bears. In Cal's 64-59 win over Stanford last week, Vanover scored a career-high 24 points that included five 3-pointers to go along with six blocked shots. The Bears also have four players averaging in double-figure scoring for the season, led by 6-7 forward Justice Sueing (14.5 ppg) 6-0 guard Paris Austin (11.7 ppg) and 6-4 freshman Matt Bradley (10.6 ppg)
"Vanover is playing at a high, high level, shooting the ball extremely well," Boyle said. "They're playing Suing more at the four, he's a tough matchup. Over the last five games, he's shooting over 50 percent from three, and their point guard (Austin) is a fast guy who can get downhill."
The Buffs' aim will be to adhere to the principles that have produced eight wins in their last 10 games — defense, rebounding and taking care of the ball. Colorado has won the rebound battle in eight of its last 10 games and is third in the league in team defense in conference play, giving up just 68.4 points per game.
As far as turnovers, the Buffs have been at their best over the last three games, keeping their total in single digits in all three wins — 26 total — while handing out 48 assists.
"We just have to do the things we've been doing," Wright said. "If we do that, we can take care of business."
HOMECOMING FOR BEY: It would be hard to imagine a better homecoming for Colorado's Bey, a Las Vegas native. Along with being named first team all-conference earlier this week, Bey was also selected as the league's Most Improved Player, and he earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors as well after leading CU to wins over UCLA and USC last week.
"I'm looking forward to it," Bey said about the prospect of playing in front of family and friends. "We just want to play well and stick around for a while."
Bey comes into the tournament with five straight double-doubles and eight in his last 10 games. He has 14 this year, the most since Andre Roberson had 20 in 2011-12.
CONFERENCE FINISH: Technically, the Buffs finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the standings with Oregon and Oregon State. It was CU's second-best in eight seasons in the Pac-12, trailing only the 2012-13 team that tied for third. This is also the fifth time in eight years in the Pac-12 that Boyle's team has had double-digit conference wins.
THE SERIES: The Buffs won the only regular season meeting with Cal, a 68-59 decision in Berkeley in early January. Colorado leads the all-time series 16-15, with wins in the last three meetings The two teams have met twice in the Pac-12 tournament, with Colorado winning both games — both times as the lower seed (2012 and 2014).
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network with Roxy Bernstein, Don MacLean and Jill Savage. KDSP 760 (AM) radio will carry the game with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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