Colorado University Athletics
Plenty At Stake As Buffs Play Host to USC
March 08, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With one game remaining in the regular season, the Colorado Buffaloes could still finish with anywhere from the third to eighth seed in the Pac-12 standings.
Saturday, they can narrow that range down considerably if they can produce a win over USC in their 3 p.m. matchup at the CU Events Center.
A win for the Buffs (18-11 overall, 9-8 Pac-12) over the Trojans (15-15, 8-9) would guarantee CU of no worse than the No. 5 seed in next week's Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. Some scenarios:
— A Colorado win plus losses Saturday by both Utah (vs. UCLA) and Oregon State (at Washington State) would move the Buffs up to the third seed.
— A Colorado win plus a loss by either Utah or Oregon State would give CU the No. 4 seed.
— A Colorado win plus wins by Utah and Oregon State would put the Buffs in the No. 5 spot.
As for the possibilities involving a Colorado loss, they are myriad, with anywhere from a No. 5 to a No. 8 seed a possibility, depending on the outcome of other games around the conference.
Earning a top-four seed in the tournament is important because it means an extra day of rest. The fifth through 12th teams open play Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena while the top four seeds don't play until Thursday. It also means a tournament run would require only three wins instead of four (a feat CU accomplished in 2012).
But for Colorado coach Tad Boyle, chatter about all the possibilities is more a distraction than anything else. As he said after Thursday night's win over UCLA, "It's time to focus on USC and not worry about seeding in the Pac-12 tournament, not worry about next week. Let's get better tomorrow, let's have a great effort on Saturday, and then we'll see who and when we play in Vegas."
Saturday's game will also mark Senior Day for the Buffs, who will honor the team's only senior, Namon Wright.
A win would give the Buffs a season sweep of USC, a talented but inconsistent team this year. CU collected a 69-65 win over the Trojans on their home court in early February, getting a pair of clutch baskets from sophomore point guard McKinley Wright IV in the final two minutes of the game.
USC comes into Saturday's game carrying a three-game losing streak, including an 83-74 loss at Utah on Thursday.
But, Boyle said, "They are a dangerous team, much like UCLA. They are very talented, they are very athletic."
USC is led by 6-foot-10 senior forward Bennie Boatwright, who scored 24 against Colorado earlier this season and is averaging 20.7 points per game in conference play. Paired with 6-11 forward Nick Rakocevic (14.9 points, 9.8 rebounds), it gives the Trojans a solid combination up front.
"Boatright and Rakocevic are two of the best one-two punches in terms of front-line players as there is in our league," Boyle said. "Boatright's averaging 20 a game and Rakocevic might be the most improved player in the league, certainly one of them."
The Trojans are also capable from the outside. They are currently second in the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting percentage in conference game (38.9 percent) — and they are not afraid to put the ball up from behind the arc with regularity. USC is averaging nearly 30 3-point attempts per game over their last five outings, including 50 tries in a loss to UCLA last week.
But all that shooting from the outside has meant fewer trips to the free throw line. In USC's last three games, the Trojans have attempted just 23 free throws — and made only eight.
They did, however, bounce back with a solid 7-for-10 night against Utah from the stripe.
On the Buffs' side of the equation, keeping their big men out of foul trouble will be a key. In their first meeting this year, forward Lucas Siewert fouled out and Tyler Bey and Evan Battey both finished the game with four personal fouls.
"Our post guys have to play really smart and make those guys earn everything," Boyle said. "They're going to score, we have to limit them as best we can."
SENIOR DAY: Namon Wright, the only senior on the Colorado roster this season, will be honored at CU's regular season home finale Saturday.
Wright, a Los Angeles prep product who transferred to Colorado from Missouri in 2016, redshirted his first season in Boulder after the transfer — and suffered a foot injury that forced him to miss practice for virtually the entire season.
He returned to play in all 30 CU games last season and averaged 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds. But he re-injured his foot last summer, and instead of having surgery, chose to try to play through the injury. He appeared in 14 games but the injury proved to be too painful to continue, and his season ended with surgery in January.
"I'm just enjoying them playing well," Wright said of being forced to watch from the sidelines. "Yes, it's tough, but it's not about me. It's about the team and I'm just happy we're playing well leading into Pac-12 tournament play."
Wright is on schedule to graduate this spring with a degree in sociology. It is one thing, he said, that basketball helped him accomplish that will always be with him.
"I'm really proud of that," Wright said. "A lot of people where I come from don't do that. For more my family, that's one of the highest honors you can have where I come from, to graduate from college. I'm proud to finish and make my family proud. It's great to be there."
Boyle said the Buffs no doubt missed Wright's presence in the lineup this season.
"Our depth took a hit when Namon got hurt," Boyle said. "I feel bad for him as a senior that he went through that. It's not the senior year he wanted, it's not the senior year we wanted for him. But that's part of life and you have to look at the bright side. The bright side is he's going to be healthy, he's had surgery, he's on the road to recovery and he's going to leave here with his degree — which is the reason these kids should be coming to college in the first place. From that standpoint, it's not a sad day, it's a happy day."
BUFFS BITS: Tyler Bey took over the Buffs' team scoring lead with a 27-point effort in Colorado's win over UCLA on Thursday. Bey, who had his fourth-straight double-double in the game (13 rebounds) is averaging 13.2 points per game this year, ust ahead of fellow sophomore McKinley Wright's 12.9 ppg. Bey's 13 double-doubles this season tie him with USC's Nick Rakocevic for the most by a Pac-12 player this year. Bey is averaging 17.8 points and 12.2 rebounds over the last six games while shooting 63.4 percent from the floor. ... Wright, who had 9 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists vs. UCLA, is averaging 5.0 assists per game this year. ... D'Shawn Schwartz is averaging 13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds over CU's last three games.
THE SERIES: Colorado holds a 10-7 all-time lead in the series. CU broke a four-game losing streak to the Trojans with the February win, and the Buffs have a 5-2 all-time edge in Boulder. USC, however, has won the last two meetings in Boulder, with the Buffs' last win on their home court coming in 2015.
THE BROADCAST: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network with JB Long and Mike Montgomery. The radio broadcast will begin on 630 AM KHOW with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke, then move to KOA radio following the Colorado Rockies' postgame show.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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