Boyle's Buffs Set For Home Matchup With Washington State
January 22, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With the memories of a 21-point loss at Arizona still fresh in their minds, the 23rd-ranked Colorado Buffaloes have a chance to put the defeat behind them Thursday when they play host to Washington State in an 8 p.m. game at the CU Events Center (Pac-12 Networks).
The Buffs (14-4 overall, 3-2 Pac-12) have never lost to the Cougars in Boulder, owning an 8-0 home mark that includes seven in a row in Pac-12 play.
But these aren't the Cougars of recent years. Under the direction of first-year head coach Kyle Smith, WSU has constructed a 12-7 record — already surpassing last year's win total — and a 3-3 conference mark that includes last weekend's sweep of the Oregon schools.
"They've been playing with aggressiveness and confidence," CU coach Tad Boyle said. "They're not the same Washington State team that we've seen. They have a new coaching staff and they've got kind of new blood, a couple new players. They're a confident team and they're not going to be afraid. We have to be ready to take on a challenge. This is league play."
Indeed, the Cougars won't be lacking in confidence after wins over Oregon and Oregon State, two games that helped WSU's CJ Elleby claim Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. The 6-foot-6 sophomore forward had a 25-point, 14-rebound double-double in the Cougars' 72-61 win over the Ducks, then scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in an 89-76 win over Oregon State.
Elleby, averaging 18.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, wasn't much of a factor in a 92-60 Colorado win in Boulder a year ago, finishing with just six points. But in a return matchup in Pullman a month later, he had 18 points and eight rebounds in a 76-74 WSU win.
"He's used in a lot of different ways for them," Boyle said. "He's a terrific basketball player and he's a guy we have to be aware of."
One of the most important additions to the WSU lineup has been junior college transfer point guard Isaac Bonton. The 6-3 junior is averaging 14.6 points per game, and is coming off a 34-point, eight-rebound, eight-assist game against Oregon State.
"Those are two prolific scorers and are the guys that generate a lot of their offense," Boyle said. "But they've got a lot of very capable guys around them. We just have to understand who's the driver and who's a shooter, and we have to make them work for everything."
The Buffs will be aiming to correct a number of woes that plagued them on the second half of their road trip to the desert. CU finished with a season-low 54 points in the loss at Arizona, and the Buffs were also outrebounded in both games against the Arizona schools. CU went 0-for-9 in game goals against the Wildcats — a first since the Buffs began tracking those nine areas last season — and they've spent the last three days working on those issues.
They hope to see that work pay off Thursday.
"We've had three good practices," Boyle said. "We won't know until 8 o'clock (Thursday) if we got our edge back or not, but I believe in this team and I trust this team. We've risen to the challenge after we've gotten our tails kicked. I believe we will."
TEACHING MOMENT: In the wake of the end-of-game brawl between Kansas and Kansas State players on Tuesday, Boyle and his staff talked to the Buffs on Wednesday about learning from the incident.
"It's just a great teaching moment," Boyle said. "I would rather learn from somebody else's mistakes, and I like our players to do the same. Learn from the mistakes that were made by both Kansas and K-State and not let them happen to us."
BEY HONORED: Junior forward Tyler Bey is one of 15 members of the midseason team for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. Bey leads the Pac-12 in rebounding (9.3 rpg) and defensive rebounding (7.1 drpg), and is fourth in steals (1.7 spg) and fifth in blocked shots (1.4 bpg). He is the only player in the Pac-12 ranked in the top five in all four categories.
TIPOFF: The game is set for 8 p.m. at the CU Events Center.
THE SERIES:Â The Buffs hold a 13-5 all-time edge in the series, including an 8-0 mark in Boulder, where Colorado has won all seven since entering the Pac-12 in 2011-12.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Network with JB Long and Matt Muehlebach on the call. The radio broadcast will be carried by 850 AM and 94.1 FM KOA, with Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
UP NEXT:Â The Buffs wrap up their two-game homestand Saturday with a 7 p.m. game against Washington at the CU Events Center (FS1). The Buffs then head to Los Angeles next week for a Thursday game at UCLA (9 p.m.) and a Feb. 1 (Saturday) game at USC (8:30 p.m.).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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