Boyle's Buffs Set For Visit From Oregon State
January 04, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Tad Boyle hasn't had to remind the Colorado Buffaloes what happened the last time Oregon State paid a visit to Boulder.
They all remember it well.
Just less than a year ago, OSU paid a late-January visit to the CU Events Center and left with a 76-74 win that dropped CU's Pac-12 record to 2-6. It was a painful loss, but it also proved to be a turning point in the Buffs' season. The Buffs bounced back to defeat Oregon in their next game, the beginning of a five-game streak that was part of a 12-4 CU finish to the season that also included a 73-58 win over the Beavers in the Pac-12 tournament.
Now, combined with this year's 12-2 record (1-0 Pac-12), Colorado is 24-6 since that home loss to Oregon State, including a 7-0 mark in conference home games. The Buffs can push that to eight Sunday when they play host to OSU (10-3, 0-1) in a 4 p.m. game at the Events Center.
"We're ready," said CU point guard McKinley Wright IV, who had a crucial turnover late in last year's game in Boulder. "That's all I can say, we're ready. We let that one slip last year at home. I had the chance late to win that game. We didn't execute. Sunday we will need the house packed and we're ready to go."
The Beavers, picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12 preseason media poll, are coming off an 81-69 loss at Utah on Thursday. But they have a formidable lineup that includes preseason conference player of the year Tres Tinkle, a 6-foot-7 senior forward who is in the league's top 10 in scoring (20.3 points per game), rebounding (7.2), assists (3.9) and steals (1.6). Combined with guard Ethan Thompson (15.8 ppg) and 7-0 center Kylor Kelley (11.1 ppg, 4.38 blocks), it is a balanced group.
Boyle said stopping Tinkle and Thompson will take a team effort.
"You have to try to make him (Tinkle) play in a crowd," Boyle said. "It's team defensive mindset that we have to have against both he and Thompson. They're both really good one-on-one players. They're good shooters, they're good drivers, they're good in the paint, they can score at all three levels. It's a team thing. It's not just an individual thing."
The Buffs are riding a five-game win streak that includes wins over No. 13 Dayton and No. 4 Oregon. Their defense has been solid throughout the stretch while their offense has scored at least 74 points in each win. Wright has been especially strong on the offensive end in the last four contests, averaging nearly 15 points and 6.5 assists.Â
Against the Beavers, the Buffs will have to contend with Kelley, who is second in the nation in blocked shots.
"You have to either take the ball at him or you have to shot-fake him," Boyle said. "If you try to go in and go around him or jump over him or fade away from him, he's going to block your shot. He's got great length, he's got great timing, he's got great bounce. You just have to be aware."
CROWD COUNT: The Buffs are no doubt hoping for another solid crowd on the heels of Thursday night's sellout Events Center gathering for the win over Oregon.
"Love the crowd," said CU junior D'Shawn Schwartz after the Oregon game. "When we have games like that we need them. Not only do they intimidate the other team but they really get us going. We love giving back to the fans just as much they give to us."
WRIGHT STUFF: Almost since the day he arrived on campus, CU's Wright has been a clutch performer. In just his third game as a Buff, Wright hit two 3-pointers in the final 16 seconds — including one at the buzzer — to lift the Buffs to a 70-69 win over Quinnipiac.
He's been coming up big in such situations ever since, with the latest his performance down the stretch in CU's 74-65 win over No. 4 Oregon on Thursday. Wright had 11 points in the final 4:10 of the game, including five points and an assist in a decisive 7-0 run.
"It's like having Tom Brady at quarterback," said CU coach Tad Boyle. "It feels pretty good. You have a good quarterback that's a good decision maker that isn't afraid to make big plays and takes responsibility when things don't go well, those are the guys that you really appreciate as a coach. That is the quarterback position in basketball. The ball's in his hands."
Wright needs just five more rebounds to hit 400 for his career. When he gets there, he will join former Buffs great Donnie Boyce as the only player in CU history with at least 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists. Wright currently sits at 1,097 points, 405 assists and 395 rebounds. Boyce finished his career with 1,995 points, 644 rebounds and 405 points.
Wright is currently tied with Boyce and Nate Tomlinson for sixth on the all-time CU assist list.
GATLING TAKES NEW ROLE: Since logging 30 minutes in a reserve role in Colorado's win over No. 13 Dayton before Christmas, senior guard Shane Gatling has started the last two games.
Gatling, who arrived last year as a junior college transfer with a shooter's reputation, has just eight points in that three-game span. But he has added nine assists, seven rebounds and just four turnovers in that span, along with some outstanding defense.
It's the last part of the equation that has kept him on the floor. Against Oregon, he helped hold Ducks sharpshooter Anthony Mathis to just seven points.
"He's been assisting the ball," Boyle said. "His defense on Mathis was superb. He's locked in defensively. There's a lot of different things that you can do to help the team and Shane's figured that out."
Gatling is shooting just 29.2 percent from 3-point range, far below what the Buffs expect from him. He's had more than one 3-pointer in a game just twice this year, but one of those was a key 4-for-6 effort in a win over Colorado State.
But the Buffs are confident his shooting eye will return — and until then, his defense and playmaking are keeping him on the floor.
"We'd like him to start shooting the ball like he's capable of," Boyle said. "He's better than a 29 percent 3-point shooter, we all know that. He needs to get in the gym and get his stroke going. When he's open, we want him to shoot."
TIPOFF: The game is set for 4 p.m. at the CU Events Center.
THE SERIES: Colorado holds a 15-8 all-time edge, including a 73-58 win over OSU in last year's Pac-12 tournament.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by ESPNU with Roxy Bernstein and Corey Williams. 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: The Buffs play just once next week, a 4 p.m. home game Sunday (Jan. 12) against Utah. The game will be the second part of a CU men's and women's doubleheader, with the women scheduled to play host to UCLA at noon.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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