Buffs Prepare For Battle With Bruins In Saturday's Home Finale
February 21, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Rather quietly, the UCLA Bruins have been playing as well as anyone in the Pac-12 over the last month, winning six of their last seven and eight of their last 10 games.
But they won't be sneaking up on Tad Boyle's Pac-12 leading Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday — and it definitely won't be a quiet environment. Colorado is expecting its largest CU Events Center crowd of the season for Saturday's 2 p.m. home finale that will pit No. 18/17 Colorado (21-6 overall, 10-4 Pac-12) against the surging Bruins (16-11, 9-5).
The game will be the first-ever CU men's game in Boulder to be televised by CBS.
Boyle certainly hasn't had a problem getting his team's attention when it comes to UCLA. In their Jan. 30 meeting in Los Angeles, the Buffs dropped a 72-68 decision that saw the Bruins take a 12-point lead at the half, then fight off a CU rally down the stretch. The Bruins dominated the Buffs on the boards in the game, 39-29, while also getting a career-high 30 points from 6-foot-9 guard Chris Smith.
"They've turned a corner," Boyle said. "You can just see it in their film. We saw it in L.A. the way they guarded. They've got an identity about themselves defensively now that they didn't have in November, December. And they've got talented players."
Indeed, the Bruins have come a long way in their first year under head coach Mick Cronin. The team that lost to Hofstra, BYU and Cal State Fullerton in non-conference play — then lost three of its first four Pac-12 games — has no doubt turned the corner. The win over Colorado was the beginning of a stretch that has seen them win six of seven, with the only loss a narrow defeat at Arizona State.
The Bruins aren't near the top of the Pac-12 in either scoring or defense, as they are seventh in both categories — scoring at a 67.43 points-per-game clip and allowing exactly that same amount.
But they are making a solid living on the boards, averaging 34.93 rebounds per game and giving up just 30.93 per game — the best in the league.
"The rebounding battle is going to be the key," Boyle said. " We've got to compete on the glass, and they punked us on the glass in L.A."
Along with Smith, who is averaging 15.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in Pac-12 play, UCLA has a bruiser up front in 6-10, 245-pound sophomore forward Jalen Hill (9.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and a quality point guard in freshman Tyger Campbell (4.4 assists per game).
"They've got good interior players, good perimeter players," Boyle said. "You don't go to UCLA on a basketball scholarship you can't play, if you don't have talent."
The Bruins have also been playing solid defense over the last 10 games, giving up an average of 65.3 points per game in that stretch. UCLAÂ is also 15-0 this season when holding an opponent to 73 points or less.
"This is just an outsider's view, but it seemed like in November, December, the players were fighting the coach," Boyle said. "Now he has convinced the players what needs to be done on the defensive end and they're doing it. Credit to Mick Cronin and credit to their players for making that happen because they're a totally different team."
What the Buffs know they can't afford is another slow start, something that has plagued them at times throughout Pac-12 play. While they have managed to overcome most of those slow starts, they don't want to repeat Thursday night's effort against USC, when they trailed by 14 early before rallying for the win. They had a similar slow start in their first meeting with UCLA, but came up short in their comeback bid there.
"We need to be crisper," Boyle said. "Our effort has to be better, our pace has to be better."
Buffs point guard McKinley Wright IV echoed Boyle's sentiments — and put the burden on his shoulders.
"My energy was bad to start the game (against USC)," he said. "When that happens, my teammates' energy is bad. I have to get off to a better start and lead these guys in the right direction."
Saturday will also be Senior Day for the Buffs, and they will honor Lucas Siewert and Shane Gatling in their last game at the Events Center.
"It's going to be a show and we want it bad," Wright said. "We let one slip away in L.A. and that's one we need back so, we'll be ready."
TIPOFF: Saturday's game is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the CU Events Center.
THE SERIES: UCLA holds an all-time 12-6 lead in the series, but the Buffs had won four in a row before the Bruins snapped the streak with their win in late January. Colorado has a 4-3 edge in Boulder, including wins in the last two.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by CBS with Brad Nessler and Dan Bonner. The radio broadcast will be carried by 760 AM KDSP with Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
UP NEXT:Â CU then closes the regular season with three straight road games, beginning with a pair next week in the Bay Area. Colorado plays at Cal on Thursday, Feb. 27 (7 p.m., MT), then heads to Stanford on Sunday, March 1 (4 p.m. MT). The Buffs wrap up the regular season with a 12:30 p.m. game March 7 at Utah.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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