Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Open Homestand Against Surging Bears
February 05, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Way back in early October, the Pac-12 media picked the Cal Bears to finish dead last in the conference men's basketball race.
So much for preseason prognostications. When Tad Boyle's No. 24 Colorado Buffaloes (17-5 overall, 6-3 Pac-12) play host to the Bears (10-11, 4-4) on Thursday, they will see a team that is just one game away in the loss column from the league leaders.
The Buffs and Bears will tip it off at 6 p.m. at the CU Events Center (Pac-12 Network).
"Coach (Mark) Fox has them ready, has them competing," Boyle said after Wednesday's practice. "They play hard. They believe that they can win and that's half the battle."
Indeed, the Bears have been competitive — at least on their home court. While they are winless away from their home floor this year, they still own wins over Stanford, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State, and they have won two of their last three. It's been enough to already surpass last year's win totals, both overall and in league play.
"They're trying to figure out how to keep it close to give themselves a chance at the end," Boyle said. "They've been in a lot of close games and won some close games."
Indeed, the Bears have won with defense, especially in Pac-12 play. While they are last in the league in scoring in conference games (59.38 points per game), they are sixth in scoring defense (65.5 ppg).
They are also hungry for a win over a ranked team, something they haven't accomplished since last year.
"We've got that number next to our name," said Boyle, whose team has been ranked in the AP top 25 a program-record 10 weeks this season. "We've gone from hunter to the hunted on certain nights and we've got to be able to handle that. We haven't handled it as well as we need to."
The Bears are led by 6-foot-4 guard Matt Bradley, who is averaging 18.5 points and 5.75 rebounds per game in conference play. They also boast some size on the block, beginning with 7-0 freshman center Lars Thiemann.
But they aren't particularly deep, and Boyle expressed a desire to push the pace and test Cal at altitude.
"Depth is a strength of our team," Boyle said. "We're playing at home, we're playing at altitude. We want to speed the game up and make it a 94-foot game. That doesn't mean we're going to press for 40 minutes, it just means that we get stops and we have to run. We have to put a little pressure on them. We can't let them just use 28 seconds of every shot clock."
If the Buffs can collect a win Thursday, then protect their home floor again Saturday against Stanford (4 p.m.), it will give them a three-game win streak in league play — something they haven't managed yet this year.
But Boyle and his team have narrowed their focus considerably. There is no more talk about league titles or looking down the road.
"We're just talking about what does it take to win the next game," Boyle said. "That's all we have to be focused on, and and even beyond that, it's what do we have to do in practice to get better today as a group?"
BUFFS BITS: Boyle said shooting guard Maddox Daniels, who missed last Saturday's game at USC with a concussion, practiced Wednesday and would be available for Thursday's game … The Buffs were No. 18 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings on Wednesday and No. 17 in the Kenpom ratings … CU's Tyler Bey will almost certainly move into the top 10 on CU's career rebound list this week. Bey is currently tied for 11th with 707, just two behind No. 10 Larry Vaculik and four behind No. 9 Burdette Haldorson. He's also well within range of No. 8 Vince Kelley (730), but after that, the jump to seventh is a big one. CU Hall of Famer Jim "Spider" Davis occupies that spot with 863 … Senior Lucas Siewert is currently 14th on CU's list of all-time games played with 120, and will almost certainly move into the top 10. Currently tied for 10th are Levi Knutson, Stephane Pelle and Will Smith with 123.
TIPOFF: Wednesday's game is set to begin at 6 p.m. at the CU Events Center.
THE SERIES: CU holds a 17-15 all-time edge in the series, including four wins in a row and five of the last six. The Buffs beat the Bears twice last season, once in Berkeley and once in the Pac-12 tournament. CU is 11-2 against Cal in Boulder, including three in row.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks with Ted Robinson and Eddie House 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: The Buffs wrap up their homestand with a 4 p.m. game Saturday against Stanford, then hit the road for a pair next week, beginning with a Feb. 13 (Thursday) game at Oregon, followed by a Feb. 15 (Saturday) game at Oregon State.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
