Colorado
Oregon
Boyle's Buffs Host Oregon, OSU In Critical Homestand This Week
January 03, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — With 16 Pac-12 games still remaining — 80 percent of the conference schedule — it might sound like a stretch to say the Colorado Buffaloes are facing a must-win weekend in Boulder.
But if Tad Boyle's Buffs have any designs on an NCAA Tournament berth, home wins against Oregon on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Oregon State on Saturday (7:30 p.m.) would go a long way in keeping those hopes alive.
Just a week ago, the Buffs (9-6 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) were in decent shape in the postseason hunt. Despite some disappointing losses early, CU was situated comfortably in the mid-40s in the NCAA's NET rankings, and they bolstered their situation with a road win at Stanford.
But a shocking New Year's Eve defeat at Cal — only the second win this year for the struggling Bears — handed CU its first Quad 4 loss of the year and pushed Colorado down into the 70s in the NET.
Now the Buffs need to right the ship in a hurry, especially with their annual road trip to the Los Angeles schools coming up after this week's two-game homestand.
No doubt, with 16 conference games still to play, plus the conference tournament, there are myriad ways the Buffs can put themselves back into the NCAA Tournament picture. A sizable win streak down the stretch could do the trick, and there's always the possibility of a conference tourney title to guarantee themselves of a bid.
But the best way to insert themselves back in the conversation is to protect their home floor the rest of the season and steal a few more road victories along the way — then tack on a couple of wins in the conference tournament.
That could be enough to bump their NET ranking back to an acceptable level and potentially give them a tournament-worthy resumé.
But to achieve those goals the Buffs will need to establish some consistency, something that has evaded them for much of the year.
It wasn't until the 11th game of the season that CU managed to post back-to-back wins, which set the stage for a five-game win streak. The game at Cal seemed to be the perfect opportunity for Colorado to push the streak to six, as well as collect a rare Pac-12 road trip sweep.
But the Bears jumped on the Buffs early and only a furious rally in the final two minutes made the 80-76 final look respectable.
Now, as Boyle is fond of saying, the price of poker has gone up considerably and the Buffs can't afford too many more bad hands.
One piece of the CU puzzle that has been consistent of late is point guard KJ Simpson. The Buffs sophomore earlier this week was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 28.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals on CU's trip to the Bay Area. Simpson is currently second in the conference in scoring, averaging 18.7 points per game.
But the Buffs will need more from their other starters, in particular juniors Tristan da Silva and Nique Clifford, both of whom struggled on CU's recent trip.
Da Silva, who had scored at least 20 points and grabbed at least eight rebounds in each of his previous three games, had just 15 points and eight rebounds in the two games combined. Clifford, meanwhile, totaled just six points and five boards in the two contests.
One other area the Buffs need to improve? Try the free throw line, where Colorado is shooting just 65 percent this year, last in the Pac-12.
QUICK LOOK OREGON: Picked to finish third in the Pac-12 in the preseason media poll, the Ducks (8-6 overall, 2-1 Pac-12) have had their ups and downs this season as well. Their losses included defeats at the hands of UC Irvine and Utah Valley, as well as three straight defeats at the hands of ranked teams — Houston, Connecticut and Michigan State.
But they are still a very talented team and have put together a decent 2-1 start in conference play. Guard Will Richardson leads the Ducks in scoring at 15.6 ppg and is second in the conference in assists with 5.9 per game. The Ducks are also getting good production from big man N'Faly Dante, who is averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
One interesting note: the Ducks have played just one true road game this year, a 65-56 loss at UCLA.
QUICK LOOK OREGON STATE: Wayne Tinkle's Beavers (7-7, 1-2) are also struggling to find some consistency. They own a conference win over Washington (a team that beat CU in early December), but they have also lost to Portland State (twice), USC and Texas A&M (who the Buffs soundly beat earlier this season).
The Beavers have three players averaging in double figures, led by freshman guard Jordan Pope (13.1 ppg) and junior forward Glenn Taylor (12.1 ppg).
Overall, the Beavers have struggled offensively, averaging just 65.5 points per game, 11th in the Pac-12.
