Contact CU Independent Men’s Basketball Writer Alissa Noe at alissa.noe@colorado.edu and follow her on Twitter @crazysportgirl1.
The first week of Pac-12 play has not been kind to the University of Colorado men’s basketball team, but the Buffs are hoping to rebound against a talented Oregon State team on Wednesday.
It’s no secret that the conference this season has been the most competitive it’s been in years, and no team is safe. One of the most unlikely teams, Washington, currently leads the conference with three wins early on. USC, Oregon and Oregon State follow right behind.
To put that into perspective, USC and Washington were picked to finish 10th and 11th, respectively, in the conference prior to the start of the season. Previous powerhouses Arizona and Utah are struggling just as much as Colorado at the moment, with one win and two losses apiece.
To put it bluntly, the chase for the Pac-12 title is wide open this year. There is no room for comfort or assumptions.
The Buffaloes have struggled early on in 2016, dropping their first game of conference play at California, 79-65. Though they rebounded the next road game at Stanford, they nearly blew a 16-point lead before sealing the deal with a 56-55 victory.
Colorado’s contest against Utah at home last week wasn’t pretty either. For 30 minutes of the game, the Buffs played well. Senior forward Josh Scott was able to hold the Pac-12’s premier big man Jakob Poeltl at bay while the rest of the team kept the competition strong.
At halftime, the Buffs were staying with the Utes, only trailing by two, 26-24. Midway through the second half, they improved to a nine-point lead before letting it all slip away. Throughout the remainder of the game, the Buffs failed to execute on offense and defense and lost on a heartbreaking buzzer shot, 56-54.
Oregon State’s Beavers, on the other hand, have been enjoying a little more success in conference play. After their first three games, they sit at 2-1 with an overall record of 11-3. Though none of their non-conference wins are much to boast about, they’ve already pulled a couple upsets early on this calendar year.
Take Oregon, for example. The Beavers hosted their in-state rival a couple weeks ago and ended up stunning the Ducks by 13 points. On top of that, Oregon State bested the California Golden Bears (who decimated Colorado just a week before) 77-71.
It’s safe to say the the Beavers will be riding high coming off of that win into Wednesday night’s visit to Boulder.
Colorado is averaging about 78.4 points per game, but the Beavers are right behind the home team with 74.5 points. This matchup might very well be a shootout — that is, if Colorado doesn’t play sound enough defense.
CU has shown promise on defensive end at times, but rarely has it sustained a full 40 minutes of pressure, especially against quality teams. The Buffs will have to find a way to shut down Gary Payton II, Tres Tinkle and Stephen Thompson Jr., who are averaging 18, 14 and 11.3 points in conference play so far.
The key for the Buffaloes, however, will be to limit their turnovers. Poor ball-handling has been contagious recently and has cost the team a couple of games.
For Colorado, the recipe for success includes a hearty helping of three-point shots while keeping Oregon State’s shooting beyond the arc at bay. Other keys: open up the offense for George King and Josh Fortune to shoot from deep, give the ball to Scott in the paint and feed it to Wes Gordon at the top of the key.
But, most importantly, the Buffs cannot allow the Beavers to gain any type of significant lead. Even though the Buffs managed to overcome and turn around various major deficits during nonconference play, their Pac-12 opponents won’t be as forgiving. It’s best not to put themselves in that position, period.
Colorado tips off against Oregon State Wednesday at 9 p.m. in Boulder.
