(CU Independent/Adam Milner. Rams logo courtesy CSU Athletics)
In search of their first road victory over a Division I opponent in two years, the Colorado men’s basketball team heads to the last place they won away from Boulder, Moby Arena in Fort Collins.
The Buffaloes will try to end their road woes in the basketball version of the 2009 Rocky Mountain Showdown on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and just like in September, the Colorado State team they will face presents a difficult challenge.
The Rams are 5-3 on the year and are an even more impressive 4-0 at home. Third-year coach Tim Miles is in a similar position to CU’s Jeff Bzdelik, since they are both coming off of a 9-22 season and are looking to get their clubs into the postseason.
Bzdelik said he recognizes this and knows CSU is a team on the rise.
“Tim’s done a great job of building that program where he wants it to be,” Bzdelik said. “They play extremely hard, they make shots and they pound the offensive glass really well.”
The Buffs (6-3) had a chance to pull out a road win last Friday at Oregon State, but let a late lead slip away in the final minutes and succumbed to the Beavers 74-69.
Bzdelik said he showed his team 35 defensive clips from the Oregon State game where they didn’t execute correctly by either allowing a basket, committing a foul or allowing an offensive rebound.
Junior guard Cory Higgins, who had a team-high 25 points in CU’s win over Colorado Christian on Monday night, said the team learned a lot from watching the game film.
“It showed us we can’t take possessions off,” Higgins said. “We’re not that good of a team that we can take a break. We don’t have that margin of error.”
Bzdelik echoed his player’s sentiment, summing up Colorado’s problems this season in a single statement.
“[We have to] sustain the aggression, effort and execution both offensively and defensively for all 40 minutes,” he said.
In typical Bzdelik fashion, the coach stressed the importance of treating this game like they have treated every game this season — the “one game at a time” approach – and not getting caught up in the intensity and emotion that comes with playing a rival.
“To me it’s never really about who we play, it’s about how we play and just trying to get better every day,” Bzdelik said. “We’re still a very young team that’s growing.”
The Buffs say they hope senior guard Dwight Thorne II will return against CSU as he missed the Colorado Christian game after injuring his ankle against Oregon State.
Freshman guard Alec Burks, who stepped up in Thorne’s absence with a game-high 19 points against the Beavers, said he is excited to get his first taste of the rivalry.
“I went to the football game and the rivalry was really big there, so I’m expecting the same thing,” Burks said. “I just can’t wait to play in it.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer David Starcer at David.starcer@colorado.edu.
