After a somewhat lackluster season with plenty of road blocks along the way, the University of Colorado has the chance to host one of the most daunting opponents they’ve faced all season, No. 13 Utah.
Will they be able to top one of the best contenders in the conference? It’s hard to say, but it will definitely be a tough home test.
The last time Colorado faced the Runnin’ Utes, it didn’t exactly go the way they hoped, to say the least. When the Buffs visited the Huntsman Center a month ago, Utah routed them 74-49 in a game that was high in turnovers and low in shooting percentages for Colorado.
When the Buffs graced Salt Lake City with their presence last month, they managed to only shoot 39.5 percent while committing 18 total turnovers, as opposed to Utah’s 42.6 percent and eight turnovers.
As with many of CU’s losses this season, a couple of scoring streaks from the Utes resulting in dry spells from the Buffaloes that led to a huge deficit the Buffs couldn’t recover from.
Undoubtedly, the large-margin loss directly resulted from Colorado’s inability to get anything going on offense. Throughout the matchup, senior guard Askia Booker and sophomore guard Jaron Hopkins were the only players to contribute more than 10 points, both hitting 12.
But, a lot has changed since then. The Utes are not the same team that sat pretty at 13-2 after downing the Golden Buffaloes. They’ve shown the cracks in their façade with two more losses to then No. 10 Arizona and UCLA, both away games. As a matter of fact, three of their four losses have taken place during road games.
If anything, their loss to the Bruins provides a learning opportunity for the beaten-down Buffs. Just last week, UCLA upset Arizona on their home floor in Southern California, 69-59, after running them down defensively and capitalizing in the paint. Norman Powell helped seal their victory with a 23-point performance to send UCLA over the edge.
Should the Buffaloes have any chance at pulling off the biggest Pac-12 upset of the season, these should be their key areas of focus. Pressure, more pressure, and a little intimidation to go along with it. When this team’s defense is solid, it can take down any opponent with it.
More importantly, however, the Buffs need to focus on playing more efficiently on offense. That means they’ll need to focus on scoring in the paint as UCLA did and avoid throwing the ball to Booker whenever they need an easy cop-out.
That also means they’ll need Booker more than ever on Saturday night. In nine of his last 10 games, the senior guard ran the offense with double-digit scoring, including a career-defining 43 points at USC last Thursday. He’s more than capable of leading the scoring with high numbers, as long as he stays out of foul trouble.
Most importantly, the home boys will need to pay attention to taking care of the ball, something that’s been a bit of a sore spot for them this season. This year alone, they’ve committed 251 total turnovers in 21 games, which rounds out to about 12 turnovers a game.
If the Buffaloes focus their energy on wearing down their Pac-12 foes, improving their overall offensive numbers while simultaneously holding onto the ball, they could actually pull this off. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at the Coors Events Center this Saturday.
Contact CU Independent Basketball Writer Alissa Noe at alissa.noe@colorado.edu.
