Finals week and rivalry week are overlapping for the Colorado basketball team, as it takes on Colorado State on Thursday at the CU Events Center, and head coach Tad Boyle has an extra homework assignment for his players: make 100 free throws every day.
On Sunday, the Buffs shot 46% from the line (6-13) while Washington shot 88% (14-16). Missed free throws along with their usual inconsistent defense and scoring droughts resulted in a 73-63 loss to the Huskies.
“We played really good defense for 35 minutes,” Boyle said. “The last 4 minutes of the first half and the first minute of the second half, they outscored us 19-2. So you take that five minutes out or just instead of 19 to two, maybe it’s 10 to two. It’s the 40 minutes of consistency. We’re right there, 35 ain’t bad -- it’s better than 20. We were 20 a few weeks ago. … We’re making progress, but we’re not what we need to be.”
Frustrating losses have been a frequent theme this season, but the Buffs (4-5) will look to get back to .500 at the Rams (6-3). Colorado leads the all-time series 91-38 (a 54-9 record at home).
To do so, the Buffs need to get KJ Simpson going again. He's coming off relatively quiet 13-point games against Washington and Arizona State and a 10-point game against Yale. He set his career-highs against the Buffs' most difficult opponents Tennessee (23 points) and Texas A&M (30). When Simpson’s shots won't land, the Buffs find themselves in precarious situations.
The Buffs’ defense has also contributed to second half, high-stress situations. Putting together two cohesive halves is still a work in progress.
“Every other game goal we have we’ve hit one or twice and what that tells me is we don’t have an identity,” Boyle said. “Our team does not have an identity. You look at Colorado State, they have an identity. Their identity is they pass the ball at an elite level. Their turnovers show that, they share the ball at an elite level with their assists. They have an identity of being a team that can really score.”
The Rams assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.76 (ranking 5th in Division I) and they're averaging 17.6 assist per game (19th in D1).
“I look at Colorado State’s numbers and I look at our numbers from an assist-turnover ratio, it’s like an NBA team versus a junior high team,” Boyle said.
On multiple occasions during practice, Boyle mentioned the name Patrick Cartier -- the Rams’ graduate forward who is averaging 12 points per game and put up 23 points against Northern Colorado last weekend.
Senior guard Isaiah Stevens missed the first seven games for Colorado State, but he is now he’s healthy and averaging 16.5 points per game in his two games back, while senior guard John Tonje is averaging 15 points and 6.1 rebounds.
“They got a lot of solid players -- seniors, juniors, a lot of upperclassmen that know how to play and that are solid overall,” Buffs forward Tristan da Silva said. “They're really good at sharing the ball and taking care of the ball as well. So we got to make sure that we apply some pressure and make it tough for them to have easy passes and easy looks that give them their assists and their low turnover ratio.”
It should be a packed house in Boulder as the Buffs haven’t played the Rams since 2019. The at-home rivalry game can provide a boost of confidence to get them back to the team that Boyle believes they can be.
“I want our players to play with confidence and I think they do know that we are better than what our record says we are,” Boyle said.
