In a secluded room deep within Desert Financial Arena at Arizona State, Tad Boyle was comfortable taking a moment to bask in the glow of a Colorado victory.
What he wasn’t ready for then – or, really, at any stage of the Big 12 slate – was too look too far beyond what’s immediately in front of the CU men’s basketball team. Yet what’s ahead is another promising opportunity for the Buffaloes.
After returning to the Big 12 Conference last year with an 0-13 start in league play, the Buffs opened this year’s conference schedule with a win at Arizona State, doing something they didn’t do all last season by picking up a Big 12 road win.
The Buffs resume the Big 12 schedule on Wednesday night with their first conference home game against Utah, a matchup that presents a chance to script a 2-0 start before the schedule takes a more demanding turn.
“Let’s just figure out how to beat Utah,” Boyle said. “If I start looking ahead at our schedule, I’ll become neurotic, and I’ll lose the rest of the hair that I have, and I’ll have ulcers. I’m not interested in that.
“I can’t look and I can’t think about wins, losses, road games, home games, who we should beat, who we shouldn’t beat. Just go out and try to win the next game and get better, make your team better. I’ve asked our players to do that, so maybe our emotional state doesn’t go with wins and losses. Because when you tie your emotional state to wins and losses, you’re ready for a roller coaster, especially in the Big 12. You’ve gotta tie your emotional state to getting better every day and committing to improving.”
While Utah’s offensive numbers lag somewhat behind the Buffs’ marks, both teams are, statistically, the worst defenses in the Big 12, setting the stage for another possible high-scoring affair for the Buffs, who toppled Arizona State 95-89 on Saturday.
Five of CU’s 14 games have featured two teams scoring at least 80 points, and there nearly were two others (an 84-78 opening win against Montana State, plus a 95-79 win against UC Davis).
“It sets us up,” forward Sebastian Rancik said of the win at ASU. “Winning on the road was good. It just gives us some momentum. We gotta take it game-by-game, and we’ve got to focus on Utah and how to win that game.”
The Buffs and Utes boast two of the most vulnerable defenses in the Big 12. CU ranks 14th in the 16-team league in scoring defense, allowing 78.2 points per game, while Utah is 15th at 78.8 per game. The Buffs rank 15th in defensive field goal percentage (.454) but the Utes are the only team behind them, ranking last at .465. The Utes are slightly more efficient at 3-point defense, ranking 13th with a defensive percentage of .340, while the Buffs are last at .373.
CU’s inconsistent and often porous defense has been a source of frustration for Boyle. Given the Buffs’ offense has had only one sub-par game — a Dec. 20 loss against Stanford in Phoenix — even a decent game defensively against Utah will have the Buffs well-positioned for a 2-0 start in the Big 12.
“It’s good confidence for the guys, for our team, knowing we can win road games,” CU guard Isaiah Johnson said. “It should definitely lead over to the next game and to the next game. We’ve just got to continue to play hard.”
Utah Utes at CU Buffs men’s basketball
TIPOFF: Wednesday, 7 p.m., CU Events Center.
TV/RADIO: ESPN+/KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM.
RECORDS: Utah 8-6, 0-1 Big 12 Conference; Colorado 11-3, 1-0.
COACHES: Utah — Alex Jensen, 1st season (8-6 at Utah and overall); Colorado — Tad Boyle, 16th season (323-207, 379-273 overall).
KEY PLAYERS: Utah — G Terrence Brown, 6-3, Jr. (21.8 ppg, 4.1 apg, 2.2 rpg, .459 FG%); G Don McHenry, 6-2, Gr. (18.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, .425 3%); F Keanu Dawes, 6-9, Jr. (12.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 2.1 apg, .600 FG%); F Seydou Traore, 6-6, Jr. (9.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, .382 3%); F Kendyl Sanders, 6-8, Fr. (5.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, .342 3%). Colorado — G Isaiah Johnson, 6-1, Fr. (15.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, .525 FG%, .435 3%); G Barrington Hargress, 6-1, R-Jr. (13.6 ppg, 4.8 apg, .585 FG%, .586 3%); F Sebastian Rancik, 6-11, So. (13.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, .358 3%); F Bangot Dak, 7-0, Jr. (11.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, .488 FG%); F Alon Michaeli, 6-9, Fr. (10.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg); G Felix Kossaras, 6-6, So. (6.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, .569 FG%); C Elijah Malone, 6-10, Gr. (6.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, .578 FG%).
NOTES: CU has won its past three home matchups against Utah, as well as six of the past seven battles in Boulder. … The teams have played three common opponents. Like the Buffs, Utah recorded home wins against Eastern Washington and Cal Baptist. But the Utes lost on Dec. 29 at Washington, which the Buffs defeated on a neutral floor in November. … Jensen is a former Utes player who is in his first season as a head coach at any level. He spent the past 12 seasons as an assistant in the NBA, including the past two seasons with the Dallas Maveraicks. … Utah opened its Big 12 schedule by getting routed 97-78 at home by No. 1 Arizona. … Utah has played the past four games without guard Jacob Patrick, who averages 7.2 points per game with a .465 3-point percentage. … The Utes were picked 13th in the preseason Big 12 coaches’ poll. … Colorado has posted its three highest turnover totals of the season in the past four games. … The Buffs have shot just .289 on 3-pointers (22-for-76) over the past four games. … The Utes rank 15th in the Big 12 with an average rebounding margin of minus-0.7. … CU continues its first Big 12 homestand on Saturday against No. 14 Texas Tech (5 p.m., CBS Sports Network).
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