Buffs reluctantly break out zone

stanford, calif.» Out of sheer necessity, Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle resorted to a ploy he likened to a taboo cuss word.

A return to form defensively helped the Buffs salvage a split of their first two Pac-12 games of the season, with CU bouncing back from a lethargic performance at California in a loss Friday to hold off Stanford for a 56-55 road win Sunday night.

CU was able to build enough of a cushion during an impressive first half to hold off the Cardinal down the stretch, and much of that advantage was put together with CU relying on a rarely utilized zone defense.

With the Buffs’ lone regular front-court reserve player, Tory Miller, sidelined and several other players saddled with two early fouls, CU settled into a zone far more frequently than usual. The tactic worked, as the Buffs held Stanford to a .315 shooting percentage, and 3-for-15 (.200) from 3point range.

“Shorter bench, foul trouble in the first half, and with Stanford there were some lineups in there where we thought they were zoneable, when they had one or maybe two shooters on the floor,” Boyle said. “It’s not something we want to do a lot, but the opportunity presented itself.

“Anybody who follows this program knows I think ‘zone’ is a four-letter word. I try to stay away from it as much as I can, but the guys did a good job with it.”

Miller hit his head on the floor in a tumble during Friday’s loss at Cal, and while he eventually returned to the rotation against the Golden Bears, he was held out against Stanford. With Miller sidelined, forward Wes Gordon matched a season high with 33 minutes, and center Josh Scott logged a season-high 38 minutes.