Colorado men’s team looking for Pac-12 victory at puzzling Arizona State.
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Colorado men’s basketball team managed to knock off Arizona and Arizona State in Boulder three weeks ago, both were ranked in the nation’s top 15 at the time.
It was easy to believe the Buffaloes were in store for some harsh payback this weekend in the desert.
The Wildcats got their revenge Thursday night, though CU (12-9, 4-5 Pac-12) played well in an 80-71 loss in Tucson.
But that payback date at Arizona State on Saturday may not be as daunting a challenge as it seemed just a few weeks ago. This month, the Sun Devils (15-5, 3-5) have morphed from one of the biggest surprise stories in college basketball to the biggest head-scratcher in the Pac-12 Conference. And if the Buffs put together a performance similar to the one that fell just short at Arizona on Thursday, they could be in position to pick up their second win in a true road game this season.
“For us, we have to play with the same kind of effort, the same kind of energy, the same kind of focus, and hopefully we can get a couple guys that didn’t play well (at Arizona) to play better on Saturday to match this kind of intensity and toughness we showed,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “We’ve got to figure out how to get to the (freethrow) line and keep other teams off the line.”
In the weekly AP national top-25 poll that was released on Christmas morning, the Sun Devils were sitting on top of the world. They were 12-0 in nonconference play and ranked third, even getting six firstplace votes.
A month later, No. 21 ASU is facing the very real possibility of dropping out of the top 25. While the Buffs were giving Arizona all it could handle Thursday, the Sun Devils faltered at home in an overtime loss against Utah.
“It’s a whole other team,” CU senior George King said. “Arizona, they’re an in-the-paint team. Arizona State is a perimeter team with four shooters. And they have a crafty point guard in Tra Holder. I’m looking forward to playing those guys.”
As King noted, Arizona State brings an entirely different defensive challenge than Arizona. ASU is much more perimeter-oriented, and in CU’s overtime win at home against the Sun Devils on Jan. 4, the Buffs held ASU to a 9-for-34 effort on 3-point attempts.