February push requires defensive hot streak
Three-game homestand begins Saturday with Utah
There still is a fervent belief within the Colorado men’s basketball team that a February push is well within the Buffaloes’ reach.
Putting one together will almost certainly require a hot streak defensively.
Although the Buffs managed to escape last weekend’s two-game trip through Los Angeles with a split, CU’S unexpected struggles on defense continued. With a run of three consecutive home games that begins on Saturday against Utah (7 p.m., Pac-12 Network), CU hopes to discover some consistency at an end of the floor that has been largely inconsistent throughout the entire 202324 season.
“That’s been a challenge with this group, for whatever reason,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “I think we’ve got smart guys. I know they hear it from me. And I know they see it in film. The Utah game was the same way. Our backs were against the wall and then we turn it around defensively. It was good. We’ve got to play with a sense of urgency from the get-go.
“If I had the answer, it would be fixed. Part of it might be I’m playing guys too many minutes. I’ve thought about that. We’ve got a capable team. And I’ve told them we don’t have to get 100% better.
We’ve just got to get 10 or 15 or 20% better and we’ll be fine.”
The .516 mark posted by USC in the first half on Saturday of what turned into a double-overtime win for CU marked the 19th half of play this season in which a Buffs foe has shot at least 50%. Heading into Thursday’s slate around the league, CU ranked ninth in Pac-12 games in defensive 3-point percentage (.360) and sixth in overall defensive field goal percentage (.453).
“You can see it, you can feel it, you can sense it when you’re out there on the court,” CU senior Tristan da Silva said. “Every time we play good defense and we finally get into transition