Buffs’ grit continues to be tested
CU facing uphill climb at Arizona schools
By Pat Rooney
Toughness, or lack thereof, has been a glaring shortcoming for the Colorado men’s basketball team.
That was on display yet again in an 11-point loss at Utah, which clearly was the more physical team on Saturday night.
It has been an unusual defect, particularly since the Buffaloes generally have put up a good fight, even in performances that were poor otherwise. The ability to fight back late in games often is the trait of a team that’s focused mentally.
Not with this bunch.
As head coach Tad Boyle explained, a 2022-23 season on pace to be just the third without an NIT or NCAA Tournament bid in Boyle’s 13 seasons at CU can be summed up somewhat simply. The Buffs are competitive, but they just aren’t tough enough.
“Our guys have fight, they have spirit. They just don’t have the toughness that they need when they need to have it, at times,” Boyle said after Saturday’s loss at Utah. “They just don’t have it consistently. And the whole thing with this team has been consistency. It’s been that way since the very beginning.
“I’m not worried about their grit. I question their overall toughness. Toughness cannot be confused with competitiveness. You can be competitive and not tough. You can play hard and not be tough. We’re not just tough.”
It’s been a wildly inconsistent season that has balanced wins against Tennessee (No. 3 in Monday’s NET ranking) and Texas A&M (No. 33 NET) with losses at Oregon State (No. 207) and California (No. 297), among other disappointments.
Yet the lack of toughness had been thwarting the Buffs since the season’s opening tip. Boyle repeated many of the same laments following Saturday’s loss at Utah (“Utah was the tougher team tonight. We weren’t tough enough defensively. We weren’t tough enough on the boards.”) as he did in November, offering these thoughts following a Nov. 20 loss against Boise State: “We have to get tougher. We wilt like flowers when people get into us. We just aren’t tough enough mentally. We’re not tough enough physically.”
If the season ended Monday, the Buffs (14-12, 6-9 Pac-12) would have the No. 7 seed in the Pac12 Conference tournament. But they remain tied with Stanford and Washington State in the loss column (CU owns the tiebreaker
against both teams), and the five remaining games in the regular season make it more likely CU will slip, not surge, in the standings.
CU is just 1-8 in true road games and begins a twogame trip through Arizona on Thursday night against Arizona State (6 p.m., Pac12 Network). The final three games of the regular season at home will be against the current fourth-ranked team in the nation (UCLA) and two others likely to be battling
for their postseason fate (USC, Utah).
That grit the Buffs generally have displayed will be put to the test down the stretch. Between the disastrous Dec. 31 loss at Cal and Saturday’s loss at Utah, CU was in position to post wins in each road game. The Buffs led frequently during the first half of a Jan. 5 loss at Oregon and led by a point at halftime two nights later at Oregon State. CU led by two at halftime at USC on Jan. 12 and had an upset bid brewing at UCLA before the Bruins pulled away down the stretch.
CU generally has played
well at home, but a poor showing this week in Arizona might be cause for alarm regarding that competitive spirit if there is little to play for in the season’s final weeks.
“It’s just hard to keep trying to come back when we dig ourselves a hole,” CU guard KJ Simpson said. “We can’t sit here and dwell on a loss. It’s too late in the season to sit here and dwell on something that we should’ve or would’ve won. Watch film, move on, get better in other aspects and get ready for our next opponent. That’s the best way.”