Back from break, Buffs take aim at Washington
Before the annual holiday break, maintaining focus can become a challenge. Final exams have to be handled, and it’s tempting to look ahead to the final extended run of off-days until the final horn sounds on the 2023-24 season.
After the break, though, it’s all basketball, all the time.
Following three full days off, the Colorado men’s basketball team reconvened in Boulder on Monday night to begin preparing for the program’s final Pac-12 Conference opener on Friday night at home against Washington (7 p.m., ESPNU).
If focus was an issue for the Buffs leading up to their final pre-break contest last week, a 98-71 rout of Utah Tech, it certainly didn’t show. Now, tunnel vision shouldn’t be an issue either as CU takes aim at one of the more intriguing matchups of the Pac-12’s opening weekend.
“This is the greatest three weeks to be a college basketball player. There’s no doubt about it,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said Wednesday. “Schoolwork, they don’t have to worry about that. They don’t have to worry about study hall. They can get in the gym and get extra shots up. This three-week period, to me, in many respects, can make a season. But it can break a season, too.
“Teams are going to get better this time of year, or they’re going to stay the same. And if you’re staying the same this time of year, you’re really getting worse. Because good teams are going to keep getting better.”
Boyle did not offer an update on injured wings Cody Williams and RJ Smith beyond “nothing’s changed.” Williams has missed four games this season, including the past three due to an injured left wrist. Williams’ status for Friday’s game remains questionable, and the Buffs surely want to make certain the talented freshman is back for good once he returns to the floor.
Plus, the Buffs haven’t played as if they’ve missed Williams. CU (9-2) is 4-0 without him, including a win against then-no. 15 Miami, while scoring at least 90 points in all four games.
“Like any first game, it kind of sets the tone for the season,” CU forward Tristan da Silva said. “It’s basically a new season that starts for us. Everybody starts 0-0. Having a good opponent coming in here, we’ve got to be on our A-game to make sure that we defend home court.”
Scoring change
A few corrections were made to the final box score of last week’s CU win against Utah Tech in the nonconference finale.
Most notably was a rebound erroneously credited to KJ Simpson that instead went to Eddie Lampkin. That reduced Simpson’s total from six rebounds to five but gave Lampkin 10 rebounds in the game, marking his second consecutive double-double and his third of the season. Lampkin now owns five double-digit rebound totals in 11 games, and the additional rebound was just enough to nudge Lampkin’s team-leading average from 7.4 per game to 7.5.
Utah Tech also was credited with an additional offensive rebound, giving it seven offensive boards and 21 total in the game.
Notable
CU added a new walk-on in Fort Collins native and former Fossil Ridge standout Nick Randall. Randall, a true freshman who spent the first semester as a regular student at CU, averaged 22.1 points last year at Fossil Ridge. He replaces Tristan Jackson, a walk-on who recently left the program. … Washington has won the past three games against the Buffs.