BOULDER — The way to finish in the top half of a conference and be considered for the NCAA Tournament is no secret: Hold serve at home and steal some wins on the road.
“It’s a simple formula that everyone subscribes to, and it’s the same in any (multiple-bid) league,” Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle said Friday before the Buffaloes (14-5, 3-1 Big 12) departed for today’s game at Oklahoma (9-9, 1-3).
Winning every Big 12 home game but losing all the road games results in an 8-8 conference mark. That may not be good enough. Colorado already has notched a road victory over then-No. 21 Kansas State that is sure to catch the eyes of the selection committee. But with Kansas, Texas A&M, Kansas State and Texas among the teams coming to Boulder, it will be a challenge for the Buffs to make a clean sweep at home.
If CU loses at home to No. 2 Kansas next week, the Buffs must balance that setback by finding another road victory to finish 9-7 in the league.
“It’s very important to win on the road,” CU senior guard Levi Knutson said. “Every game is important. But obviously you have to be a little more together as a team on the road, a little more composed with the atmosphere and knowing not everything is going to go your way on the road.
“This is going to be a great opportunity for us (against Oklahoma). We felt like we let one go at Nebraska.”
Playing stickier defense is critical on the road, CU coaches and players said. Colorado limited Kansas State to 40.4 percent shooting. Nebraska, which is often offensively challenged, hit 56.6 percent. In the 79-67 loss on Tuesday, Colorado couldn’t answer Nebraska’s 15-4 run in the second half.
“It’s the same thing on the road every time,” Boyle said. “If we defend and rebound we’ll be fine.”
This will be Colorado’s final opportunity to get a victory in Norman as a member of the Big 12. CU hasn’t won at Oklahoma since Feb. 9, 1980, when both teams were in the Big Eight. That’s a string of 23 losses.
“It’s been that long? I didn’t know that,” Boyle said. “I’m not going to mention that to our team until after the game.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
Notebook
Colorado: Buffs hope to rebound from a 79-67 loss at Nebraska on Tuesday that snapped a seven-game winning streak. . . . Senior guard Cory Higgins attempted just eight field goals against Nebraska and did not get to the free-throw line. . . . Sophomore Alec Burks went out of the game for three minutes of the second half with a minor leg injury but returned to lead CU with 22 points. . . . Altitude2 is Channel 105 for most Comcast subscribers along the Front Range.
Oklahoma: Sooners were a Big 12 power under coach Jeff Capel during the Blake Griffin days, but not anymore. Last season, OU posted a losing record (13-18) for the first time since 1980-81. . . . Andrew Fitzgerald, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, tops the Sooners with 14.1 points per game. He scored 20 in the Tuesday win over Texas Tech. . . . OU is last among Big 12 teams in scoring (66.9 for all games) and rebounding (31.7). . . . Sooners have won 40 of their past 41 games at home against unranked (AP) opponents — the exception was Texas Tech’s win in Norman last year.
