Exuberant Colorado men’s basketball fans already penciling in the Buffaloes for a spot in the NCAA Tournament bracket probably have not attended a game at Iowa State and do not understand how difficult it can be for a visitor to win in the raucous Hilton Coliseum, CU coach Tad Boyle said this week.
Boyle has traveled to Ames, Iowa, for the first time as a head coach for tonight’s game against the Cyclones. But Boyle knows his way around. During his playing days as a Kansas guard in the early 1980s, Boyle won just once in four trips to Ames.
All-time Kansas great Danny Manning joined the Jayhawks during Boyle’s senior season (1984-85) and Manning never won in Ames, going 0-4 there. That included a 10-point loss to the Cyclones in 1988 — the year Kansas won the national championship.
“Tough place to play,” Boyle said this week.
CU (18-11, 7-7 Big 12) has momentum from impressive victories last week at Texas Tech and at home Saturday against then-No. 5 Texas. Meanwhile, Iowa State (15-14, 2-12) sits at the bottom of the Big 12 standings as it begins a rebuilding process under first-year coach and local legend Fred Hoiberg.
Despite their team’s struggles, Cyclones faithful continue to show up. In fact, Iowa State ranks fourth among Big 12 schools in average home attendance (12,190) — behind only Kansas (16,444), Texas (13,669) and Kansas State (12,659).
“I can’t say enough about Iowa State fans,” Boyle said. “The Hilton Coliseum can get rockin’. And it’s their senior night. So it’s going to take a great effort on our part.”
Hoiberg will be conducting his first senior night celebration as a coach and said this week that it’s important to make it a memorable one for his players. Hoiberg, 38, ranks third among all-time Iowa State scorers (1,993 points from 1991-95) and went on to a successful NBA career as a player and executive. But apparently Hoiberg can’t forget a 71-68 loss to Oklahoma on March 1, 1995, in Ames.
“I didn’t play well on my senior day,” Hoiberg recalled Monday on the Big 12 coaches teleconference. “That still bothers me.”
In no surprise, Hoiberg is installing an up-tempo, NBA-style system. But there have been growing pains. Iowa State committed 17 turnovers in the Buffs’ 95-69 win Feb. 1.
CU expects Iowa State to try to get its crowd riled up by playing a fast-paced game.
“They like to run just like we do,” Buffs senior swingman Marcus Relphorde said. “It’s going to come down to which team can get back on defense and prevent a lot of the transition stuff.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
