BOULDER — Nobody expected the Colorado men’s basketball team to be a polished product in November, and four games into the season, it certainly is not.
As is the case every year, the nonconference portion of the schedule is giving the Buffaloes (3-1) opportunities to discover some weaknesses and work on them. They’ve also found a few strengths along the way.
Tuesday’s 68-53 win against Air Force at the Coors Events Center was a classic November game, with CU’s strengths and weaknesses on full display.
“Some really good things tonight, I thought, and a lot of things we can build on,” coach Tad Boyle said after that game. “We’ve got some things we’ve got to get better at.”
Overall, the Buffs are off to a good start, but there’s certainly potential to get better. CU has eight nonconference games to play, including Sunday’s at home against Lipscomb. That should be plenty of time to fix some of their issues before Pac-12 play begins in January.
“It’s still a work in progress with the Buffs,” Boyle said.
Here’s a look at the good and the bad through the first four games:
The good
Josh Scott: He has been a beast inside and has proved to be a better facilitator this season.
Xavier Johnson: He made an effort in the offseason to work on his defense, emotions and consistency and, so far, he has looked good in all three areas.
Dominique Collier: The true freshman has played just 39 minutes in two games but already looks like he should be the Buffs’ starting point guard.
Depth: The Buffs can comfortably use 10 players, and they have depth at every spot on the court.
Defense: At home, at least, the Buffs have been stingy on defense. Drexel, Auburn and Air Force all had a tough time at the Events Center. Those teams combined to make just 30.2 percent of their shots (54-of-179).
The bad
Discipline: This was not supposed to be an issue for a team that returned so much experience from last season. Yet, already the team has dealt with five different disciplinary issues, altering the starting lineup twice in four games.
Assist-to-turnover ratio: The Buffs were 11th in the Pac-12 in this area last season, at 0.82. So far, they’ve been about as bad, with a 0.83 ratio (44 assists, 53 turnovers).
Booker’s scoring: Senior Askia Booker is a scorer, and he has struggled mightily to do that this season. He’s averaging 7.3 points per game while making just 25 percent (9-of-36) of his shots.
