Statistically, the Colorado men’s basketball team has played fairly well on defense this season.
Going into Saturday, the Buffaloes ranked among the top 45 nationally (out of 355 Division I schools) in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and defensive rebounding. CU opponents have scored on fewer than half their possessions.
Those statistics aren’t enough to satisfy the Buffs (5-1), though.
“If I had to give it a grade right now, I’d give us a C,” CU coach Tad Boyle said of his team’s defense.
Junior guard Xavier Talton said, “I may even be harder on ourselves and maybe even go D-plus.”
While many of CU’s numbers look good, the Buffs know they should be better, because they haven’t come close to facing the best competition on their schedule.
“We need to understand that the better teams we play as the year goes on, offenses are going to get better and better, players are going to get better and better,” Boyle said.
Colorado expects a step up in competition Sunday when it visits Georgia (4-3).
The Bulldogs aren’t a powerhouse team, but they return three starters from a team that went 20-14 a year ago. All three of Georgia’s losses have come against quality opponents (Georgia Tech, Gonzaga and Minnesota), and the Bulldogs have been efficient on offense in most of their games.
Boyle said Sunday’s game will be like a conference game because of Georgia’s talent. Talton said the Buffs understand their defense has to be sharp.
“With the athleticism (of Georgia), we’re definitely going to have to box out and rebound,” Talton said. “We also have to get back in transition, because I know they’re going to look to run.”
That leads to the only two statistics Boyle cares about on defense.
“If our field-goal percentage defense is 40 percent or less and we outrebound somebody by eight, we ain’t losing,” Boyle said. “It’s not happening.”
