LOS ANGELES — Given how the Colorado men’s basketball team took on a deer-in-headlights look once USC shifted to a zone defense late in Wednesday night’s Pac-12 game, the Buffaloes can expect upcoming opponents to use similar tactics.
Yet considering the array of the Buffs’ perimeter shooters that generally have performed well throughout the 2015-16 season, a team that leads the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage should salivate whenever it plays against a zone defense. CU didn’t Wednesday.
That is a shortcoming coach Tad Boyle hopes the Buffs (19-8, 8-6 Pac-12) figure out in a hurry. They will try to shake off their 79-72 loss at USC by salvaging a two-game split in Los Angeles at UCLA on Saturday night.
“They went to that zone with 7½ minutes to go,” Boyle said of the Trojans, “and we just didn’t handle it well. We’ve got good players. We’ve got good shooters. We’re one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league. We should lick our chops. It’s all mental.”
UCLA (14-12, 5-8) is coming off a 75-73 loss at home to Utah on Thursday night. High-scoring guards have given the Buffs trouble all season, and the Bruins have two in juniors Isaac Hamilton and Bryce Alford. Each player is among the top six scorers in the Pac-12. Hamilton ranks fourth, averaging 16.8 points per game. Alford, the son of UCLA coach Steve Alford, ranks sixth at 16.2.
“There was a lot of energy at practice (Thursday and Friday),” said CU sophomore guard Dom Collier. “We’re looking forward to getting the (bitter) taste out of our mouths (after losing). But they are too.”
