A long-range touch that has been mostly absent this season returned to form for the Colorado men’s basketball team the last time out.
According to the statistics, the Buffaloes have a grand opportunity to build on that possible breakout performance last week against Colorado State. Naturally, coach Tad Boyle wants the Buffs to continue rediscoving that outside touch by getting the ball inside.
A four-game homestand continues for CU on Thursday night against North Alabama, which, on paper, presents a grand opportunity for the Buffs to post their first back-to-back wins of the season. The Lions were at No. 271 in Wednesday’s NET rankings and arrive in Boulder allowing opponents to connect at a 40% clip from 3-point range.
Not only is Boyle concerned about how his team will focus after going through finals week, but he doesn’t want his Buffs to forget the best way to find the vulnerable spots along the perimeter of the North Alabama defense will be to work from the inside out.
“We always talk about getting paint touches before we get jump shots,” Boyle said. “If you’re taking quick jump shots, you’re letting the defense off the hook. We have to understand that as a team. We have a tendency to shoot the ball too quick sometimes.
“I want to be aggressive. If we can score in the first eight seconds of the shot clock, thatap great. But itap got to be after a paint touch. If you get paint touches, those jump shots tend to go in more often than not. You take quick ones without a paint touch, the basketball gods don’t like that.”
CU’s rout of CSU a week ago was highlighted by a 10-for-26 effort on 3-pointers, marking the second time in three games the Buffs have knocked down at least 10 3-pointers. Perhaps not coincidentally, both of those games were at home (CU also was 10-for-26 in a Dec. 1 loss against Arizona State). After a road-heavy early slate that produced some ugly 3-point numbers — 5-for-21 at Grambling State, 6-for-25 against UMass, 4-for-20 against Boise State — Boyle hopes a CU squad expected to be a solid 3-point shooting team has begun to turn a corner.
The Buffs’ finals will be in the rear view mirror by the time they hit the floor on Thursday night, with two more home games looming against Northern Colorado on Sunday and Southern Utah next week before the club breaks for a few days over Christmas. North Alabama is a road-tested team that already has played six true road games, including at Memphis and Georgia Tech. While the Buffs should enjoy a clear size and talent advantage, North Alabama could provide a test for CU’s defense, as the Lions own a .487 field goal percentage while averaging 78.7 points.
“Definitely an efficient offense,” CU forward Tristan da Silva said. “We’ve got to keep the ball out of the paint. Thatap one of the things we have to look out for. They’re real athletic and they know how to get in the paint, and then take the threes away from their shooters. We have to make sure we’re locked-in individually and know how to execute our game plan.”
North Alabama Lions at CU Buffs men’s basketball
TIPOFF: Thursday, 6:30 p.m., CU Events Center.
TV/Radio: TV — Pac-12 Networks. Radio — KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM.
RECORDS: North Alabama 6-4; Colorado 5-5.
COACHES: North Alabama — Tony Pujol, 5th season (51-75 at North Alabama and overall). Colorado — Tad Boyle, 13th season (259-160, 315-226 overall).
KEY PLAYERS: North Alabama — G Daniel Ortiz, 6-0, So. (13.7 ppg, .468 3-point percentage); F Damian Forrest, 6-9, Jr. (10.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, .554 field goal percentage); G KJ Johnson, 6-3, Jr. (10.0 ppg, 3.1 apg). Colorado — G KJ Simpson, 6-2, So. (17.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.4 apg); F Tristan da Silva, 6-9, Jr. (12.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg); F J’Vonne Hadley, 6-6, Jr. (10.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, .561 field goal percentage).
NOTES: This is the first matchup between the programs… North Alabama’s Damian Forrest is a Fort Collins native from Poudre High School. The Lions feature another Fort Collins native in freshman Aidan Kuhl, a Rocky Mountain High School graduate who has averaged 3.0 points in seven games off the bench…The Lions are coming off back-to-back wins against Morehead State and Alabama State. North Alabama trailed by 18 points late in the first half at Morehead State before rallying for a six-point victory, outscoring the hosts 56-34 in the second half…North Alabama became a Division I program beginning with the 2018-19 season. The Lions have never defeated any team from the SEC, ACC, Big 12, or the Big Ten (0-25 all-time; 0-8 Division I). This is North Alabama’s first game against a Pac-12 foe…CU’s homestand continues on Sunday against Northern Colorado (3 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
