Itap a bad habit that cost Colorado dearly earlier this week at California. Yet itap one that careful observers of the Buffaloes know didn’t suddenly emerge during a particularly bad road trip.
The CU men’s basketball team limped home from an 0-3 road trip after a dramatic defensive collapse on Wednesday, turning a 20-point lead late in the first half into a dispiriting 82-78 loss in the final Pac-12 Conference trip to Berkeley, Calif.
CU harassed the Golden Bears into a .235 mark in the first half but then watched Cal shoot .581 with nine 3-pointers after halftime. That half-to-half disparity is nothing new for the Buffs, who will attempt to get turned around and end the three-game losing streak when a shorthanded USC team visits on Saturday night.
“One thing I love about the old football coach, coach (Bill) McCartney, is the ‘Mental is to physical as four is to one.’ Thatap all it is,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “Not that Cal’s going to shoot 23% in the second half like we (held) them in the first half. But it can’t be 23% in the first half and (58%) the next half. It just can’t be that way. And itap a mental thing, attention to detail, focus, the scouting report. Itap mental.”
In nine of 16 games this season, opponents have reached the 50% mark in at least one half against the Buffs. In two of those nine, road losses at Colorado State and Arizona, the opponent topped 50% in both halves.
Often, like at Cal, the Buffs have put together strong defensive starts only to lose their edge after halftime. In the second game of the season, Grambling State shot .231 in the first half but put up a .536 mark in the second half. The same thing happened in both games of the Sunshine Slam in Florida against Richmond and Florida State, with FSU shooting only .345 in the first half before recording a .607 mark after halftime. Utah Tech shot .365 in the first half at the Events Center on Dec. 21 but shot .515 after the break.
And while Washington didn’t shoot 50% in either half of a CU win in Boulder two weeks ago, the Huskies nonetheless bounced back from a .281 first half to shoot .485 in the second half.
The maddening part for Boyle and the Buffs is that in each of the aforementioned examples, CU played solid, and at times excellent, defense for extended stretches of each game. However, now past the halfway point of the regular season, the Buffs still have work to do in order to become a solid, 40-minute defensive team.
“My dad used to tell me all the time when he was getting on me about stuff, ‘I wouldn’t get on you if I haven’t seen you do it before.’ Itap just pretty much the same thing,” CU guard KJ Simpson said. “We’ve done it before. We’ve shown that we’re more than capable of doing it. We just have to go out there and have the mentality of focusing and doing that.”
The Buffs will try to get back on track against a USC squad that has been one of the more disappointing teams in the Pac-12, and which arrives at CU on the heels of a hand injury suffered by Isaiah Collier that will keep the standout freshman guard sidelined for four to six weeks. USC still features guard Boogie Ellis, who scored 21 points at the Events Center last year and ranks third in the Pac-12 in scoring at 18.7 points per game.
“We can’t say, ‘Isaiah Collier’s out, this is going to be easy.’ Because they’ve got good players,” Boyle said. “Boogie Ellis is a hell of a player. He’s torched us the last few years.“
USC Trojans at CU Buffs men’s basketball
TIPOFF: Saturday, 8 p.m., CU Events Center.
TV/RADIO: ESPN2/KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM.
RECORDS: USC 8-8, 2-3 Pac-12 Conference; Colorado 11-5, 2-3.
COACHES: USC — Andy Enfield, 11th season (221-144, 262-172 overall). Colorado — Tad Boyle, 14th season (283-177, 339-243 overall).
KEY PLAYERS: USC — G Boogie Ellis, 6-3, Gr. (18.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.4 apg, .455 3FG%); G Kobe Johnson, 6-6, Jr. (11.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.6 apg); F DJ Rodman, 6-6, Gr. (6.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg); F Joshua Morgan, 6-11, R-Sr. (6.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.3 bpg). Colorado — G KJ Simpson, 6-2, Jr. (19.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.3 apg, .522 FG%, .453 3%); F Tristan da Silva, 6-9, Sr. (16.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, .529 FG%); G Cody Williams, 6-8, Fr. (14.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, .581 FG%); F J’Vonne Hadley, 6-6, Sr. (10.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.6 apg, .560 FG%); C Eddie Lampkin Jr., 6-11, Sr. (9.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .532 FG%); G/F Luke O’Brien, 6-8, Sr. (6.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg).
NOTES: USC has won the past three games against CU after the Buffs had posted a seven-game win streak in the series. … In eight games off the bench since recovering from a heart condition, USC freshman Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, has averaged 5.9 points and 2.3 rebounds with a .410 field goal percentage. He recorded back-to-back double-digit scoring games against Oregon State (15 points) and California (10), but he has gone a combined 0-for-7 with just two points in the past two games. James could be in line for more minutes with Isaiah Collier sidelined. … The Trojans are 1-3 in true road games and have lost five of their past six away from home overall. … CU still leads the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage (.396) and free throw percentage (.769) but ranks eighth in overall defensive field goal percentage (.432) and 10th in defensive 3-point percentage (.340). … The Buffs’ three-game homestand continues on Thursday against Oregon (8:30 p.m., FS1).
