Andre Roberson says the Colorado basketball team is feeling desperate as it prepares for a road game Wednesday night at Washington. Coach Tad Boyle says it's too early in the season for his team to go into desperation mode.
Whether they're desperate or not, the Buffs have to find a way to earn a victory against the Huskies in a traditionally tough venue for visitors.
Washington is 3-0 in Pac-12 Conference play with all three of its victories coming on the road. The Buffs are 1-3 in conference play and looking to get back into the thick of the conference race after losing at home to UCLA last week and being swept in two games in Arizona two weeks ago.
"This trip is very desperate at this point," Roberson said. "Losing a game to UCLA at home was definitely a big loss. We've got to try to get this thing turned around as quickly as possible. Washington is definitely beatable and I feel like we need to get on the right page and everybody come together and go out there and prove that we are one of the top in the league."
This is a matchup between the defending regular season conference champions and the defending conference tournament champions. Roberson and his teammates were hoping to put themselves in a better position this year in mid-March and avoid having to win the conference tournament to earn an NCAA tournament bid.
So far, it isn't going as planned.
The Buffs are playing catch-up in an improved league this year.
"We're not in desperation mode," Boyle said. "We're not going to hit the panic button. What we have to understand is why we are where we are and what we need to do to put ourselves in position to win games. What we have to do is we have to get stops at key points in the game."
Boyle said the UCLA game is a perfect example of how the Buffs failed to make stops when they needed them most. He said during a roughly 4-minute stretch from the 5 minute mark until there was 1 minute remaining, UCLA had the ball six times and CU allowed the Bruins to score on four of those possessions. He said if the Buffs made stops on four of those possessions instead of two, it would have been a tie game entering the final minute.
"It's a whole different mindset when you get stops," he said.
Washington has a talented and experienced roster led by junior guard C.J. Wilson and senior center Aziz N'Daiye. The Huskies have allowed their first three Pac-12 opponents to average just under 57 points a game, best in the conference.
N'Daiye is a monster in the middle at 7-foot and 260 pounds. He has made 18 of 23 field goal attempts in Pac-12 play. The Buffs did not fare well the last time they saw a 7-footer. Arizona State center Jordan Bachynski blocked nine shots from the Buffs three games ago.
The Buffs started fast in that road game but allowed Bachynski to get in their heads. CU also started fast in a near-miss at No. 4 Arizona. Roberson said the Buffs leave Boulder with a sense of confidence but they have to avoid the lulls that have plagued them this season and have led to giving back double-digit leads in their past two road games.
"This year we've kind of struggled coming out in the second half and that's one thing we have to work on," Roberson said. "Out here on the floor we start good in practice and then kind of drop off. We've got to get all 40 minutes rolling on the court. If we do that, we'll be a hard team to beat."
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CU men's hoops preview
WEDNESDAY: The Colorado Buffaloes (11-5, 1-3) visit the Washington Huskies (11-5, 3-0) at 9:36 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena.
BROADCAST: Television on the Pac-12 Network with Kevin Calabro (play-by-play) and Lenny Wilkens (analyst). Radio on KOA (AM 850) with Mark Johnson (play-by-play) and Chad Brown (analyst). Follow on Twitter: @RyanThorburn.
CU STORYLINES: The Buffs lost at home to UCLA on Saturday and are badly in need of a win to make up ground in the conference standings. ... CU is just 1-4 in true road games this season but has held a double-digit lead in two of those losses. The Buffs are 3-0 in neutral court games so they have shown they can play well away from the Coors Events Center. ...This is Colorado's first trip to Washington since the 1995-96 season. ... The Buffs have played the most games decided by 10 points or less in the Pac-12 Conference. They are 7-4 in those games.
WASHINGTON STORYLINES: The Huskies are 6-3 at home this season. ...Washington won three straight road games to start conference play for the first time since 1912, including sweeping Cal and Stanford on the road for the first time since 1985. ...Guard C.J. Wilcox is the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week after averaging 23 points, nine rebounds and three assists last week. ...Washington has not been ranked in either major poll at any time this season. ...The Huskies are No. 58 in the latest RPI standings.
KEY STAT: Washington is 11th in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense allowing opponents to shoot .415. CU is fifth in the conference in field goal percentage shooting .457.
COACHES: Boyle is 59-31 in his third season at CU. Lorenzo Romar is 230-118 in his 11th season at Washington.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Colorado -- F Andre Roberson, 6-7, So., 10.9 ppg, 11.8 rpg; F Josh Scott, 6-10, Fr., 13.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg; G Spencer Dinwiddie, 6-6, So., 14.4 ppg, 2.7 apg; G Askia Booker, 6-1, So., 14.9 ppg, 2.3 apg; G Sabatino Chen, 6-4, Sr., 5.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg. Washington -- C Aziz N'Diaye, 7-0, Sr., 11.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg; F Desmond Simmons, 6-7, So., 6.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg; G Abdul Gaddy, 6-3, Sr., 11.7 ppg, 3.7 apg; G Scott Suggs, 6-6, Sr., 12.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg; G C.J. Wilcox, 6-5, Jr., 19.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg.
SERIES: Tied 7-7. Washington leads 5-1 in Seattle. The Buffs only win at Washington came Dec. 21, 1956 (76-68).
UP NEXT: The Buffs remain on the road at Washington State (8 p.m. Saturday). The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
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