If Colorado expects to make an impact in the Big 12 Conference race, correcting a struggling defense trending in the wrong direction is the top priority.
Yet getting back on track on the boards isn’t far behind.
The CU men’s basketball team took the mandatory weekly off day on Tuesday and will start zeroing in on Arizona State in earnest when workouts resume on Wednesday, with the Buffaloes visiting ASU for the Big 12 opener on Saturday (3 p.m. MT, ESPN2).
For much of the season, the Buffs have been solid but not spectacular on the boards. CU wasn’t outrebounded in any of its first 11 games, although finished even in a neutral-floor win against San Francisco and again in a loss at Colorado State. That has changed in the past two games, both losses, as the Buffs were outrebounded by Stanford and again on Sunday in a home loss against Northern Colorado.
UNC missed only six shots in the second half, and so the Bears didn’t record a single offensive rebound after halftime. Yet UNC still managed to outrebound the Buffs 26-20 in the second half to finish with a 39-37 advantage, even though CU’s 15 offensive rebounds was its second-highest total of the season.
It’s an area where the Buffs should have the advantage on Saturday in Tempe, as ASU begins Big 12 play with the lowest average rebounding margin in the conference (minus-1.5). CU ranks just 12th at plus-4.8.
“We really put an emphasis on rebounding Christmas night,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “The next day in practice had really tough, physical rebounding practices, and a Big Sky team comes in here and outrebounds us by two.
“Now, it’s hard to get defensive rebounds when they shoot 74% in the second half. So part of that number is maybe a little skewed by our lack of ability to get stops. But the bottom line is those two things go together.”
Finding Malone
After scoring in double-figures in three of the season’s first six games, CU starting center Elijah Malone has struggled to find a rhythm in recent weeks, averaging just 4.6 points over the past seven games.
Granted, Malone recently has dealt with a shoulder injury he has attempted to play through. And, as was the case during CU’s loss against Stanford, foul trouble has at times limited Malone’s effectiveness.
The 6-foot-10 Malone is averaging 4.3 rebounds per game but has averaged only 2.7 in the past six games.
“We’ve got to get him in the flow of the offense,” Boyle said. “He’s shooting (.567) from the field. He’s shooting 50% from three. He doesn’t take a lot of them. He’s a good free throw shooter. We’ve got to get him more involved. Part of it’s been foul trouble, part of it’s that he got a shoulder injury. And then part of it was kind of matchups.
“I thought Stanford was a game we could’ve used him more and needed him more. But he had foul trouble which sometimes dictates things. But our interior defense without him out there is suspect at best right now.”
Notable
BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa swept the Big 12’s Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week honors after recording 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Eastern Washington last week. It was the first points-rebounds-assists triple-double with 30 points in Big 12 history. … On Tuesday, the Buffs were ranked at No. 77 in the NET rankings and No. 86 at KenPom.com.
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