TUCSON, Ariz. — It wasn’t the first loss of the season for the Colorado men’s basketball team on Thursday night.
Yet, to paraphrase the description offered afterward by head coach Tad Boyle, it most certainly was the first true butt-kicking suffered by the Buffaloes so far this season.
The shorthanded Buffs have zero time for self-pity.
After getting absolutely buried in Tucson against the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats on Thursday, CU will attempt to salvage a split of the trip through Arizona when it visits Arizona State on Saturday night.
“We went out there and it was pretty embarrassing,” CU guard Javon Ruffin said of the 47-point loss at Arizona. “We just didn’t come to play. But the good thing about league play is you have another game. I think we’re going to be even more locked-in and more excited to go out there and compete against another good team.”
After Thursday’s defeat — the most lopsided loss for the Buffs since a 48-point loss against Kansas 26 years ago — Boyle was noncommittal about CU’s two injured standouts, Cody Williams (wrist) and Tristan da Silva (ankle), after neither player suited up against the Wildcats. Yet with both players out of uniform at UA, the short turnaround makes it questionable they will see the end of absences that have grown to six consecutive games for Williams and three for da Silva.
The Buffs also played the second half at UA without guard Julian Hammond III, who aggravated a back injury late in the first half and did not return.
“Coach said adversity is going to hit us. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” CU guard KJ Simpson said. “That when was going to happen anytime, it just happened to be now. With this quick turnaround, it allows us to move past it and allows us to understand what we need to get better on and just go in and get this win.”
Regardless of who fills out the rotation for the Buffs, CU will encounter an ASU squad that is one of two teams (also Oregon) off to 3-0 starts in league play. In a bit of a role reversal under coach Bobby Hurley, the Sun Devils have struggled offensively but have shined defensively.
The Sun Devils, who defeated Utah on Thursday night, go into Saturday’s contest ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (.419), 3-point percentage (.308) and scoring (68.9). The Sun Devils also are last in average rebounding margin (minus-7.6) and 10th in assists per game (12.4).
However, ASU has been rock-solid defensively, ranking second in the league in defensive 3-point percentage (.302) and fifth in overall defensive field goal percentage (.415).
“We’ve got to believe in each other, believes in ourselves, believe in the system, believe in what we do well,” Boyle said. “If we do those things well, we know we can play with anybody. When we don’t, and you get beat in every facet of the game, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. When you’re playing Arizona, which is a top-10 team in the country, you can get exposed a little bit. And we got exposed (Thursday) in a lot of different areas and we can’t let that happen.”
CU Buffs men’s basketball at Arizona State Sun Devils
TIPOFF: Saturday, 6 p.m. MT, Desert Financial Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
TV/RADIO: ESPNU/KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM.
RECORDS: Colorado 11-3, 2-1 Pac-12 Conference; Arizona State 9-5, 3-0.
COACHES: Colorado — Tad Boyle, 14th season (283-175, 339-241 overall). Arizona State — Bobby Hurley, 9th season (150-118, 192-138 overall).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G KJ Simpson, 6-2, Jr. (20.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.4 apg, .536 FG%, .444 3%); F J’Vonne Hadley, 6-6, Sr. (10.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, .542 FG%); G Julian Hammond III, 6-2, Jr. (9.2 ppg, .516 FG%, .457 3%); C Eddie Lampkin Jr., 6-11, Sr. (9.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg, .521 FG%); G/F Luke O’Brien, 6-8, Sr. (7.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, .412 3%). Arizona State — G Frankie Collins, 6-1, Jr. (13.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.5 apg); G Jose Perez, 6-5, Sr. (12.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg); G Adam Miller, 6-3, R-Jr. (12.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg); G/F Jamiya Neal, 6-6, Jr. (10.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg); F Alonzo Gaffney, 6-9, Gr. (7.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg).
NOTES: CU has won its past three road games at ASU. The Buffs have lost both of their true road games so far this season (Colorado State, Arizona) … Following Thursday’s loss, CU dropped 12 spots to No. 39 in Friday’s NET rankings. … ASU’s win on Thursday against Utah was the 150th for Hurley with the Sun Devils. … Despite shooting just .364 at Arizona, the Buffs’ second-lowest mark of the season, CU still leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (.507), 3-point percentage (.399) and free throw percentage (.774). But the Buffs’ league-worst turnover rate increased to 14.3 per game. … O’Brien has shot .550 (11-for-20) on 3-pointers over the past six games. … After going without a 3-pointer in his first 33 games with the Buffs, Hadley has gone 4-for-6 from long range in the past three games. … CU completes its three-game road trip on Wednesday at California (9 p.m. MT, ESPNU).
