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Men's basketball: No. 25 CU Buffs look to keep rolling against Richmond at Sunshine Slam

pat rooney, daily times-call, longmont, colo.
·5 min read

Nov. 19—Every game becomes important in the quest for an NCAA Tournament berth, which no doubt is the goal of the Colorado men's basketball team this season.

Many of the current Buffaloes were part of the team the past two Novembers as CU struggled during nonconference tournaments. After shooting the lights out while rolling to three straight home wins to open the season, the 25th-ranked Buffs will attempt to keep the momentum going on the road as they play the first of two games in Daytona Beach at the Sunshine Slam against Richmond on Monday night.

The past two years, the Buffs suffered avoidable losses at their early-season, multi-team events. In each case, the defeats were easily attributed to the growing pains of new-look rotations trying to come together. By the end of each of those seasons, however, those November losses were big reasons why the Buffs were relegated to the NIT.

"The next game is the most important game," CU senior Luke O'Brien said. "I think last year especially we were looking forward to the games that were the ranked teams and the teams that were the big names. I think this year we've done a great job of focusing on the next game as what's most important. We're not worried about the next games after Richmond. Richmond is our most important game now."

Two years ago, the Buffs opened the Paradise Jam tournament in the US Virgin Islands with a loss against Southern Illinois. Although CU picked up two more wins at the tournament, that loss ,combined with being sent to the consolation bracket, ultimately cost the Buffs in the NET rankings.

It was a similar situation at a different locale along the Atlantic Ocean last year, as the Buffs lost two of three at the Myrtle Beach Invitational just days after recording an impressive upset victory against Tennessee in Nashville. One of those defeats occurred against a UMass club that eventually finished 203rd in the NET.

"We'll find out the maturity level of this team relative to last year," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "We were pretty successful winning our nonconference games at home last year for the most part. It was the neutral-court games and the road games where we struggled. So here we go, two neutral-court games.

"You want tournament experience. I think anytime you're in a tournament, a championship is at stake. That's what we're playing for. We can't think it's just another game. This is an opportunity for us to build a resume, or hurt a resume."

The Buffs have put together a stellar start to the season offensively, averaging 92 points while shooting .557 overall and .517 on 3-pointers despite going 0-for-7 from long range in the first half of the season opener against Towson.

It has been an impressive opening salvo, but CU will not finish the season over .500 from 3-point range, or overall from the floor for that matter. At some point the shots will stop falling at such a rapid pace, and Boyle hopes his club still is ready to lean on the program tenets of defense and rebounding when that day arrives.

"It's what we've been preaching the four years I've been here," O'Brien said. "I know in our last game we were kind of a little poor on defense late in the second (half) just because we were up by so much. But we're going to have stretches where we can't shoot the ball really well. And that's when we have to rely on our defense."

Richmond Spiders vs. No. 25 CU Buffs men's basketball

TIPOFF: Monday, 6 p.m. MT, Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Fla.

TV/RADIO: CBS Sports Network; KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM

RECORDS: Richmond 2-1; Colorado 3-0.

COACHES: Richmond — Chris Mooney, 19th season (327-258, 345-271 overall). Colorado — Tad Boyle, 14th season (275-172, 331-238 overall).

KEY PLAYERS (2022-23 stats): Richmond — G Jordan King, 6-0, Gr. (18.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .529 3%); C Neal Quinn, 7-0 Sr. (12.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 5.3 apg, .583 FG%); G DeLonnie Hunt, Sr. (11.0 ppg); G Dji Bailey, Sr. (9.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, .733 FG%). Colorado — G KJ Simpson, 6-2, Jr. (19.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.7 apg, .645 FG%); F Tristan da Silva, 6-9, Sr. (17.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .679 FG%); F J'Vonne Hadley, 6-6, Sr. (12.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg); G Julian Hammond III, 6-2, Jr. (11.7 ppg, 4.7 apg); F Cody Williams, 6-8, Fr. (10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg).

NOTES: CU has not played a game in Florida since a loss at soon-to-be Big 12 rival Central Florida in the first round of the 2017 NIT. ... CU and the Spiders have met just twice, with the road team winning each time during a home-and-home set played in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. ... Richmond opened the season with wins against VMI and Siena before suffering a 68-61 loss at Boston College on Wednesday. ... CU is seeking its first 4-0 start since winning the first seven games of the 2019-20 season. ... CU went 2-2 in neutral-court games last year, a ledger that included an upset of Tennessee before a pro-Volunteers crowd in Nashville. ... Mooney was an assistant at Air Force for four seasons before serving as the Falcons head coach in 2004-05. He joined Richmond the following year. ... Da Silva, Hadley and Simpson all are shooting over 63% for the Buffs, while Hammond, Williams and Eddie Lampkin Jr. all are over 53%. ... The Buffs continue play at the Sunshine Slam on Tuesday against either UNLV or Florida State.