Men's basketball: Schedule lull for CU Buffs ahead of battle with No. 15 Miami
Dec. 4—For the first time since the season tipped off a month ago, the Colorado men's basketball team has an opportunity to catch its collective breath.
After getting back on track with another strong performance at home, this time topping Pepperdine on Sunday 91-66, the Buffaloes were scheduled to have consecutive days off on Monday and Tuesday. Outside of the few days around Christmas, multiple days off is somewhat of rarity once the season tips off. The Buffs, however, have an opportunity to take advantage of a lull in the schedule, as they do not play again until a Sunday date against Miami in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Hurricanes on Monday dropped seven spots to No. 15 in the latest Associated Press Top 25. It will be the Buffs' second matchup against a ranked team away from home in less than two weeks, following last week's loss at Colorado State. The Rams moved up seven spots to No. 13 this week, the highest ranking in program history.
"They need to do what they need to do," CU head coach Tad Boyle said of his players this week. "What Eddie Lampkin needs might be different than what Julian Hammond needs. What Julian Hammond needs might be different than what Tristan (da Silva) needs. So it's an opportunity for them to get an extra lift, get extra shots, get treatment in the training room, be working on your academics. We've got finals on the horizon. So it's an opportunity for them to use their time as they need to use it."
The full week between games will be the second-longest between-game break for the Buffs the entire season, narrowly trailing the eight days between CU's nonconference finale at home against Utah Tech on Dec. 21 and the final Pac-12 Conference opener, also at home, against Washington on Dec. 29. Following the Miami game, the Buffs will play only twice in 18 days before beginning their final season in the Pac-12.
CU (6-2) played its first eight games over a 28-day span (an average of one game every 3.5 days) and played on back-to-back days at the Sunshine Slam in Florida two weeks ago. Yet with a full week to prepare for just the second meeting for CU against Miami — and the first in nearly 67 years — Boyle said he is hoping to install a few new wrinkles on both ends of the floor for a team that has been dominant in five home games but erratic while going 1-2 away from home.
"It's a great week to put some new stuff in," Boyle said. "Not that we're going to make wholesale changes. But maybe add a couple things defensively, add a thing or two offensively. Work on it for three or four days and then get ready for Miami."
Notable
On Monday, the Buffs landed at No. 54 in the first edition of this season's NET rankings. Miami is at No. 63. ... CU also received five points in the latest AP top 25 poll released on Monday. Following the loss at Colorado State, that's a drop of 65 points, as the Buffs unofficially were No. 28 last week (70 points) as the third team among others receiving votes. ... CU played two games at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn early in the 2016-17 season in the Legends Classic, losing to Notre Dame before defeating a 22nd-ranked Texas squad.
