The Colorado Buffaloes are stuck in a frustrating loop - one that’s become all too familiar this season. Get blown out on the road.
Come home. Regroup.
Reset. Then do it all over again.
That cycle continued in rough fashion Wednesday night, as CU fell hard at Baylor, 86-67. And if you’re thinking the final score looks bad, the game itself was even tougher to watch. The Buffs didn’t just lose - they looked out of sync from the jump, overwhelmed by Baylor’s pressure and unable to find any rhythm on either end of the floor.
Now, the silver lining: they get another shot to bounce back at home, where they’ve been a different team. Colorado hosts Arizona State on Saturday night at the CU Events Center, and if the recent pattern holds, we’re due for a much better performance.
Just earlier this week, the Buffs responded to a 30-point drubbing at Iowa State with a dominant 26-point win over TCU back in Boulder. But as head coach Tad Boyle knows all too well, living game-to-game in the Big 12 is no way to survive long-term.
“You can’t look ahead in this league,” Boyle said. “If you look ahead you’ll get ulcers and you’ll lose sleep.
It’s hard enough to sleep during the season as it is. We’ve got Arizona State, who’s playing better now.
This is the time of year you’d better strap it on, because February is probably the hardest month of the year from a mental standpoint. So we’ve got to figure out a way to beat Arizona State on Saturday.
That’s my only thoughts right now.”
The road has been particularly unkind to Colorado, and it’s not just about losing - it’s how they’re losing. The opening halves at both Iowa State and Baylor were brutal, and while the blowouts played out differently, the underlying issues were strikingly similar.
At Iowa State, the Buffs were buried by a 30-1 run early. At Baylor, the Bears methodically built a 24-point halftime lead.
In both cases, CU’s offense sputtered under pressure, and the defense failed to offer much resistance.
Turnovers have been a season-long strength for this group - they’ve generally taken care of the ball - but that discipline disappeared in the first halves of both road losses. The Buffs finished with 10 turnovers in each game, which isn’t terrible on paper.
But seven of those came in the first half at Iowa State, and nine came in the first 20 minutes at Baylor. That kind of start can sink you fast, especially against teams that thrive on pressure.
“Handling pressure. Iowa State pressured us, and Baylor pressured us,” Boyle said.
“We had nine turnovers in the first half (at Baylor), only one in the second half. We did a better job.
But we have been a team thus far who has not been able to handle pressure very well. We got better as the game went on.
But the pressure wanes when you’re up 30.”
Boyle didn’t sugarcoat it - if the Buffs want to turn this thing around, it starts with being stronger with the ball and taking more pride on defense. Those two areas have been glaring weaknesses in their recent road losses, and they’ll need to clean them up fast if they want to avoid slipping further down the Big 12 standings.
The good news? There’s still a chance to salvage this week.
Colorado (13-10, 3-7 Big 12) has a shot to take two out of three - a stretch Boyle has called critical to keeping the season on track. And they’ve already beaten Arizona State once this year, picking up a rare road win in Tempe to open conference play back on January 3.
But ASU is coming in with some momentum of its own, fresh off a road win at Utah after dropping five of its previous six. In other words, Saturday night won’t be a walk in the park.
“We’ve got to have two days of good practice,” freshman guard Jalin Holland said. “Being locked in, being focused, being prepared mentally, and we’ll probably have a good game.”
If Colorado can channel the same energy they’ve shown at home - and avoid the early-game meltdowns that have plagued them on the road - they’ll give themselves a shot to reset the narrative. But the clock is ticking, and February isn’t going to cut them any breaks.