If Colorado wants to make noise in the Big 12, it starts with cleaning up the defensive end-and fast. But right behind that on the list?
Rebounding. Because right now, the Buffs are trending in the wrong direction on the glass, and it’s starting to cost them.
The team took its mandatory off day on Tuesday, but come Wednesday, all eyes turn to Tempe. The Buffs open Big 12 play on the road against Arizona State this Saturday (3 p.m. MT, ESPN2), and if they’re going to start conference play on the right foot, they’ll need to bring a lot more physicality to the boards than they’ve shown in recent outings.
Early in the season, Colorado looked steady-if not dominant-on the glass. Through the first 11 games, CU wasn’t outrebounded once.
They finished even twice-once in a win against San Francisco on a neutral floor, and again in a tough loss at Colorado State. But the last two games have told a different story.
Both were losses, and both saw the Buffs lose the rebounding battle-first to Stanford, then to Northern Colorado at home.
The UNC loss was especially frustrating. The Bears shot the lights out in the second half, missing just six shots.
That left little opportunity for offensive rebounds, and yet they still outrebounded Colorado 26-20 after halftime, finishing with a 39-37 edge overall. And that came despite CU pulling down 15 offensive boards-its second-highest total of the season.
So what gives? Head coach Tad Boyle isn’t sugarcoating it.
“We really put an emphasis on rebounding Christmas night,” 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.”
He’s not wrong to point out that it’s tough to grab defensive rebounds when the other team barely misses. UNC shot a scorching 74% in the second half.
But as Boyle notes, that’s part of the problem, too. Defensive stops and rebounding go hand in hand.
If you can’t get stops, you’re not going to rebound. And if you don’t rebound, you’re giving up second chances or losing possessions altogether.
The good news? Saturday offers a chance to reset.
Arizona State enters Big 12 play with the worst rebounding margin in the conference at minus-1.5. Colorado isn’t exactly dominating either-they’re 12th in the league at plus-4.8-but on paper, this is a matchup where the Buffs should have the edge.
The question is whether they’ll bring the effort to back it up.
Finding Malone
Another piece of the puzzle: getting Elijah Malone back on track.
The 6-foot-10 starting center looked promising early in the season, hitting double figures in three of Colorado’s first six games. But lately, he’s been quiet. Over the past seven games, Malone is averaging just 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, well below his season averages.
Injuries have played a role. Malone has been dealing with a shoulder issue he’s tried to play through, and foul trouble has also limited his minutes-especially in the loss at Stanford. But Boyle knows they need more from their big man, and he’s not hiding it.
“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.”
Boyle points to a combination of factors-injury, foul trouble, and matchups-but the bottom line is that Colorado’s interior defense takes a noticeable dip when Malone isn’t on the floor.
“I thought Stanford was a game we could’ve used him more and needed him more,” Boyle added. “But he had foul trouble, which sometimes dictates things. But our interior defense without him out there is suspect at best right now.”
Around the Big 12
Elsewhere in the conference, BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa is making headlines in a big way. He swept both Big 12 Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week honors after putting up a monster triple-double: 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against Eastern Washington. It was the first 30-point triple-double in Big 12 history-a reminder that the league’s newcomers are already making an impact.
As for Colorado, they’ll head into the weekend sitting at No. 77 in the NET rankings and No. 86 on KenPom.com. Not where they want to be, but with Big 12 play just beginning, there’s still time to climb.
It starts with defense. It continues with rebounding.
And it hinges on getting guys like Malone back into rhythm.
Saturday in Tempe is more than just a conference opener-it’s a gut check.