Buffs Set For Two At Home Against Washington Schools

BOULDER — While Tad Boyle‘s Colorado Buffaloes might not have their backs completely against the wall, there’s no doubt they have precious little wiggle room as they attempt to keep their postseason hopes alive.

But at the moment, Boyle isn’t as concerned about March possibilities as he is about January realities — and the reality is his Buffs (11-8 overall, 3-5 Pac-12) need a couple of wins to regain their confidence.

The good news is the Buffs are back at home this week after a disappointing Los Angeles road trip. CU had second-half leads against both USC and UCLA, but couldn’t close the deal in either game and came home empty-handed.

Now, they need to conjure up some home cooking and shift momentum back in the right direction. CU’s homestand starts Thursday with a 7 p.m. game against Washington (11-8, 3-5), followed by a 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon matchup with Washington State (9-10, 4-4).

The Buffaloes’ top concern this week will be correcting a turnover issue that served as the biggest reason for their last two losses. In the two games in California, the Buffs committed 45 turnovers and also had 20 of their shots blocked.

That adds up to 65 empty possessions over two games, the vast majority of which never even resulted in the Buffs getting the ball to the rim.

But there’s also no doubt Colorado has simply been a much better team at home. CU sports an 8-1 record at the Events Center this year, where they have averaged 15 more points per game than their opponents. On the road, they are 1-5 and have been outscored by an average of seven points per game.

There may be no better example of the home-road discrepancy than junior forward Tristan da Silva, who has been unstoppable at home — averaging 19.4 points and 6.7 rebounds — but has averaged just 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in road games.

Da Silva, though, isn’t the only key to Colorado’s success. Point guard KJ Simpson has been a steady force, averaging 17.8 points per game (second in the Pac-12),  freshman Javon Ruffin had 23 points last week for his first back-to-back double-digit scoring games as a Buff, and sophomore big man Lawson Lovering had his first career double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds against USC.

Overall, the Buffs have been a better shooting and rebounding team in friendly confines — and they need to keep that…