Tad Boyle’s Buffaloes must catch second wind ahead tournament time

Your scribe continues to process the CU men’s basketball team’s heroic rally to beat Southern California in double overtime this past weekend in Los Angeles. Observing the Buffs seconds after the improbable victory two thoughts compete within the ol’ noggin.

Was their reaction more exhilaration or relief?

It has not been an easy season for Tad Boyle’s 14th campaign at the foot of the Flatirons. Much was anticipated of a team with veteran leadership in K.J. Simpson and Tristan da Silva and the arrival of freshman sensation Cody Williams. Prognosticators around the country predicted this might be the best team in Boyle’s successful tenure as the winningest coach in CU basketball history.

In addition to the before mentioned terrific trio, Colorado has quality depth and the ability to beat just about anybody on any given night. However, there have been too many head-scratching moments where the team doesn’t exhibit the intensity necessary to be successful in the talent-rich Pac 12 conference.

Anybody with an average basketball I.Q. knows the keys to winning on the road against quality opponents in front of hostile crowds requires the visitors to start fast, play suffocating defense, rebound and try like heck to take the crowd out of the equation. The Buffs have had a real bad habit of neglecting those truths in falling behind early against whomever is the home opposition.

Equally puzzling has been the comments coming from respected coaches and players who continue to profess belief in one another, in Boyle’s system and the necessity of playing better. Unfortunately, too often, despite saying all the right things about team chemistry and effort required for hardwood success, things have not clicked consistently for Colorado this season.

Could this impressive “Never quit” conquering of the Trojans be the turning point? The Buffs have an entire week to marinate on that question. A quirk in the conference schedule gives them plenty of time to rest and contemplate. Five games remain in conference play. Three straight home games against Utah, Cal and Stanford. The Buffs have lost only once at home, to powerful Arizona. Will this incredible comeback spark a late-season surge? The Buffs close the season with road games at Oregon and Oregon State. Can the gritty win in the City of Angels reverse CU’s road woes listing only two wins in hostile environments?

Boyle’s team has a history of finishing strong. It’s hard to believe it’s been 12 seasons since the Greeley native’s Buffaloes won the Pac 12 postseason tournament in the 61-year-old’s second season. I’m a big fan of Boyle’s and love the way he coaches the game but this season has been a mystery. A team with three all-conference players (Simpson, da Silva and Williams) capable of dominating play has struggled. Underachieving is not too strong a word at this point. But there’s time to reverse that narrative.

Just one man’s opinion from a dude following the college basketball game for almost six decades but I’d love to see Williams become more assertive on the offensive end of the floor. The 6-foot-8 product can score from anywhere. The former McDonald’s All-American has shown flashes of the potential that has NBA scouts projecting him as a lottery pick. At times it seems the articulate young man is hesitant to impose his will. Maybe the entire team too?

The time is now for Williams to shed the “freshman” label and let it all hang out. Throw in Simpson and da Silva’s ability to score and the Buffs are a match up nightmare for most opponents. Five games remain before Pac 12 teams head to Vegas. There’s no reason, if this miraculous win at USC means anything, the Buffs can’t run the table. Finish 22-9, pick up a win or two in Vegas and make it impossible for NCAA selectors not to include them in the tournament’s 68 teams.

For whatever reason my mind zips to John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem of long ago. It says, “For of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, what might have been.”

Hey Buffs, it’s time to shine. Make that miraculous win mean something!