Colorado has been off for eight days and is set to play its last game before the Big 12 Conference schedule begins when Northern Colorado pays a visit to Boulder, Colo., on Sunday.
Colorado (10-2) got off to its best start in 76 years when it won its first eight games but is trying to bounce back from losses to Colorado State and Stanford over the past four games.
The Buffaloes went into the holiday hiatus after dropping a 77-68 decision to Stanford on Dec. 20. It wasn’t the loss that bothered head coach Tad Boyle as much as the way the team played.
“It’s the first time all year that we haven’t responded,” Boyle said. “That’s concerning to me, because you’d better respond. Winning games, you start league play, there’s going to be 18 of these in our future. And if we play like this, it’s going to be a tough road for us.”
There has been plenty to be happy about in the first part of the season. Colorado is led by freshmen Isaiah Johnson (14.8 points per game), Sebastian Rancik (13.2) and junior transfer Barrington Hargress (13.0).
Northern Colorado (9-3) is also coming off a loss, falling 86-79 to Denver last Saturday. It was the Bears’ second straight loss after they won nine of their first 10. They played No. 19 Texas Tech tough on the road on Dec. 16 before falling 101-90.
Head coach Steve Smiley had similar sentiments as Boyle about his team’s play, with the Big Sky Conference schedule approaching.
“We’re moving into league play and our league is really good,” Smiley said. “… Don’t think because we have the best record right now (among Big Sky teams), we’re just going to show up and win the league. We have to hit the reset button a little bit.”
Northern Colorado didn’t have leading scorer Quinn Denker (17.3 points) in the two losses because of a hand injury. Brock Wisne (16.8) and Zach Bloch (13.2) are also averaging in double figures.
