BOULDER — After starting the season strong, the Colorado Buffaloes will shift focus to a familiar conference opponent this weekend.
As part of the inaugural 20-game conference schedule this year, the Pac-12 added two additional games for each team for this first week of December.
Colorado’s first conference game was canceled as the men’s program was put on pause earlier in the week due to COVID-19 protocols. The matchup in Tucson against the Arizona Wildcats will now be played on Dec. 28.
The Colorado men’s program was cleared to resume activities on Thursday.
“Case investigation and contact tracing of the most recent case within the basketball program… indicated that no further pause in team activities is necessary,” athletic director Rick George said in a release. “We are moving forward with plans to host Washington State on Saturday pending results of our regular testing the rest of this week.”
With the game on for Saturday afternoon, here are a few things to look for going into the second week of the season.
How does the bench respond to missing pieces?
The initial COVID-19 concerns began last week, as just minutes before tip-off against South Dakota, news broke that D’Shawn Schwartz would be held out due to the virus. It was later discovered that Schwartz had unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19, and teammates Keeshawn Barthelemy and Tristan da Silva would be held out due to high-risk contacts.
The Buffs seemed prepared to play without Schwartz on Wednesday, as the offense did not skip a beat. The team has the depth to stay competitive even without their best player.
However, once Barthelemy and da Silva were removed for Friday’s contest, the depth began to hurt. While da Silva had a limited role, Barthelemy provided a tremendous spark on offense and allowed Tad Boyle to cycle between his guards while also giving McKinley Wright additional rest.
While ‘good news’ is subjective in the world of 2020, Colorado’s game next week against Colorado State has also been cancelled due to issues within the Rams program and replaced by a matchup with Colorado School of Mines. Therefore, the Buffs may just need to get past WSU before these three players return.
Can Evan Battey return to form?
The progression of Dallas Walton, Jabari Walker, and Jeriah Horne has been impressive.
Like, really impressive.
However, it has overshadowed how poorly Evan Battey played in the first two games. He has shot just 30.8% percent from the floor, enough for three points per game with four rebounds and two assists.
Obviously, two games is a small sample size. But for a guy who was north of 50% from the floor last year and averaging almost nine points and seven rebounds a game, Battey is clearly capable of more.
With a suddenly-crowded frontcourt, it may be unreasonable to expect Battey to put up double-doubles. However, his efficiency must improve, and conference play is a great time to do so.
Is Colorado back to its prime 2019 form?
This is a question that may not be answered this week, but getting a taste of conference play early helps.
The Buffs are sitting at 2-0 with an average point differential of +20.5. They dominated South Dakota and Kansas State. However, this week opens a new level of competition, as Washington State is undefeated.
While Washington State is projected as a low-tier Pac-12 team, they have began the season strong. They are 3-0 currently, including a win against Oregon State last night. Still, getting the Cougars at home gives Colorado an additional boost here.
If Colorado can play to the ability of its team, it should be able to take care of business. However, college basketball landscapes change daily, and the Buffs must be on the top of their game if they want to show the nation they are a legit threat.
