Colorado is back to rebounding and McKinley Wright IV led the charge

BOULDER — Tyler Bey didn’t play Thursday night.

Colorado’s star forward stuffs virtually every category on the stat sheet and his best attribute may be his defense, which doesn’t show up in the box score.

What Colorado was most concerned with losing is Bey’s rebounding.

“We knew Tyler averages nine-plus rebounds a game, so we weren’t going to have those tonight,” said Lucas Siewert, who jumped from sixth man to starter in Bey’s absence.

Before the game, Bey told Siewert that he needed to be aggressive on the boards. Head coach Tad Boyle told Siewert the same thing.

Apparently, it worked.

“To be plus 17 on the boards with your best rebounder, Tyler Bey, on the bench is a testament to our guys,” Boyle said after the game.

But the Buffs’ bounceback rebounding night wasn’t just the product of the 10 Siewert provided in his first double-double of the season. Point guard McKinley Wright IV got in on the action after a disappointing performance on the boards against Arizona.

Colorado allowed Arizona State to pull in 17 offensive rebounds last Thursday, the most it’s allowed in any game this season. Then, against Arizona, Colorado allowed 13 more, the third-most this season.

Thursday night, Wright called out the effort he gave when rebounding against the Wildcats last weekend.

“After the (Arizona) game I apologized to my bigs because they had their hands full and I wasn’t helping them,” Wright said.

This week, Boyle spoke with Wright, essentially telling him that he was a great rebounder as a freshman but had lost some of the aggression since then.

“This year I kind of just relied on Tyler and Evan (Battey) to get all the boards and I know sometimes they need help,” Wright said.

Boyle said after the game that Wright — who posted 10 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds — looked better.

“Six (rebounds) is a good number,” Boyle said. “I’d like to see him get eight or nine. He has had nights with double-digit rebounds.”

Every coach emphasizes rebounding but it is particularly important for a defensive-oriented team like Boyle’s. It doesn’t matter if you can hold your opponents’ shooting percentage under 40% if you’re giving them two shots per possession.

Monday’s practice, the first after a road trip in which Colorado gave up 30 offensive rebounds, was focused on improving the Buffs’ abilities on the glass. The theme continued throughout the week.

“I want guys to be thirsty and selfish rebounders,” Boyle said. “That is not a bad thing, especially defensively. That is something we didn’t do in the desert, obviously. Hopefully, we got that back and we need to keep it back.”

Keeping it is going to be crucial against Washington on Saturday.

The Huskies have underachieved this season but their talent is obvious. Washington is unlikely to allow the Buffs to win by 23 points like they did against Washington State.

“We are not going to be plus 17 on the boards every night in the Pac-12 and I doubt we will against Washington,” Boyle said. “They have some big, athletic, and long guys but we are going to have to compete on the backboards, offensively and defensively, on Saturday. That is going to be a big, big part of that game.”

Luckily, Bey will be back from the injury that left him sidelined for Thursday’s contest.

And he won’t be alone on the boards anymore.

“From here on, now you know I’ll be helping a lot more,” Wright said.