Free throws and rebounding help Colorado bounce back

BOULDER — The 2020-21 Colorado Buffaloes are on pace to make history.

With two games left on the schedule, and the potential for a third game that was canceled earlier this season to be made up, Colorado has made 335 of its 405 free throw attempts. That’s good for 82.7%.

Back in 1984, Harvard made 535 of 651 free throw attempts, the best rate in college basketball history. They were half a percentage point behind where Colorado is now, with 82.2%.

Those free throws are a big reason Colorado is in fourth place in the Pac-12, better than any finish since CU joined the conference. They’re a big reason Colorado won against Oregon State on Saturday too.

“This team, 86%, 19 for 22, that was a big, big difference in that game tonight, the free throw line, and being effective there,” head coach Tad Boyle said after the win.

But despite the historic pace, Colorado went through a bit of a slump. The Buffs only shot 20 total free throws in their three previous games, and they had one of their least efficient nights of the season in the game before those three.

“When you’re having trouble shooting the ball you’ve got to get the ball to the rim, you’ve got to finish in the lane or you better get to the free throw line,” Boyle said. “And tonight, we were able to get the free throw line for the first time in what seems like for forever.”

The production from the free throw line wasn’t the only positive sign, either. Colorado has struggled to rebound the basketball recently, but has performed much better in its last two contests.

Not only have the Buffs been watching film on their boarding troubles, they’ve also been running intense rebounding drills in practice.

“Here we are in mid-February, the rebounding drills where you’re getting in there and banging around. The last thing I want to do is get somebody hurt,” Boyle said. Actually, that’s where McKinley had a little injury a few weeks ago so we’re gonna throw those drills out until the preseason next year but yeah, we just have talked about it, our guys have taken it to heart and they’ve really battled.”