Winning on road vital for No. 20 Colorado as it faces UCLA
No. 20 Colorado travels to UCLA on Thursday night for a Pac-12 Conference matchup at Pauley Pavilion that carries particular significance for the Buffs' regular-season championship aspirations.
"The only way you compete for championships is to figure out a way to win on the road," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said in his postgame press conference following a 76-62 victory over Washington on Jan. 25. "We've proven that we can do that, but we have to do it consistently. You don't have to win every game but with that Oregon State home loss (on Jan. 5), our margin for error slips a little bit. We got to make up for that with a couple of road wins, not just one."
Colorado (16-4, 5-2 Pac-12) has been outstanding at home at 10-2, and a perfect 4-0 on neutral floors. However, the Buffs embark on the Los Angeles road swing at UCLA and USC just 2-2 in true road games, most recently losing a 75-54 blowout at Arizona on Jan. 18.
The Buffs are averaging 59 points per game on the road, compared to 76.7 per game at home. Breaking that trend at Pauley Pavilion could come down to Colorado extending another streak: UCLA's struggles defending the 3-pointer.
The Bruins (10-10, 3-4) come in allowing opponents an average of 38.8 percent shooting from long range. Only nine teams in Division I have been worse when guarding the 3-point line.
UCLA gave up 11-for-23 shooting from outside its last time out, in a 96-75 defeat at Oregon. In contrast, the Bruins held Oregon State to 5-for-16 3-point shooting in a 62-58 win at Oregon State on Jan. 23.
"The interesting thing is when you look at our offensive numbers, we shoot 50 percent, 41 from 3 and 81 from the free throw line," UCLA coach Mick Cronin said in his postgame press conference. "By far, the best we have had with those three (stats) in a game, maybe all year. It's a great lesson for our team -- you don't defend, you don't take care of the ball, you've got no chance."
Though Colorado as a team shoots a middling 33.1 percent from 3-point range, two Buffs -- D'Shawn Schwartz and Lucas Siewert -- shoot over 40 percent on 92 and 77 attempts, respectively, this season.
On the other side of the ball, UCLA will try to recover from a 23-turnover performance at Oregon against a Colorado defense that excels in generating takeaways. The Bruins average turnovers on 19.5 percent of their possessions, while the Buffs force takeaways 21.5 percent of defensive stands, per KenPom.com.
Colorado has been equally effective limiting opponents' second-chance opportunities, with offensive rebounds surrendered on just 24.1 percent of misses. That ranks No. 29 nationally.
UCLA counters with Jalen Hill, who at 7.3 rebounds per game, helps pace the nation's 30th-best offensive rebounding team. The Bruins have 254 offensive boards this season.
But while UCLA has been solid on the glass, it is a byproduct of shots sometimes not falling. The Bruins average 49.1 percent shooting from inside the arc, while Colorado comes in limiting opponents to 43.3 percent on 2-point attempts.
--Field Level Media
