Search for defensive answers continues for CU Buffs men’s basketball

Tad Boyle believes his crew is being too selfish If that seems like harsh criticism for a crew that has hit the -assist mark in consecutive games well it is At least it would be if Boyle was talking about the offense for his Colorado men s basketball squad which has been demanding to criticize through the Buffaloes - start As usual Boyle instead was talking about his band s defense While the Buffs are - for the first time since the - campaign CU s defense has been far less consistent than its offense Once again defense likely will be the focus of the week as the Buffs get set for their first road trip of the season with a pair of games at the Acrisure Holiday Classic in Palm Desert California CU plays San Francisco in the opening championship Thursday a m MT CBS Sports Configuration and will play either Nevada or Washington on Friday afternoon For Boyle the perceived selfishness on defense comes from players missing their assigned rotations We got specific selfish players on defense Boyle mentioned You reliably think of unselfishness and selfishness on offense not sharing the ball not moving the ball We ve got chosen selfish defenders They re saying OK I m going to guard my man but I m not going to help that guy who s rolling to the basket And that s your job to help and our job is to rotate with a sense of urgency We gotta fix that there s no doubt about it Although the Buffs pulled away late to win comfortably against UC Davis on Friday the Aggies finished with a field goal percentage including a mark after halftime UC Davis was the third opponent in five games to shoot at least percent against the Buffs CU s explosive early-season offense has glossed over those defensive shortcomings The Buffs have recorded at least assists in each of the past two games They have scored at least points in all five games scoring at least in the past four CU is shooting reaching at least in each championship while posting a mark on -pointers Still Boyle knows his club will cool down at certain point especially as the Buffs get out of the friendly environs of the Events Center and the competition toughens With the Buffs out of class for Thanksgiving week Boyle hopes to use the extra time to once again hone in on his club s inconsistent defense before departing for California on Tuesday No school next week No class schedule to worry about You can get in the gym with them you can get in the film room with them we can occupy a little more of their time Boyle declared That s something we have to do on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday And we re going to do that We re going to get better And now we gotta go on the road for a couple of neutral-court games Defense and rebounding travels There s no reason to have a bad night on either of those areas