Nebraska Omaha @ Colorado preview
Coors Events Center
Last Meeting ( Nov 16, 2018 ) Nebraska Omaha 75, Colorado 79
After playing two games in a 17-day stretch, the Colorado Buffaloes are set to compete in their second game in less than 48 hours.
The Buffaloes' quick turnaround starts Wednesday against Omaha in Boulder, Colo.
Colorado (3-1) was on the cusp of potentially breaking into the rankings before dropping a 56-47 decision at Tennessee on Dec. 8. The Buffaloes washed away the sting of the setback with an 81-45 win over Northern Colorado on Monday.
On Wednesday, the Buffaloes take on a Mavericks team that is coming off a blowout loss to No. 5 Kansas.
Omaha (2-5) has won its two games by a total of three points, the latest a 65-63 victory over Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville that was sealed with a dunk by Matt Pile with 1.4 seconds left. The Mavericks have gotten solid playmaking in crunch time in the two wins, and it is something they want to continue to improve as the season rolls on.
"I think it's getting there," Pile said after the win over SIU-Edwardsville. "Hopefully we can get it figured out by Jan. 2 (the start of Summit League play). It's still a work in progress. But I've definitely seen improvement."
Colorado players are dealing with finals week as well as opponents. After Wednesday's game, the Buffaloes will play five times in two weeks, with the Pac-12 Conference getting in full swing after Christmaas. The quick turnaround to play Omaha is something they embrace.
"The players love it. They only had to practice once before they play and they know it's not going to be a real hard grueling practice, so they love it," Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle said after Monday's win. "Finals is always a tricky time as a coach and your players because they got a lot of stress, they got a lot of time away from the court as they're studying and taking tests and doing papers and projects.
"I thought we really got better in the practices we did have. The biggest thing I keep harping these guys about is, No. 1, sacrifice. Some guys are going to sacrifice minutes. Also, don't count the time you're on the floor, make the make the time count. We cannot have guys pacing themselves. If we do that, we can wear teams down like we did (Monday) night."
--Field Level Media