If the action across the ledger at the annual The Basketball Tournament appears at times a little ragged, that’s to be expected.
Most of the teams participating have enjoyed a few days, at best, to work together on the floor prior to compete for the tournament’s $1 million winner-take-all prize. The Colorado men’s basketball alums on Team Colorado are no different.
In lieu of a glut of set plays, the victor more often than not will be the team that does the little things well while making plays at crunch time. That is exactly what Team Colorado has done so far, securing wins against Purple Reign (Kansas State alums) and, on Monday, top-seeded Aftershocks (Wichita State) to set up a Sweet 16 battle against the Kansas alum-led Mass Street on Wednesday night (7 p.m. MT, Fox Sports 1).
Former CU standout and NBA veteran Andre Roberson has been the best player on the floor in both wins, averaging 15.5 points with 18 rebounds (tied for eighth in TBT through Monday’s games) while leading what so far has been a solid defensive club. The former Buffs have held their first two foes to a .391 field goal percentage and 64.0 points per game, which ranked seventh in TBT going into Tuesday’s games.
D’Shawn Schwartz put together a huge game in the first round, going 4-for-5 on 3-pointers with 21 points, but he was 1-for-8 before his winning 3-pointer against Aftershocks. George King got on track after a tough opener, hitting a pair of first half 3-pointers against Aftershocks while also recording an offensive rebound-and-assist on Schwartz’s winner.
Team Colorado also has boasted the more productive bench in each victory. While starting guard Joshua Adams has struggled, going 2-for-16 in two games before exiting Monday’s game early with an apparent injury, Team Colorado has received strong backcourt minutes from former Cherokee Trail standout Jaizec Lottie (7-for-14, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals, two turnovers) as well as former Buff Shannin Sharpe (3-for-4, five rebounds, two assists).
“We’ve only got a few days of practice to go out there and play. Band together and play,” King said during last week’s two-day training camp. “It’s a crash course. There’s not really too much you can put in in a setting like this. Luckily we’ve got guys who have been around and has played a lot of basketball and are experienced. It’s just about going out there and making plays.”
Home heavy slate
This week wasn’t the first time CU head coach Tad Boyle has said his program attempts to set the schedule in accordance to the sort of team they expect to be in November and December. This year’s nonconference ledger, with eight home games separated by a three-game run in a challenging field at the Maui Invitational, is reflective of a team with ample talent that nonetheless doesn’t return any players who finished the 2023-24 season in the rotation.
“I don’t know if it’s the primer we need, but it’s the primer we’ve got,” Boyle said. “When you look at that Maui field. So that, plus 20 Big 12 games, that’s a lot to bite off and chew. We’re going to have opportunities for great wins, but nothing’s going to be easy. For the team we’ve got coming back, I think this schedule is appropriate.
“You can make an argument that this schedule’s probably harder than last year. We went to Colorado State last year and we get Colorado State at home this year. But other than that, our MTE (multi-team event) is certainly more difficult. The Big 12 is the No. 1 basketball league in the country. For an unproven team, this schedule’s harder than last year’s schedule.”
Notable
Through Monday’s games, Team Colorado ranked eighth in TBT in free throw percentage (.815) and 10th in average rebound margin (plus-7.0). … Roberson, Schwartz and Lottie have combined to shoot .458 (11-for-24) on 3-pointers but the rest of Team Colorado has shot .185 (5-for-27).
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