CU Basketball: Buffs Thrashed by ASU -- Time to Take a Cold Hard Look at the Future

One of the great things about having a ranked team when most of your players are underclassmen is that the future looks bright for your program. One of the bad things about having a team dominated by youngsters is the risk that they will wander aimlessly without a true leader.

Such is the case with Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes, who have looked lost and clueless as to which way to turn since projected first round NBA pick Spencer Dinwiddie blew out his knee and was lost for the season. Add in that Tre'Shaun Fletcher hurt his knee and is lost for the next couple months, and the Buffs' psyche just added insult to injury.

After Dinwiddie went down with CU enjoying a lead on the road at Washington, the Buffs proceeded to fall apart and lose that game. The shocking loss of one of the best players in the country gave a viable excuse to the Buff faithful. Even the next game, a loss at home to a ranked UCLA team, seemed reasonable as the Buffs looked to retool their game without Dinwiddie.

Thankfully, a bad to mediocre USC team came into town and the Buffs jumped on them early before coasting to a 21 point win. Unfortunately, what the Trojans gave the Buffs may very well have been bad medicine.

Their next game was on the road at the #1 team in the country, the University of Arizona. The Wildcats did to CU what the Buffs had done to USC.  Arizona raced out to an 18-4 lead before coasting to a 12 point win in which they were never challenged.

Buff fans held out high hopes that the loss to Arizona was to be expected even WITH Dinwiddie in the lineup, and that the 69-57 loss was MUCH better than the 90-65 shellacking the Buffs took last year in Kansas. Fans said the only game the Buffs could expect to win on this trip was against Arizona State in Tempe.

Unfortunately, the Sun Devils exposed the Colorado team to be a rudderless team without a captain to lead them. ASU destroyed the Buffs 72-51. Colorado fell out of the top 25 last week and after the game at ASU, the chances they make it back this year are slim and none.

After starting the season 14-2, Colorado has lost four of the last five. The Buffs now own a record of 15-6 and have ten games remaining in the regular season to see if they can win five and salvage a 20 win season. Two of those games come against Washington State and USC, who are the the only weak basketball links in the Pac-12. (Some might argue that Oregon State belongs in that list, but the Buffs don't play them again anyway).

The rest of the Buffs schedule is much tougher. They can look forward to their next three games being played here in Boulder at the Foam Dome, where they have been very tough to beat since Boyle became the coach. Then it's off to Los Angeles for two games, back to Boulder for two, then they play their last three on the road in Utah and the Bay Area.

Can the Buffs win five of the last ten? Not if they continue to play like they did tonight. Earlier this year, the Buffs set a team record by making ALL 27 free throws in game. Tonight, CU tossed brick after brick from the line and made only 9 of 24. Sadly to say, even if they had made the other 15, they still would have lost.

The next three games will be key for Colorado. If they win all three (and they should be winnable at home), the team has a chance to right the course. Winning even two of the three will be a good sign. If they win one or none, the season is effectively over. Even the NIT will look the other way.

Boyle really needs to evaluate the best and most efficient way to use this team. Maybe they need to run on offense and pressure on defense to take advantage of their athleticism. The problem with the young guys is that if you give them too much time to think, they end up thinking too much and forgetting to play the game.

NOTE: The Buffs have been slipping all over the floor the last several games, going back to the Dinwiddie injury. Maybe CU should be taking a hard look at what shoes they are choosing to wear.