Is there cause for concern with the production, so far, out of standout senior Tristan da Silva away from the CU Events Center?
Sure. But da Silva has been in this position before, and Colorado coach Tad Boyle watched him snap out of it. The Buffaloes and their head coach are confident another road turnaround is on the horizon for da Silva, but first CU has another opportunity to get right at home, as the Buffs look to rebound from a rivalry loss at Colorado State when they host Pepperdine on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m sure he’s frustrated,” Boyle said. “But the nice thing about coaching seniors is you kind of know what they’re made of. You know what kind of character they have, what kind of toughness they have. If they can fight through tough stretches. And there’s no doubt in my mind Tristan is one of those guys who can do that.
“Would we like him to be playing better? Yeah, we would. Certainly in our two losses and away from home. The numbers speak for themselves. But Tristan has worked hard on his game. He’s a good shooter. He’s a good player. He’ll work himself out of it.”
Da Silva and his teammates have been dominant in four home games so far, and the Buffs will have another chance to sharpen their game against the visiting Waves one week before another tough challenge away from home against nationally-ranked Miami in Brooklyn.
The Buffs have shot a robust .568 at home with a .481 mark on 3-pointers. Da Silva has been a lead figure in lighting up the Events Center, shooting .714 overall while going 13-for-19 from the arc. Yet da Silva is coming off a season-low six points in the loss at Colorado State, and his previous season-low was eight points in CU’s overtime loss against Florida State. In three games away from home, da Silva has shot .333 overall while going 0-for-12 on 3-pointers.
By no means is da Silva the only CU player whose home/road splits are too lopsided, although KJ Simpson and Cody Williams have enjoyed big games away from home. And da Silva has a track record of needing time to warm up on the road.
Although da Silva went 5-for-7 with 14 points in an impressive win against Tennessee in Nashville last year, much of his early-season work was marked by struggles on the road. Da Silva was 1-for-6 in last year’s loss at Grambling State, and although he shot .500 overall in three games at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, he went 1-for-8 from long range and twice was held to single-digit points. Da Silva also struggled to a 5-for-16 mark (1-for-7 3s) in CU’s first two-game trip in Pac-12 play through the Bay Area.
Da Silva shook it off, however, going 7-for-11 from the arc during the two-game Oregon trip and going 7-for-13 with 23 points at Arizona. Obviously da Silva and the Buffs can’t do anything to directly address the early road woes on Sunday, but another sharp performance at home might restore a measure of confidence ahead of the date against Miami that will offer CU its final chance for a marquee nonconference win.
“It definitely was a longer day the day after (CSU), just realizing that you lost to an in-state rival,” CU forward J’Vonne Hadley said. “No matter what, at the end of the day, if our offense isn’t going our defense has to be going. We pride ourselves on defense and rebounding. Coach (Boyle) does a good job of making sure we know the meaning behind the losses. Why specifically we lost and what we could do better. You’re not going to play a perfect game, but if you do enough of those little things you can still win those games.”
Pepperdine Waves at CU Buffs men’s basketball
TIPOFF: Sunday, 3 p.m., CU Events Center.
TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Network/KHOW 630 AM
RECORDS: Pepperdine 4-5; Colorado 6-2.
COACHES: Pepperdine — Lorenzo Romar, 9th season (109-142, 458-382 overall). Colorado — Tad Boyle, 14th season (277-174, 333-240 overall).
KEY PLAYERS: Pepperdine — G/F Michael Ajay, 6-7, Jr. (18.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, .522 FG%); G Houston Mallette, 6-5, Jr. (18.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .500 3%); G Malik Moore, 6-5, So. (10.0 ppg); G Ethan Anderson, 6-0, Gr. (7.6 ppg, 3.7 apg). Colorado — G KJ Simpson, 6-2, Jr. (20.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.4 apg, .524 FG%, .414 3%); F Tristan da Silva, 6-9, Sr. (14.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .529 FG%); F Cody Williams, 6-8, Fr. (12.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .604 FG%); F J’Vonne Hadley, 6-6, Sr. (9.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg, .585 FG%); G Julian Hammond III, 6-2, Jr. (9.7 ppg, 2.3 apg, .500 3%); C Eddie Lampkin Jr., 6-11, Sr. (7.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg); G/F Luke O’Brien, 6-8, Sr. (4.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg).
NOTES: Romar’s record at Pepperdine is over two stints with the Waves. He is in the sixth season of his return to Pepperdine after coaching the Waves for three seasons in the late 1990s. … Romar also spent 15 seasons at Washington, winning 298 games. His UW squads went 5-5 against the Buffs. … The Waves boast another familiar face in Anderson, a former USC guard. … Pepperdine actually leads the all-time series 4-3 and has won the past two matchups, including a 78-72 win in Boulder in the teams’ most recent matchup on Dec. 4, 2006. Pepperdine is 3-2 all-time in Boulder, playing its first game at CU on Dec. 15, 1944. … Pepperdine leads the West Coast Conference with a .382 3-point percentage. … Da Silva needs seven points to surpass Chauncey Billups for 37th on CU’s all-time scoring list. … The Buffs will have their longest between-game break of the season so far before taking on No. 8 Miami in Brooklyn on Dec. 10 (noon MT, ESPN2). The Hurricanes are likely to drop in the next Associated Press top 25 after losing by 22 points at No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday.