Big early stakes in play as Colorado men’s basketball opens Pac-12 s…

Colorado was playing well at the time. Much more consistently than the erratic highs and lows on display through the first few weeks of this season.

And still, Arizona State marched into the CU Events Center in February to record its first win in Boulder in nine years.

That Sun Devils’ win in February kept a CU team that had been surging down the stretch from being a serious part of the bubble watch for the NCAA Tournament. Although the calendar is only now turning to December, CU’s uneven start already has left the Buffs unable to absorb more dents to their early resume as Arizona State visits once again on Thursday night for the Pac-12 Conference opener.

“They’re a really, really good team,” CU point guard KJ Simpson said. “You have a team like that with a lot of talent, they get off to a good start and they have a lot of confidence, that’s a dangerous team. It’s kind of like what they had towards the end of last season. Now they’re starting with it. It’s going to be a really tough matchup. On the defensive end, our job is to just guard the ball and make them take tough shots.

“I’m sure with their returning guys, they’re talking with their team how they came in here last and killed us. Seeing how we started off this year, they’re probably thinking down on us a little bit. We can’t be comfortable at all. We know what they’re capable of and they showed us here last year.”

CU had won six consecutive games when ASU visited for the final homestand of the 2021-22 season, and at the time the Buffs also owned a six-game home winning streak against the Sun Devils. The Buffs’ loss that afternoon was doubly damaging after defeating No. 2 Arizona two days later.

Defeating the Sun Devils still might not have pushed CU into tournament contention, but the Buffs already are in a similar situation this year, albeit about two and a half months earlier in the season. The Buffs have a pair of commendable wins to their credit already after topping Tennessee and Texas A&M away from home, but losses against Grambling State, UMass and Boise State have given CU little margin for error as it begins league play.

Arizona State is off to a 6-1 start, winning against then-20th-ranked Michigan in Brooklyn on Nov. 17 and topping, by 31 points, the same Grambling team that beat Colorado by nine. Through the season’s first three weeks, ASU leads the Pac-12 in defensive 3-point percentage (.221) and is second in overall defensive field goal percentage (.340).

“The challenge for us is to keep them in front of us, guard the ball and guard the 3-point line. They’re a team that can really shoot it from three and they can attack the paint,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “Defensively, their numbers are as good as they’ve ever been. They’re very aggressive defensively.  They’re aggressive in the passing lanes. They’re aggressive on the ball. One of the things we’ve struggled with is pressure, so we’re going to have to figure that out.”

Arizona State Sun Devils at CU Buffs men’s basketball

TIPOFF: Thursday, 6:30 p.m., CU Events Center.

TV/RADIO: TV — FOX Sports 1; Radio — KOA 850 AM.

RECORDS: Arizona State 6-1; Colorado 4-3.

COACHES: Arizona State — Bobby Hurley, 8th season (124-101; 166-121 overall); Colorado — Tad Boyle, 13th season (258-158, 314-224 overall).

KEY PLAYERS: Arizona State — G DJ Horne, 6-1, Jr. (13.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg); G Frankie Collins, 6-1, So. (12.9 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.9 rpg); G Devan Cambridge, 6-4, Gr. (9.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, .500 field goal percentage). Colorado — G KJ Simpson, 6-2, So. (17.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.7 apg); F Tristan da Silva, 6-9, Jr. (12.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, .500 field goal percentage); F J’Vonne Hadley, 6-6, Jr. (10.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg, .500 field goal percentage).

NOTES: The Buffs are unlikely to see ASU forward Marcus Bagley, who may or may not be suspended (Bagley offered a since-deleted tweet this week saying that was the case). Once a highly-touted recruit for ASU, the oft-injured Bagley has appeared in just two games this season and 17 in three seasons at ASU. Bagley has made just one appearance against the Buffs, going scoreless with seven rebounds in 20 minutes in a CU win in Boulder on March 4, 2021…ASU won games against VCU and Michigan at the Legends Classic in Brooklyn but suffered its lone loss (in overtime) in its only true road game so far on Nov. 13 at Texas Southern… CU continues the opening week of Pac-12 play at Washington on Sunday (1 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Network).