In fact, although he had other decent numbers at halftime, at that point it looked as if Colorado’s senior forward was on his way to another frustrating shooting day outside the CU Events Center.

But then da Silva caught fire, and the Buffs followed his lead.

After nearly joining an exclusive club that counts only Chauncey Billups among its members in CU Buffs men’s basketball lore while leading a key win against Miami, da Silva on Monday was named the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week.

Da Silva nearly joined Billups as the only CU players to post a triple-double in points, rebounds and assists after finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a 90-63 win against the Hurricanes in Brooklyn, N.Y.

It is da Silva’s second career Pac-12 weekly honor and his first this season. The Buffaloes also nearly rejoined the Associated Press top 25 on Monday, finishing as the top team among others receiving votes, 31 points behind No. 25 Northwestern.

Miami dropped nine spots to No. 24, while the Buffs jumped from No. 60 to No. 37 in Monday’s NET rankings.

“I feel like we saw what we could do. It was just a matter of going out and doing it,” da Silva said. “Focusing on defense, getting turnovers, and then sprinting in transition and getting easy shots. Sharing the ball, playing together. That’s when we are at our best.”

Da Silva entered the Miami game averaging 15.5 points but just 11.3 in CU’s previous three games away from home. Da Silva also sported an 0-for-12 mark on 3-pointers away from home that grew to 0-for-17 early in the second half against Miami.

At halftime, da Silva was just 2 for 7 overall and 0 for 4 on 3-pointers, although he had seven rebounds and five assists. He finally broke the 3-point drought during CU’s game-breaking 19-4 run in the second half and went 7 for 10 with 18 of his 22 points after halftime.

It was the third double-double of da Silva’s career.

“I think it gives our guys a lot of confidence,” Boyle said of the da Silva-led second half in Brooklyn. “Because Miami is a good basketball team, a good basketball program. So, I think confidence is a big thing. Our guys believed. We’ve got a competitive group. I’ve known that from the beginning. But this makes that Florida State loss sting even more. There’s nothing we can do about that. If I had to say it in one word, it would be confidence — in the system, in the offense, and what we’re preaching defensively. To see when they do the things we’re talking about, success happens.”

The Buffs were off on Monday after returning home from New York, and will begin three days of practice on Tuesday ahead of a Friday night home game against Northern Colorado (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network). It has been an inconsistent run through the nonconference slate, with the Buffs left to lament a neutral-court loss against a Florida State team three weeks ago that has since gone 0-3. But the Miami win has a chance to become the result that gives the Buffs a much-needed confidence boost away from home.

“It’s huge,” point guard KJ Simpson said. “It shows that we can play no matter where. We’re playing real good and comfortable at home, but away is where I’ve been trying to stress to this team to get going. In order to be a good, deep team toward the end of the season, even though it’s a long ways, we have to learn to play the same way home and away.”

The Colorado women’s basketball team is getting that chance, however, and hoping to take full advantage of it.

CU (9-1), which remained at No. 8 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings on Monday, rolled past UT-Arlington Dec. 5 and won’t play again until Dec. 21 when Northern Colorado visits Boulder.

Rest was first on the agenda. Following the UTA game, CU took four of the next five days off. Coaches are using the time to recruit and players had chances to go home for a few days.

On the court, however, there is a need to re-embrace the fundamentals of the game.

“I just think we need to sort of reset back to the basics, especially on the defensive end of the floor,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “I’m watching possessions and we’re doing things that we don’t (normally) do, and we’re not doing things that we do – or we should be doing. I don’t know that any of it is really schematic. It’s more like we just need to get back to the basics and things like that. I think would really help us.”

The first 10 games were played in a four-week period, leaving little time for the basics. The Buffs were either playing or preparing for the next opponent.

Sometimes working on the fundamentals can be boring, but Payne paraphrased a quote she saw with the message about “elite players know that working on fundamentals is the key to success.”

As good as the season has been for CU to this point, there are times when the basics have been forgotten. With Pac-12 Conference play set to begin on Dec. 30, Payne and the staff want more focus on those areas.

“Ultimately, those are the things that help you win games,” she said.

Under Payne, CU has typically been good at focusing on itself in getting better, and that will certainly be emphasized during a stretch where the Buffs will play just once in 24 days.

“It’s very important,” she said. “It’s also very exciting for us, because we love to scout and we think we do a great job of that but I think we need to prioritize ourselves. Because like I said, when we were watching the film, we’re doing things that we shouldn’t be doing and we’re not doing things we should be doing. That means that we need more practice time to revisit fundamentals, revisit our jobs on the floor and make sure that we’re more disciplined in that.”

Individually, there are players who need to spend some time in the gym to get more shooting practice, Payne said, but “individual ownership” of what’s happening on the floor is the main priority.

Notable

The top 12 teams in the AP poll remained unchanged from last week. South Carolina is still at No. 1, receiving all 36 first-place votes. UCLA (No. 2), North Carolina State (No. 3), Iowa (No. 4) and Texas (No. 5) round out the top five, followed by USC, LSU, Colorado, Stanford and Baylor. In addition to the four teams in the top 10, the Pac-12 also has Utah at No. 11. Washington and Washington State are the top two teams among “others receiving votes,” while Oregon State also received a vote. … Utah’s Alissa Pili was named Pac-12 player of the week, while USC’s JuJu Watkins was the freshman of the week. Watkins has been the freshman of the week all five weeks of the season so far.

Yet it was defense, particularly after halftime, which paved the way for the best overall performance of the season for the Buffaloes.

Although playing short-handed, the Buffs complemented their defense with a balanced attack offensively and dominated the second half while running away from No. 15 Miami for a 90-63 win on Sunday in the NABC Brooklyn Showcase at the Barclays Center.

CU played without standout freshman Cody Williams, who is dealing with a left wrist issue. Yet it didn’t matter, as the Buffs put the clamps on Miami after halftime.

Miami entered the game shooting 51.3% overall and 42.5% on 3-pointers. Although the Hurricanes’ final numbers weren’t dramatically off that pace (44.9 overall, 40.0 3-pointers), they shot just 40.9% in the second half with a 2-for-9 mark from the arc. The Hurricanes also finished with 20 turnovers, the most by any CU foe this season, with 14 of those occurring after halftime.

The Buffs led by one point at the break before outscoring Miami 53-27 in the second half.

“We had a week long to prepare, and we knew this (Miami) team is a good team,” CU point guard KJ Simpson said. “We wanted to take away their strengths, which is their 3-point shot. We looked at their film against Kentucky, and we noticed when you take away their threes, they don’t kind of have the same rhythm. Our mindset was just straight defense. We didn’t even talk about offense. It was just straight defense.”

Still, there was plenty of offense as well.

For the third time this season, six Buffaloes players scored in double figures, with Tristan da Silva leading the way with what nearly was a historic performance. While da Silva still struggled to find the range from 3-point land — his 0-for-5 start on Sunday left him with an 0-for-17 mark on 3-pointers away from home before he finally ended the drought — the senior forward found other ways to impact the game.

Da Silva went 8-for-11 on 2-pointers and made all three of his free throws, finishing with a game-high 22 points. He grabbed 10 rebounds for the third double-double of his career and very nearly posted just the second points-rebounds-assists triple-double in program history, recording a career-high nine assists.

Chauncey Billups recorded 24 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against George Mason on Dec. 2, 1995. Former CU center David Harrison also posted two triple-doubles in points-rebounds-blocks, but those are the only triple-doubles in program history.

The Buffs shot 70.0% overall (21-for-30) and 4-for-8 on 3-pointers after the break. CU matched a season-high with 28 assists, marking the fifth time this year the Buffs have recorded at least 20 assists.

“I told myself before the game I can’t rely on my shot too much,” da Silva said. “It’s a mentality thing, really. Even when I wasn’t making shots, I shot a couple air balls, but so what? I just kept to it. Started rebounding, started sharing the ball, taking care of the ball, and I feel like that’s another way I can give my team energy.”

Miami took a three-point lead early in the second half before the Buffs scored nine consecutive points in what turned into a game-breaking 19-4 run. CU led by 11 when standout Miami forward Norchad Omier fouled out with 6 minutes, 51 seconds remaining. Once Omier exited, the Buffs promptly put the game away with a 12-2 run.

“It’s a hell of a win against a really good, good basketball team,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “We knew it was going to be a dog fight. But man, our guys answered the bell in the second half. To shoot 70% and share the ball and move the ball the way we did. They have good offensive players, and we knew that. They made some tough shots. They’re capable of doing that. But our guys, they gutted it out.”

Fast break

Why the Buffs won: CU shot .700 after halftime while outscoring the Hurricanes by 26 points in the second half.

Three stars:

1. Tristan da Silva. Nearly posted what would’ve been just the second points-rebounds-assists triple-double in program history, finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

2. KJ Simpson. Scored 12 of his 20 points after halftime and also finished with five assists and four steals.

3. J’Vonne Hadley. Was quietly efficient, going 5-for-7 with 11 points, six rebounds and a career-high-tying four assists.

Up next: The Buffs return home to host Northern Colorado on Friday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network)

CU Buffs men’s basketball 90, No. 15 Miami Hurricanes 63

COLORADO (7-2)

da Silva 9-17 3-3 22, Lampkin 5-6 1-1 11, Hadley 5-7 1-3 11, Simpson 8-13 2-2 20, Hammond III 5-9 0-0 11, O’Brien 4-6 2-2 13, Dak 0-1 0-0 0, Diop 1-3 0-0 2, Carrington 0-1 0-0 0, Hurlburt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-63 9-11 90.

MIAMI (7-2)

Omier 5-8 2-3 12, Cleveland 5-9 5-5 17, Joseph 2-4 2-2 6, Poplar 4-11 2-2 11, Pack 3-7 0-0 7, Nwoko 0-0 0-1 0, George 2-4 2-2 8, Watson 0-3 0-0 0, Casey 1-2 0-0 2, Robinson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-49 13-15 63.

Halftime — Colorado 37-36. 3-point field goals — Colorado 7-20 (da Silva 1-6, Simpson 2-3, Hammond III 1-4, O’Brien 3-4, Dak 0-1, Diop 0-1, Carrington 0-1); Miami 6-15 (Omier 0-1, Cleveland 2-4, Joseph 0-1, Poplar 1-3, Pack 1-1, George 2-3, Watson 0-2). Rebounds — Colorado 33 (da Silva 10); Miami 21 (Omier 5, Poplar 5). Assists — Colorado 28 (da Silva 9); Miami 11 (Cleveland 2, Pack 2, George 2). Turnovers — Colorado 15 (Lampkin 4); Miami 20 (Poplar 6). Total fouls — Colorado 13, Miami 12.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Joshua Jefferson scored 16 points including a key 3-pointer down the stretch and Saint Mary’s sent No. 13 Colorado State to its first loss of the season 64-61 on Saturday night. Augustas Marciulionis led the Gaels (5-5) with 18 points before fouling out, and Aidan Mahaney added 10 points. Isaiah Stevens had 20 points to lead Colorado State (9-1). Patrick Cartier had 16 points and Nique Clifford added 15 points and 11 rebounds. “It was a huge step for us,” St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett said. “We’ve had a tough schedule. We weren’t put together at the start of the year for a couple of reasons. But we’ve been building it, building it. I thought we were getting better. We have to get tougher. We have to get better so we can turn this thing around. But this was the best team we’ve played and it’s the best we’ve played so this was a good step in the right direction.” Defense was central to the Gaels’ upset of the Rams, who were held to a season low in points. “If we’re good on that side of the ball, we always have a chance to win,” Jefferson said. “It was being as tough as we can, as tight as we can and then just playing hard every single time.” Colorado State coach Niko Medved credited his players for putting up a fight to end. “We had our chances late, but they made a couple more plays than we did,” he said. “That stings. I guess we’re not going to be Indiana, the ’76 Hoosiers, right? We’re not going undefeated. We’ll grow from this and learn.” Up 33-32 at the break, St. Mary’s moved out to a 51-42 lead on a 3-pointer by Mahaney and a driving layup by Mitchell Saxen on successive possessions midway through the second half. They went ahead by nine points on Jefferson’s layup with 6:48 left to play. Colorado State fought back with a 9-0 run, tying it at 55 with 4:09 remaining on a pair of free throws by Stevens. The Rams went in front 57-56 on Cartier’s two free throws with 2:10 left. Jefferson answered with a hook shot seconds later and the Gaels expanded the lead to 61-57 with less than a minute left when he connected on a 3-pointer. “I was ecstatic,” Jefferson said of the late long-distance shot. “It was like, ‘Let’s get the win now.’ That was my main focus. Just get the win, so I’m happy with it.” Colorado State had a chance to tie in the last 10 seconds but Stevens and Clifford both missed 3-point attempts. St. Mary’s took a halftime lead on Saxen’s jumper in the lane a second ahead of the buzzer. The Gaels had led by as many as 10 points but the Rams overcame early offensive problems to put together a 16-5 burst. Clifford capped the run with a pair of free throws to put the Rams in front by a point with 25 seconds left in the half.

BIG PICTURE

St. Mary’s lived up to its stout defensive reputation, suffocating Colorado State’s offense and forcing repeated scoring droughts to deny the Rams’ comeback bids.

The Rams never could find a shooting rhythm, converting just 37% of their shots.

POLL IMPLICATIONS Colorado State, which at No. 13 achieved its highest ranking ever in the AP poll, went 1-1 this week and figures to slip after its first loss of the season.

UP NEXT St. Mary’s: Visits Phoenix to play UNLV on Dec. 16 in the Jerry Colangelo Classic. Colorado State: Hosts Colorado State-Pueblo on Dec. 17.

___

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Boyle was an assistant at Wichita State when the Shockers twice played Larranaga’s George Mason club during the 2005-06 season, including an NCAA Tournament date as Larranaga led George Mason to the program’s first Final Four appearance. Larranaga did the same with Miami last season, and on Sunday Boyle’s Buffaloes collide with the 15th-ranked Hurricanes for the first time in nearly 67 years as part of the NABC Brooklyn Showcase at the Barclays Center.

Larranaga’s George Mason club defeated Wichita State during the 2005-06 regular season as part of the defunct ESPN Bracket Buster series, then did so again in a Sweet 16 matchup.

“We played them twice. They beat us in the old bracket busters, and then they beat us in the Sweet 16 to go to the Elite Eight,” Boyle said. “So I’ve coached against him, even though I was an assistant and he was the head coach at George Mason. He’s been around a long time. He’s a basketball lifer. He was a good player back in the day and he’s a good coach. He’s done a great job at Miami, obviously.”

The Buffs, of course, are less concerned about the Larranaga history lesson than taking advantage of one final opportunity to pick up a signature win during nonconference play. CU lost its only true road game of the nonconference schedule last week at Colorado State and split its previous two neutral-floor games more than two weeks ago at the Sunshine Slam, defeating Richmond before losing in overtime against Florida State.

It’s not a must-win situation for the Buffs and their NCAA Tournament expectations. Yet a victory nonetheless would give CU’s credentials a huge boost when Pac-12 Conference play begins at the end of the month.

“It’s a big opportunity. Especially knowing that we haven’t been playing up to our potential,” CU forward J’Vonne Hadley said. “I say we’re 70%, maybe 75, of where we can be. So just knowing that, there’s been that extra edge this week. Just getting after it, knowing that we can always get better. Hopefully it translates to the game.”

Miami still boasts several key figures from last spring’s Final Four run, most notably forward Norchad Omier and point guard Nijel Pack. Like CU’s Tristan da Silva, Omier landed on the preseason watch list for the Karl Malone Award as the nation’s top power forward after posting 16 double-doubles last season. Pack was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Regional, but those two Final Four holdovers aren’t the Hurricanes’ only weapons.

Four of Miami’s starters average at least 13 points, with junior guard Wooga Poplar making a dramatic step forward in the season’s early stages. Poplar averaged 8.4 points for Miami last year but takes a team-best 16.5 points-per-game scoring average and a .537 3-point mark into the matchup with CU.

As a team, Miami is shooting .425 from 3-point range with a .513 overall field goal percentage.

“They don’t have a lot of weak links,” Boyle said. “The thing about Miami is they’ve got guys that can shoot the ball extremely well from the perimeter, so we’ve got to guard the 3-point line. But they also have guys that can really put the ball on the floor and attack the rim. They play a very small lineup to start in terms of height, but man, they’re all good players.

“A lot of times you say if you take away the threes, we can beat this team. We guard the paint, we can beat this team. Well, with Miami you’ve got to do both.”

CU Buffs men’s basketball vs. No. 15 Miami Hurricanes

TIPOFF: Sunday, noon MT, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.

TV/RADIO: ESPN2/KHOW 630 AM

RECORDS: Colorado 6-2; Miami 7-1.

COACHES: Colorado — Tad Boyle, 14th season (278-174, 334-240 overall). Miami — Jim Larranaga, 13th season (262-150, 732-484 overall).

KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G KJ Simpson, 6-2, Jr. (19.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.4 apg, .549 FG%, .452 3%); F Tristan da Silva, 6-9, Sr. (15.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .562 FG%); F Cody Williams, 6-8, Fr. (14.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg, .623 FG%); G Julian Hammond III, 6-2, Jr. (9.9 ppg, 2.5 apg, .481 3%); F J’Vonne Hadley, 6-6, Sr. (9.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, .553 FG%); C Eddie Lampkin Jr., 6-11, Sr. (7.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg); G/F Luke O’Brien, 6-8, Sr. (4.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg). Miami — G Wooga Poplar, 6-5, Jr. (16.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, .537 3%); F Norchad Omier, 6-7, Jr. (16.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg, .577 FG%); G Matthew Cleveland, 6-7, Jr. (14.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, .648 FG%); G Nijel Pack, 6-0, Jr. (13.5 ppg, 4.1 apg, .405 3%); G Bensley Joseph, 6-2, Jr. (9.1 ppg, 3.3 apg, .481 3%).

NOTES: This is the first matchup between the programs since a CU win at Miami on Jan. 3, 1957. … Miami suffered its first loss of the season last week at Kentucky in a top-20 battle as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Hurricanes go into Sunday’s game off consecutive home wins against Notre Dame in the ACC opener and Long Island. … CU played at the Barclays Center early in the 2016-17 season at the Legends Classic, losing against Notre Dame before defeating Texas. … Miami has held its opponents to a .257 mark on 3-pointers. … The Buffs have outrebounded their opponent in all eight games. … This is CU’s first game on a full-time NBA floor since a win against nationally-ranked Dayton at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 21, 2019. … The Buffs return home to face Northern Colorado on Friday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Despite showcasing an explosive offensive ability, Simpson knew he had to be more consistent from long range. And in order to become a premier point guard, he needed to put up a much more efficient assist-to turnover rate.

Plenty of basketball remains for the Colorado Buffaloes. And the challenge of the final run through the Pac-12 Conference remains. But the early returns out of Simpson have been encouraging for the Buffs, who hope their point guard puts together another strong performance when they take on No. 15 Miami on Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y. (noon MT, ESPN2).

During his first two seasons, Simpson showed flashes of being a dependable long-range shooter, even if his final numbers ended below-par both years. His assist-to-turnover rate, however, has always been a struggle until this season.

Simpson goes into the Miami game sporting a career-best 3.18 assist-to-turnover rate and a .452 3-point percentage after posting a .269 mark through his first two seasons.

“I’m happy about that, obviously. It just goes to show you I’ve been working on it,” Simpson said of his assist-to-turnover rate. “And I know I was capable of it. It’s just with me, I feel like I can take on the world sometimes. I try to make plays happen, but I’ve just got to play with more patience. I’ve learned that. I’ve matured and grown. I understand you get a lot more better looks when you play patient. It’s nice to see out there and finally show people I’m capable of doing that every night.”

In a bench role as a freshman two years ago, Simpson posted an assist-to-turnover rate of just 1.09. It was only slightly better last year in his first season as the starting point guard, finishing at 1.50.

It has been a much different story so far this season. Not only is Simpson’s assist total up (3.8 per game last year; 4.4 per game this year), but his turnover rate is down dramatically (2.6 per game last year; 1.4 this year). Simpson enjoyed only six out of 29 games last year with one or fewer turnovers, and he already has recorded five such efforts through the first eight games. Simpson has turned in only one game with more than two turnovers, finishing with three against Richmond.

Turnovers have been an issue at times for the Buffs this season, as they are averaging 14 per game after averaging 13 per game a year ago. If it feels like that discrepancy should be larger, it’s because CU has posted two of its worst three turnover games in its two losses, finishing with 20 in an overtime defeat against Florida State and 15 in last week’s loss at Colorado State.

Yet given the Buffs’ primary ball-handler is keeping his turnover rate low, it seemingly is an issue the Buffs can address ahead of Pac-12 play.

“Consistency. That’s the key,” Simpson said. “That was a real, real big focal point of mine. I talked to my coaches, going back home and watching film, just working on it and being consistent. Being consistent no matter how we’re playing, or no matter if we’re winning or losing, where we’re playing, we just have to play the same every single time, and the winning and losing will take care of itself. If I’m being consistent, that’s all you can ask for.”

With eight rotational players back from last year and two veteran transfers joining the mix, however, the Buffaloes have had to figure out a way to manage a large group of freshmen, as well.

That piece of the puzzle has been mostly figured out, though, as the No. 8-ranked Buffaloes (9-1) look ahead to the start of Pac-12 play at the end of the month.

Guards Jadyn Atchison and Mikayla Johnson have earned some spot time off the bench, while three others – guards Kennedy Sanders and Lele Tanuvasa and forward Ruthie Loomis-Goltl – will redshirt.

“We allowed it to be their decision,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “We talked about just where they are on the depth chart, and who’s ahead of them and what it would take to beat (the veterans) out. And … they’re very academic kids, so having an opportunity to be here for five years where you can earn a master’s degree (was important). And then just development. Year one vs. year five looks very different for everyone.”

This is the first time since the 2009-10 season that CU has had five scholarship freshmen on the roster. That bodes well for CU’s future, but veterans are dominating the playing time this season. That includes two of the top players on the team, Quay Miller and Jaylyn Sherrod, who opted to return for a bonus season awarded by the NCAA to all players from the 2020-21 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Sanders, the decision was easy, Payne said. She’s not only behind three veteran point guards, including Sherrod, but Sanders was out for much of the offseason with a broken foot.

“For her it was really like an injury thing,” Payne said. “She really didn’t have any training this summer and then Jaylyn’s decision to come back for a fifth year obviously was part of it. But for her truly, it was an injury thing.”

Sanders, rated the country’s No. 75 prospect by ESPN’s HoopGurlz, has been practicing with the team and flashing her talent. That’s another reason why Payne likes Sanders redshirting.

“I think being able to save a year and preserve it is really the smart thing to do,” she said.

Tanuvasa is another guard who probably wouldn’t have had much playing time anyway, with Sherrod, Kindyll Wetta, Tameiya Sadler, Frida Formann and Maddie Nolan in the backcourt.

Loomis-Goltl was rated the No. 78 prospect by HoopGurlz. She’s got exceptional potential, but the Buffs have Miller and Aaronette Vonleh in the post, along with key reserve Charlotte Whittaker.

Johnson, meanwhile, arrived from Anchorage, Alaska, in January, so she’s already redshirted. A 6-foot-1 guard, she’s appeared in six games, playing 37 minutes while compiling 15 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Atchison is a 6-1 guard who has played 37 minutes in seven games, with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

“For them, they need to dial it up,” Payne said. “They can do some things that we actually need on the floor. They can score, they can shoot. Jadyn, we would love to have her length defensively right now. They’ve come a long way since they got here, but they need to get with it, so to speak. We’re playing faster than you are; you need to catch up. We’re moving quicker, we’re talking more, we’re dialed in more than you are and if you’re gonna play, you’ve got to fix those things.”

CU has one more non-conference game (Dec. 21 against Northern Colorado) before the Dec. 30 conference opener against Utah. Often, coaches will shorten the bench in conference play, but Payne said she wants to expand it, allowing Atchison and Johnson to develop and play more.

“I think those two need to play,” she said. “But I also think they’ve got to get it get on our level, as far as just intensity and focus and pace and things like that. But I think those kids can play.”

After two days off following Sunday’s home rout of Pepperdine, the CU men’s basketball team got back to work on Wednesday without Smith, who is sidelined indefinitely due to a lower leg issue.

Already on the back end of the backcourt rotation, it isn’t a ton of minutes the Buffaloes will have to fill without Smith, who averaged 11.8 minutes off the bench through the first seven games. Still, someone will have to play those minutes, and as the Buffs set their sights on a Sunday date in Brooklyn, N.Y., against No. 15 Miami (noon MT, ESPN2), head coach Tad Boyle said the likely answer will be additional minutes for guard Julian Hammond III, as well as a cast of youngsters that includes redshirt freshman walk-on Harrison Carrington.

“Every man just kind of moves up a rotation,” Boyle said. “Assane (Diop) and BD (Bangot Dak), even though they’re the same position, that’s again the five-out offense we run, it’s interchangeable. I think what it does is it moves Harrison Carrington into the 10-man rotation. I don’t like playing kids in the second half that didn’t play in the first half. Get them a little bit of a run, a little bit of a burn in the first half, and then in the second half, if need be, we shorten the rotation. That will continue to happen.

“Assane, BD and Harrison, and Julian obviously being another guard off the bench, his minutes will probably go up as well.”

Through the first seven games, Boyle utilized a rotation consisting of a solid first seven (KJ Simpson, Cody Williams, Tristan da Silva, Eddie Lampkin Jr., J’Vonne Hadley, Luke O’Brien and Hammond) with spot first-half minutes off the bench for Smith, Diop and, to a lesser extent, Dak.

With Smith sidelined against Pepperdine, Dak (11 minutes, 50 seconds), Hammond (24:39) and Carrington (9:12) hit new season-highs for playing time, although Hammond’s mark was just few seconds more than his previous high (24:35 against Iona).

Carrington is a 6-foot-7 walk-on out of Menlo Park, Calif., who is in his second year with the program. Carrington redshirted last year, but Boyle has consistently lauded his ability and has shown a willingness to give Carrington meaningful minutes. He has appeared in five games, recording the first field goal of his career against Iona.

“I’ve got confidence in Harrison,” Boyle said. “He’s a terrific player and has really grown. He’s gained a lot of confidence on the scout team. And the players know how good he is.”

The game against Miami is shaping up to the second without Smith for the Buffs (6-2), who are running out of opportunities to add an impressive nonconference win to a resume they hope will be worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid in March.

“Obviously we’re focused on them, they’re the next opponent, but we realize the opportunity that’s at stake,” Simpson said. “Also, what we haven’t been able to do is win on the road. We won against Richmond, but we haven’t won a true road game. We play well at home, we just have to find a way to carry that over on an opposing court.”

Throughout JR Payne’s tenure as head coach, the Colorado women’s basketball team has built a reputation for being nasty on defense.

Led by associate head coach Toriano Towns, the Buffaloes have been dominant on defense at times and that’s what fueled their run to the Sweet 16 last year.

Nine games into this season, however, the Buffaloes (8-1) aren’t playing up to their standard on that end of the floor, despite stellar results and a No. 8 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25.

“I don’t think we’re defending as well as we have in the past certainly,” Payne said.

The Buffs will continue to work on that Tuesday when they face UT Arlington and throughout the rest of the month as they’ll finally have ample practice time.

“This is no excuse, it’s just the reality: we’ve spent so much of our time the last three weeks in game prep mode – whether we have a day off and then we have one day to prepare, only two days to prepare – that we haven’t spent a lot of time on ourselves as far as just basic stuff, like shell defense,” Payne said. “Things like that where you’re not going against an opponent’s offensive sets. You’re just simply playing good, tough defense together against whatever the offense is doing. I think we need that and we’ll definitely get that in the next couple of weeks after this game tomorrow.”

The Buffs rank 10th in the Pac-12 in points allowed (62.7 per game), but of greater concern is that they are last in field goal percentage defense (opponents are hitting shots at a 40.7% rate) and 11th against 3-pointers (32.3%).

“Dead last, that’s terrible,” Payne said of the Buffs’ field goal percentage defense.

On the plus side, CU gives up the fewest amount of shots per game (53.8) in the Pac-12 because they’ve been very good at forcing turnovers. Opponents are committing 19.4 turnovers per game.

The Buffs have also been decent in limiting second-chance opportunities.

“I think we’re doing a good job on the defensive glass,” Payne said. “That’s been a priority for us.”

Still, that hasn’t been as good as Payne would like. The Buffs are grabbing 74.1% of available rebounds on the defensive end, but that ranks sixth in the Pac-12.

To Payne’s point, however, the Buffs haven’t had a lot of practice time to fix some issues.

The season began four weeks ago, and the Buffs have already played nine games. They had five days off between the third and four games, but it’s been a whirlwind ever since.

Shortly after returning from a trip to Dallas to play SMU on Nov. 18, the Buffs were home for a couple of days before traveling to the U.S. Virgin Islands for three games over three days during the Thanksgiving break. They then had a 12-hour travel day, followed by one day to prepare for a home game against Boston last Tuesday.

The Buffs had three days to prepare for Air Force last week and had one of their better defensive games, limiting the Falcons to 33.8% from the floor and 13.6% from 3-point range in a 74-58 win on Saturday.

It’s a fairly quick turnaround from Saturday to Tuesday’s matchup with UT Arlington, but after Tuesday, the Buffs play just once more (Dec. 21 vs. Northern Colorado) before the Pac-12 Conference opener against Utah on Dec. 30.

Payne is looking forward to some much-needed practice time as the Buffs aim to shore up their defense.

“We want to make everything better in the next two weeks, but obviously defensively we have a lot of work to do,” Payne said. “We’re getting ready to play the No. 1 offense in the country (Utah) opening night of conference play, so that’ll be a huge priority.”

No. 8 CU Buffs women’s basketball vs. UT Arlington Mavericks

TIPOFF: Tuesday, 11 a.m., CU Events Center in Boulder

TV/RADIO: Online – Live stream at CUBuffs.com/630 AM

RECORDS: Colorado 8-1; UT Arlington 1-7

COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, 8th season (127-94; 228-207 career). UT Arlington — Shereka Wright, 4th season (48-39)

KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G Frida Formann, 5-11, Sr. (15.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.1 spg, .473 FG%, .452 3PT%, 1.000 FT%); C Quay Miller, 6-3, Sr. (9.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg); G Tameiya Sadler, 5-8, Sr. (5.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.1 spg); G Jaylyn Sherrod, 5-7, Sr. (12.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 5.4 apg, 2.1 spg, .487 FG%); C Aaronette Vonleh, 6-3, Jr. (15.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, .678 FG%); G Kindyll Wetta, 5-9, Jr. (7.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, .545 FG%). UT Arlington — G Gia Adams, 5-7, Jr. (12.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.5 spg); F Avery Brittingham, 6-1, Sr. (12.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.8 spg, .451 FG%, .385 3PT%); G Taliyah Clark, 5-11, Jr. (11.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg); G Hannah Humphrey, 5-8, Jr. (8.1 ppg, .364 3PT%); G Nya Threatt, 5-6, So. (7.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.5 apg); F Adela Valkova, 6-2, Sr. (6.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .513 FG%)

NOTES: CU returns home after a 74-58 win at Air Force on Saturday. … This game has an early tip because it’s Field Trip Day for local schools. … In the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday, CU slipped a bit to No. 8. The Buffs were tied at No. 7 with LSU last week, but actually picked up 14 more points in the voting this week (639 points vs. 625 last week). … CU is 3-0 at home this season. … In regular season non-conference home games under Payne, the Buffs are 45-2 and have won 34 in a row. … This will be CU’s first-ever meeting with UT Arlington. … Formann is the only player in the Pac-12 with a perfect free throw percentage. She is also tied for second in the Pac-12 with 3.1 made 3-pointers per game. … CU is shooting 49.1% on the season and the Buffs have been at 44.9% or better in all eight wins. The Buffs have also had at least 20 assists in seven of their eight wins. … Colorado will be UTA’s second Power 5 opponent. The Mavericks lost to Texas 110-64 on Nov. 14. … UTA’s lone win came on Nov. 25 against North Carolina A&T, 87-76. … As a player, Wright was a star at Purdue and played for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA. … Wright was Sun Belt coach of the year in 2021-22 after leading the Mavericks to the conference tournament title and spot in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats rose to No. 1 in Monday’s poll for the first time in nearly nine years, making Tommy Lloyd’s squad the third team to hold the top spot this season. Last week’s No. 1 team, Purdue, slid after an overtime loss at Northwestern.

Arizona claimed 59 of 63 first-place votes to move up one spot, putting the Wildcats comfortably ahead of preseason No. 1 Kansas. The Jayhawks rose three spots to No. 2 with a win against last season’s NCAA champion, Connecticut.

Arizona hasn’t been No. 1 in the AP Top 25 since an eight-week stint that ended in January 2014 under former coach Sean Miller. Lloyd is in his third season after a long run as an assistant at Gonzaga, and his first two teams each spent multiple weeks inside the top five.

“I know when I came to this program, my dream is to make it one of the best in the country,” Lloyd said of the possible rise to No. 1 after a weekend win against Colgate. “If you’re one of the best in the country, you’re going to stumble into being No. 1 once in a while. So you know what? Handle it. And that’ll be the message.”

It was a busy day for the poll: No team in the Top 25 was in the same spot it was a week ago.

Houston rose three spots to No. 3, while the Boilermakers fell to fourth after the Northwestern loss. UConn slid only one spot to No. 5 after the loss at Kansas, followed by Baylor.

Gonzaga and North Carolina cracked the top 10 for the first time this season.

The Bulldogs jumped four spots to No. 7 after a neutral-court win against USC. The Tar Heels jumped eight spots to No. 9 after beating Tennessee in the ACC/SEC Challenge, followed by a home comeback win against Florida State.

The Tar Heels’ leap marked the week’s biggest jump, though No. 13 Colorado State was right behind them after rising seven spots on the strength of its 8-0 start. There was also a six-spot rise for No. 19 Oklahoma, which made its poll debut last week.

In all, 14 teams climbed from last week’s poll, including No. 10 Creighton rising five spots to rejoin the top 10 after spending the first three polls at No. 8.

Duke took the biggest tumble of the week of 15 spots to land at No. 22 after a pair of road losses against unranked opponents. First came a loss at Arkansas then a loss at Georgia Tech after starting point guard Tyrese Proctor went down with an early ankle injury.

No. 15 Miami, No. 17 Tennessee and No. 21 Texas A&M each fell seven spots.

Three teams joined this week’s rankings.

Wisconsin jumped in at No. 23 after beating then-No. 3 Marquette at home, pushing the Badgers to five straight wins. Clemson followed at No. 24 amid a 7-0 start, while San Diego State is back in the poll at No. 25 for the first time since sitting at No. 17 in the preseason.

Villanova (No. 18), Mississippi State (No. 21) Alabama (No. 23) fell out of the poll.

The Big 12 led all conferences with six ranked teams, including No. 12 Texas and No. 14 BYU.

The ACC was next with four teams, followed by the Big Ten, Big East and Southeastern conferences with three each. The Mountain West Conference had two ranked teams, while the Pac-12, American Athletic, Sun Belt and West Coast each had one.

AP college basketball poll

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.