NCAAB Game Preview - San Diego at Colorado

Sat Nov 16, 2019 10:00 PM EST

From China to the top 25.

Colorado's journey across half a world last weekend paid off in two ways -- an 81-71 win on Nov. 8 over Pac-12 rival Arizona State in a nonconference game played in Shanghai, and a spot in this week's poll at No. 25.

After a week to rest and recover from that arduous journey, the Buffaloes try for a 2-0 start Saturday night when they host San Diego in Boulder, Colo.

Colorado's name players came up big in the season opener. Forward Tyler Bey notched the 20th double-double of his career with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while guard McKinley Wright stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, seven boards and five assists.

"Good win against a quality team this time of year," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "You don't usually open with teams like this, especially so far away from home. It was a great week; winning makes this trip all worthwhile.

"I'm really proud of these guys. Wright and Bey really played well down the stretch. That's what you need your veterans to do."

Colorado won in a familiar fashion under Boyle, owning the glass to the tune of 48-36 and limiting the Sun Devils to 38.5 percent shooting from the field. The Buffs are 60-5 in the Boyle regime when holding teams to less than 40 percent from the floor while winning the boards by eight or more.

The victory also gives Colorado a sneaky chip it could cash in with the selection committee in March -- an early-season win over a Power 5 foe that will be considered a top quadrant win, barring a bad season for Arizona State.

"We came a long way," Wright said. "We didn't want to go back on that 14-hour plane ride with the L."

Meanwhile, the Toreros (2-2) are aiming for their third straight win when they face the Buffaloes. They squared their record at .500 Thursday night at Weber State, pulling away in the second half for a 71-56 decision behind 21 points and five assists from sophomore Joey Calcaterra.

San Diego opened the season with losses to UC Irvine and Long Beach State, but bounced back Tuesday night with a 72-66 overtime win at home against Fresno State. It rode the starters hard in that game, playing all of them for at least 35 minutes.

Second-year coach Sam Scholl got an excellent defensive effort from his club at Weber State. They limited the Wildcats to 38.7 percent shooting from the field, including 3 of 18 from the 3-point line. That came on the heels of restricting Fresno State to 35.9 percent from the field two nights earlier.

"Our defense is way ahead of our offense, and I'm fine with that," Scholl said after the Fresno State win. "I'm excited for our guys for being rewarded for the process of being better."

--Field Level Media