BuffZone writer Pat Rooney discusses three topics on CU Buffs athletics as Big 12 basketball and football transfer portal transactions heat up.

No panic

With three regular rotation players taking on larger roles and two others playing their first (and only) season of Division I basketball, a bad game was inevitable. And the Colorado men’s basketball team certainly had one on Saturday at Arizona State.

For Buffs fans looking for a silver lining, here are a couple. It’s doubtful the Buffs will go 3-for-24 from the 3-point arc again, even in tough road venues. And the Buffs also were just five days removed from going toe-to-toe with No. 3 Iowa State, even taking the lead in the second half behind a spirited comeback. Play like that consistently at home, and the Buffs will pick up a few wins.

As is often the case, the truth of this team probably is somewhere in between those examples. These Buffs aren’t going to have a shot to win in the waning moments every time they play the top-tier Big 12 powerhouses. Nor will they often be as thoroughly outplayed as they were against a shorthanded ASU team missing its leading scorer.

Following what was described as a tough practice on Monday, head coach Tad Boyle talked about reminding himself to have patience, while at the same time making certain the program standards aren’t compromised. That’s how to prevent one bad game from turning into a bad week or more.

Unfortunately for the Buffs, they can play much better than they did at ASU and still lose — certainly a possible scenario in play for Wednesday’s game at Central Florida. Even in tough seasons in the Pac-12, the Buffs could count on the occasional matchup against a league lightweight, especially at home, to get right. The Big 12 slate offers no such relief.

It was a similar though less discouraging story for the CU women’s team, which dropped a pair of road games in Texas against No. 11 TCU as well as a tough Baylor squad that features former Buff Aaronette Vonleh.

Certainly there was no shame in coming home empty-handed from a challenging road trip. And unlike the CU men, the CU women earned some grace by taking care of business at home in its league opener against then-No. 14 West Virginia on Dec. 21. If the Buffs continue to hold serve at home, it will be a successful return season in the Big 12.

However, head coach JR Payne probably isn’t overly pleased with her team’s defensive numbers so far. The Buffs begin the week ranked 12th in the Big 12 in defensive field goal percentage (.399), 13th in defensive 3-point percentage (.321) and 13th in scoring defense (63.2). Those marks will have to improve if the Buffs hope to make noise in the conference race.

The retooling of the Colorado football roster via the transfer portal is underway. Here’s hoping head coach Deion Sanders makes a priority of bringing in more experienced offensive linemen, as the Buffs did with a Sunday commitment from former Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Monroe lineman Zarian McGill.

That’s not to say McGill, or any other forthcoming additions, will cure all that ails the Buffs up front. The offensive line at times was one of the most improved units of CU’s team during the middle of the season, but the Buffs already have lost offensive line coach Phil Loadholt, as well as two of the players the Buffs leaned on in center Hank Zilinskas and Kahlil Benson.

CU might have been better up front as the year progressed, but the group still struggled against strong defenses, as was the case in the Alamo Bowl loss against BYU. Throughout the year, the unit was bailed out frequently by the athleticism and toughness of Shedeur Sanders. But the Buffs won’t have that asset next year. What will they have? A legitimate stud up front to build around in tackle Jordan Seaton.