Buffs Back on the Road

SEATTLE – Colorado's road excursions continue this week with visits to Washington and Washington State as the Buffaloes dive fully into Pac-12 Conference play.

Being on the road is nothing new for Colorado this season. CU has played seven of its 13 games away from Boulder. The Buffs are an even .500 on the road this season and have a neutral site win over Louisiana.

Friday's game against the Huskies will be the team's first since splitting from Milwaukee for the holiday break after last Wednesday's win at Marquette.

"I was a bit worried because of all the canceled flights, people getting stuck and things like that," head coach JR Payne explained about everyone coming back from the break. "I was worried about how we would respond, but our last couple days of practice have been really good."

Colorado (10-3, 0-1 Pac-12) has held opponents to under 50 points in six of its last seven games. The Buffs have led from start to finish in each of its previous two games and are ready to hop back into conference play after opening the Pac-12 slate with a disappointing loss at Utah.

"I think we're really comfortable with starting Pac-12 play," Payne stated. "It's been a really challenging few days with travel, cancelation and the snowstorm. It's just been a pretty chaotic week. But overall, we're comfortable in who we are and what we're doing. We feel great entering Pac-12 play."

Even with CU starting the week winners of six of its last seven games, the team is still striving for more consistent play.

"I think the biggest thing we need is consistency," Payne explained. "We played really well the last time out [at Marquette] and that was our most consistent game. We're striving for more of a consistent effort on both sides of the ball every single day. We can't have not great practices and then average practices or great halves and then average halves. We need to be playing great all the time."

Washington (9-2, 1-0 Pac-12) leads the all-time series by two games, 16-14, but the Buffs have won the last two meetings. Colorado bounced the Huskies from the Pac-12 Tournament last season. UW was picked to finish 10th in both Pac-12 preseason polls and return eight players from last season. Haley Van Dyke was the Huskies' lone Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference selection, earning an honorable mention. Washington has four of its last five, including the opening leg of the Apple Cup series against Washington State.

Washington State (10-2, 0-1 Pac-12) has won seven of its last eight heading into the weekend. The Cougars will open the week at home against Utah on Friday. WSU was picked one spot ahead of CU, seventh, in the preseason polls and holds a 13-8 series advantage over Colorado. The Cougars won last year's lone meeting in Boulder, 63-56.

Both games this weekend will be televised across the Pac-12 Networks. Friday's tip is set for 3 p.m. MT, while Sunday is a 5 p.m. MT scheduled start.

Cory Lopez will have the call on the Colorado Radio Network, the Varsity App and CUBuffs.com/Listen. Pregame coverage will start a half-hour before tip.

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