The Colorado Buffaloes were tested in their third game of the season against the San Diego Toreros, squeaking out an 83-75 victory after trailing at halftime. The Buffaloes had another slow start to the game, the third straight contest in which they had a sluggish first half.

However, the way they finished the game may say something about their staying power in a tough Big 12 conference this season. Here are the three biggest takeaways from Colorado’s win over San Diego on Tuesday.

A routine change may be needed

The Buffaloes’ slow starts have been their biggest issue through three games. Their poor first half in the Bill Walton Classic against the San Diego State Aztecs dug them into a hole too deep to climb out of, as they still lost by 11, despite outscoring SDSU in the second half. 

This game was more of the same. Missed shots were part of the problem, but their work on the offensive glass was just as much at fault.

“First half, we missed 13 shots. Zero offensive rebounds,” said Colorado coach Tad Boyle postgame. “Second half, we missed 12 shots. Five offensive rebounds. That is all effort … And that is what we have to do for 40 minutes.”

Whether it is something in the gameday routine of the Buffs or the first-half game plan, something drastic needs to shift soon before these sluggish first halves become the Achilles’ heel of CU.

The frontcourt needs to impact the rebounding battle

Colorado’s frontcourt was looked at as a question mark coming into the season, and although it had a strong performance against the Abilene Christian Wildcats to start the season, it has struggled in Colorado’s last two games.

Those struggles have come primarily in the rebounding game, as the bulk of Colorado’s boards have come from freshman guard Alex Dickeson.

“He’s leading us in rebounding, and good for him. I’m not mad at him about that,” Boyle said. “But I want the other guys to [ask themselves], ‘How can I let that happen?’ I want our guys to be selfish on the glass.”

The likes of forwards Noah Feddersen, Justin Neely and Goc Malual were expected to be among the team’s leading rebounders, but they are all averaging 5.3 rebounds per game or fewer. 

Playing without fouling

But a major part of being able to have that aggressiveness on the glass, especially for Neely and Feddersen, is playing without fouling. That duo has been among Colorado’s large number of players running into foul trouble this season, and it is negatively impacting their ability to play defense.

Another example is guard Jalin Holland, who has run into foul trouble in each of Colorado’s three games this season. He’s someone whom Boyle views as a future All-Big 12 defender, but his inability to play without fouling has been costly. 

Against San Diego, he picked up two fouls early in the first half and was forced to sit for a substantial time before the half. Josiah Sanders replaced him in guarding Toreros guard Davion Hill, and he did a solid job. But when Holland came back in, he struggled to shut Hill down, primarily on the interior, due to the way his foul trouble forced him to play.

If Colorado wants to have more consistency on defense, especially in the paint, it needs to work out of its fouling habits.