Stanford’s Chisom Okpara, left, puts up a shot as Colorado’s Bangot Dak, right, defends on Saturday in Phoenix, Arizona. (Wesley Kurtz/Hall of Fame Series Phoenix) It was the sort of game Tad Boyle always preaches about. Defense and rebounding, when executed well and consistently, can be packed in the bags for every road trip. In basketball, offense doesn’t work that way. Such was the case Saturday night, as the Buffs dropped a 77-68 decision against Stanford in Phoenix in a game that saw CU get dominated in the second half. The Buffs’ defense actually was decent, holding Stanford to a .404 shooting mark, but CU was crushed on the boards, getting outrebounded for the first time this season, 35-28, including 22-11 during a second-half collapse. Following the game, the Buffs scattered from Phoenix to spend a few days with family and friends before reconvening in Boulder on Christmas. It will be a bitter taste the Buffs will have to stew on during the short respite, as what otherwise has been a solid run through nonconference play came to a crashing halt against the Cardinal. “There’s going to be nights like that,” Boyle said. “There’s going to be nights where we maybe turn it over more than we normally do. There’s going to be nights where wide-open threes that we had — a lot of good looks — don’t go in. But that’s going to happen. You have to have the mindset, you have to have the toughness to say on those nights, we gotta figure out a way to win a game when we’re not at our best offensively. And we are not capable of doing that yet because we’ve got guys that identify with the offensive end of the floor and care about that, but they don’t care about the defensive end of the floor. We’re not able to win a game like (Stanford), and we won’t be able to until we get that mindset.” For the first time this season, the Buffs reverted to last year’s form in terms of turnovers, committing a season-high 18 that led to a gaping 23-6 advantage for Stanford on points off turnovers. Two early ones helped get Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie going, as the standout freshman returned to action following a two-game injury absence and racked up six points directly off CU turnovers, first on a 3-pointer and then with a fast-break three-point play. It by far was the most erratic and frustrating effort of the season for the Buffs (10-2), whose other loss (at Colorado State) featured an impressive performance offensively, with CU finishing with a season-high field goal percentage (.621) and a season-low turnover total (six). CU isn’t quite done with nonconference play, with a date awaiting with Northern Colorado at home Dec. 28 (1 p.m., ESPN+). Boyle has warned his club repeatedly they won’t be able to routinely outscore opponents in Big 12 play as they have in November and December. CU’s head coach hopes the effort against Stanford was a wake-up call. “It’s a marathon. So we can’t look at it as little game by little game,” CU point guard Barrington Hargress said. “We do look at it as opportunities to win, and what we did and how we messed up. Overall, we still feel very strong about ourselves and we’re ready to go and compete in the Big 12. We just want to keep on stacking and get better.” ...read more read less