The idea, after the final significant lull of the season, was to make the team tougher. The results in the weeks since have been mixed. In some ways, the Colorado men’s basketball team is plenty tough enough. Although the comeback fell short, teams don’t rally from 24 points down in the second h alf to get a chance to win at the buzzer, as the Buffaloes did on Saturday against No. 14 Texas Tech, without a certain level of mental fortitude. Physically, though, the Buffs are too easily pushed around. After falling 73-71 against the Red Raiders despite a spirited rally, CU’s toughness will be put to the test when a two-game trip into the Eastern time zone begins on Wednesday at Cincinnati (5 p.m. MT, Peacock). “We came back from Christmas, after the Stanford game, and I put these dudes through … we’ve got guys complaining that practice is too tough and too hard,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “We’re just not tough enough on the glass. Bottom line. We’re not tough enough on the glass. And I challenge them. And we work on it. And we’re going to continue to work on it. I’m going to continue to challenge them. It’s frustrating. “Last year’s team, our Achilles’ heel was our turnovers. That’s just who we were. This year’s Achilles’ heel is our inability to finish possessions. And I talked about it after the Utah win. So it’s not about winning and losing, to me.” Texas Tech outrebounded CU by 10, 46-36, with the Red Raiders posting the highest rebounding total against the Buffs since USC grabbed 47 in Boulder on Jan. 20, 2022. CU (12-4, 2-1 Big 12) has been outrebounded in three of the past five games, with all three of those games ending in losses for the Buffs. Clearing defensive rebounds continues to be an issue for Colorado, as the Red Raiders finished with 16 offensive rebounds, the most by a CU opponent this season. The Buffs have allowed at least 12 offensive rebounds in each of the past three games, and at least 10 in nine of the last 13 games. Still, the Buffs’ mental toughness should serve them well on the upcoming road trip, the first two-game swing (on a single trip) within league play since rejoining the Big 12 last year. Had the Buffs completed Saturday’s comeback, it would have set a program record for the largest comeback win in team history, surpassing a 23-point rally at Kansas State on Feb. 26, 1955. Yet that 23-point comeback nearly 71years ago saw the Buffs hit their largest deficit with 8 minutes still remaining in the first half. CU’s largest second-half comeback victory was an 18-point rally against Oklahoma State on Feb. 10, 1999. Technically, the Buffs surpassed that mark, trimming Texas Tech’s 24-point advantage with 13-plus minutes remaining to just two points before suffering the first conference defeat of the season. While the Buffs continue to try to toughen up on the glass, the mental toughness is there to compete with any team in the Big 12. “The one thing that we did show, and we’ll look at the film, is that the team that we can be when we play 40 minutes of good Colorado basketball,” CU point guard Barrington Hargress said. “It will speak very loudly and we’ll be a very good team and we’ll be able to play with the best teams in this league.” ...read more read less