If Colorado expects to make an impact in the Big 12 Conference race, correcting a struggling defense trending in the wrong direction is the top priority. Yet getting back on track on the boards isn’t far behind. The CU men’s basketball team took the mandatory weekly off day on Tuesday and will start zeroing in on Arizona State in earnest when workouts resume on Wednesday, with the Buffaloes visiting ASU for the Big 12 opener on Saturday (3 p.m. MT, ESPN2). For much of the season, the Buffs have been solid but not spectacular on the boards. CU wasn’t outrebounded in any of its first 11 games, although finished even in a neutral-floor win against San Francisco and again in a loss at Colorado State. That has changed in the past two games, both losses, as the Buffs were outrebounded by Stanford and again on Sunday in a home loss against Northern Colorado. UNC missed only six shots in the second half, and so the Bears didn’t record a single offensive rebound after halftime. Yet UNC still managed to outrebound the Buffs 26-20 in the second half to finish with a 39-37 advantage, even though CU’s 15 offensive rebounds was its second-highest total of the season. It’s an area where the Buffs should have the advantage on Saturday in Tempe, as ASU begins Big 12 play with the lowest average rebounding margin in the conference (minus-1.5). CU ranks just 12th at plus-4.8. “We really put an emphasis on rebounding Christmas…
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