Colorado
4-0,0-0Big 12
Harvard
1-4,0-0Ivy League
Buffs Pull Away From Harvard, Improve To 4-0
November 17, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado put four players in double figures Sunday and the Buffaloes pulled away from Harvard down the stretch to take an 88-66 win at the CU Events Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs improved to 4-0 as Colorado won its seventh straight game at home and 20th in the last 21. Harvard dropped to 1-4.
Andrej Jakimovski led CU with 20 points. Elijah Malone scored 16 and added seven rebounds, Javon Ruffin scored 15 and Trevor Baskin added 13 points and seven boards in his first start as a Buff.
Evan Nelson and Chandler Pigge each scored 11 for the Crimson.
Colorado led by 12 at the half and pushed the lead to 17 early in the second period. Harvard managed to cut the deficit to just six midway through the half before the Buffs put the game away with a 21-4 run that gave Colorado a 77-54 cushion with 5:42 to play.
The bigger Buffs finished with a 43-30 edge on the boards while holding Harvard to 37 percent shooting (24-for-65). Colorado is now 93-6 in the Boyle era when hitting the "gold standard" of having at least a plus-eight rebound advantage and holding opponents to 40 percent or less shooting.
Colorado did finish with 13 turnovers, but just five in the second half when the Buffs put the game away.
"A good win against a really, really good program," Boyle said. "I've got a lot of respect for Harvard as an institution, but also (coach) Tommy Amaker and the kind of coach he is, kind of human being he is .. We did a much better job in the second half, much better job taking care of the ball. We had three turnovers the first 17 minutes in the second half. They only made two threes in the second half, we had 18 assists and we were pretty efficient offensively. Overall, pretty pleased."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Harvard led early before the Buffs took the lead for good on an Elijah Malone bucket inside, the beginning of a 9-0 run that gave the Buffs a 14-6 edge eight minutes into the game.
But the Crimson managed to stay close, cutting the deficit down to three, 18-15, with a 3-pointer at the 8:38 mark, one of five treys Harvard hit in the opening minutes.
Colorado, though, pushed its lead to 10 three minutes later on the heels of a 10-4 run. Malone tallied a three-point play, Jakimovski scored inside, Julian Hammond III drained a 3-pointer and Baskin connected from the lane to give the Buffs a 31-21 edge.
Harvard answered one more time, putting together a 7-0 run to pull back within three, 31-28.
But Colorado finished the half with a 15-6 run to take control. Ruffin hit two treys in the surge and Jakimovski added five points and the Buffs took a 46-34 lead into the break.
The Buffs threatened to blow the game open early in the second half with a quick 5-0 run. Malone hit two free throws and Baskin swished a 3-pointer to give Colorado a 17-point edge, 51-34.
But the Crimson answered with a 14-3 run that included two 3-pointers while the Buffs endured a 1-for-7 shooting stretch. With 11:41 to play, Colorado's lead had dwindled to just six, 56-50.
Colorado's shooting woes contributed to Harvard's brief surge as the Buffs hit just five of their first 21 field goal tries of the half.
But just as quickly as Harvard pulled back within range, the Buffs put the game away with a 21-4 run that saw CU hit seven of eight field goal tries.
Sebastian Rancik started the surge with a drive inside, RJ Smith hit a 3-pointer and Ruffin sank three free throws to give CU a 64-52 lead. Baskin then hit back-to-back baskets inside, Jakimovski and Hammond drained 3-pointers and a Malone dunk gave Colorado a 77-54 cushion with just under six minutes to play.
After giving up six 3-pointers to Harvard in the first half, Colorado held the Crimson to just two after the break.
"We really just took away the threes," Ruffin said. "That was a big emphasis of ours coming into the game. We knew that they shot 31 threes last game, which is a lot. Our goal was to take away as many as possible and we didn't do that in the first half. We also gave them easy offense by just giving them turnovers and free buckets. I think that's what changed in the second half."
After building their 23-point edge, CU then kept the lead at a comfortable level down the stretch for the win.
Now, the Buffs must prepare for a significant increase in the level of competition, as they next play Michigan State in the opening round of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 25. They will face either UConn or Memphis in the second round, then Auburn, Dayton Iowa State or North Carolina in the third game.
"Against Michigan State, they're going to be a physical team," Boyle said. "They're going to be bigger, they're going to be stronger, they're going to be more athletic, they're going to be more physical. We've got to be able to handle that and match that, and it gets back to getting a great shot every time we have the ball, not turning the thing over, defending and rebounding at a high level. And if we do that, I think we can play with anybody in the country, I really do, but we have to do it consistently for 40 minutes.'
DECISIVE MOMENT: After Harvard cut CU's lead to six midway through the second half, the Buffs put up a quick 12-2 run to take control for good.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado is now 197-40 at home in the Boyle era.
NEXT UP: The Buffs don't play again until Monday, Nov, 25, when they open the Maui Invitational in Hawaii with a 3 p.m. game against Michigan State (ESPN2). They then play either UConn or Memphis the next day with their final game in the tournament set for Nov. 27. The other teams in the tournament include Auburn, Dayton, Iowa State and North Carolina.
