Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
16-8,7-6Pac-12
Arizona
19-5,10-3Pac-12
Buffs Fall To Arizona As Home Win Streak Comes To End
February 10, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Arizona's offense proved to be too much for Colorado on Saturday as the Buffaloes saw their 13-game home win streak come to an end with a 99-79 loss to the No. 8 Wildcats at the CU Events Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs fell to 16-8 overall and 7-6 in Pac-12 play while the Wildcats improved to 19-5, 10-3.
KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva each scored 20 for Colorado and J'Vonne Hadley added 13.
Caleb Love led five Wildcats in double figures with 19 points.
After trailing by 12 midway through the first half, the Buffs cut the deficit to seven at intermission, 47-40. But the Wildcats hit two quick 3-pointers to open the second half and Colorado never came within single digits again the rest of the night.
Colorado didn't have a bad night on the offensive end, shooting 26-for-54 (48%), but the Buffs hit just five of their 17 3-point tries. Arizona shot 36-for-68 (53%), including 10-for-22 from long range.
But the big difference came in points off turnovers and second-chance buckets. Arizona turned 16 Colorado turnovers into 23 points and also scored 23 points off 12 offensive rebounds. CU had 12 points off turnovers and 15 second-chance points.
"Sometimes you have to tip your cap to your opponent," Boyle said. "They were really good. They played well, they shot well, they made plays offensively and they were solid defensively … But our guys battled, they competed, they fought. I have no issues with our team in terms of our effort, in terms of our grit, in terms of our toughness. It's just we didn't play well enough tonight to beat a really, really good Arizona team."
The Buffs now have four road games and three at home remaining in the regular season, beginning with next week's trip to UCLA and USC.
"We have to regroup and we will," Boyle said. "I'm not giving up on this team in any way, shape or form. We got a lot of basketball ahead of us. We can still get hot down the stretch … It's time to regroup and cinch up our bootstraps."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado trailed by just seven, 47-40, at intermission. But the Wildcats opened the second half with a pair of quick 3-pointers and the Buffs never managed to cut the deficit to single digits again.
Colorado did manage to shave Arizona's cushion to 10 when a da Silva three-point play pulled the Buffs to within 55-45 three minutes in. But the Wildcats answered with a 10-0 run to take a 65-45 lead with 15 minutes still to play and CU never came closer than 14 again the rest of the night.
The Buffs committed 10 of their 16 turnovers in the second half and the Wildcats had seven offensive boards after the break, including one that led to a 3-pointer to cap the decisive 10-0 run.
Arizona's win ended Colorado's five-game win streak at home against the Wildcats, who hadn't won in Boulder since 2015.
"We had two areas on the board before we took the floor," Boyle said. "One was we had to take care of the ball. They had 23 points off our turnovers. The second thing we had to do is limit them to one shot. They had 12 offensive rebounds for 23 points. That was the difference in the game."
The Buffs started the night well, scoring on four of their first five possessions to take a quick 8-2 lead.
But the Wildcats responded with a 9-0 run, part of a 16-2 surge that gave UA an 18-10 lead less than seven minutes in. Colorado had five straight empty possessions in the stretch while the Wildcats scored on seven straight.
Colorado answered with a 7-0 run to briefly cut Arizona's lead to one, 18-17, only to see the Wildcats slowly rebuild their lead to double digits.
The Buffs hit another rough stretch offensively, coming up empty on six of seven trips down the floor, while Arizona hit a pair of 3-pointers, including a Love trey that gave UA a 40-28 lead.
Colorado's strength on both ends was also hurt when Eddie Lampkin Jr. was whistled for his second foul of the half with 10 minutes still to play.
But the Buffs still whittled away at the lead. Da Silva and Julian Hammond III hit 3-pointers and Simpson and O'Brien delivered back-to-back baskets in the final minute to pull Colorado to within 47-40 at intermission.
DECISIVE MOMENT: While the Wildcats led for most of the game, the Buffs had a chance to climb back into the contest early in the second half when they cut Arizona's lead to 10. But UA answered with a 10-0 run and CU never came closer than 14 again.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs' home win streak ends at 13, but more importantly, CU let a chance at a critical Quad 1 win in the NET rankings slip away.
KEY STATISTICS: Arizona outscored Colorado 23-12 in points off turnovers and 23-15 in second-chance points.
NEXT UP: The Buffs make their final road trip to the Los Angeles area as a Pac-12 team for two games next week. The Buffs play a 7 p.m. game Thursday at UCLA (ESPN), then head to Southern California on Saturday for an 8 p.m. matchup with the Trojans (ESPN).
