Two takeaways from the Buffs' 70-63 loss to UCLA

BOULDER — Well, that one stings.

Over 11,000 came out on Saturday afternoon as Colorado tried to send seniors Shane Gatling and Lucas Siewert out with a win. While the crowd brought the energy, Mick Cronin and his Bruins had other plans.

UCLA played suffocating defense in the second half, preventing open shooting and forcing the ball inside where their strong post players were waiting. The Buffs were also unable to string together stops on defense, as UCLA found driving lanes almost effortlessly.

Colorado now puts its conference tournament seed in destiny’s hands, as UCLA has made things interesting down the stretch.

Here’s what went down early Saturday afternoon:

The Buffs lost the mental matchup

Colorado played without much urgency or intensity in the second half, allowing UCLA to bully the basketball inside for easy points.

The Buffs were unable to put UCLA away at any point during the game, as their inability to maintain strong play on defense was their undoing. Statistically speaking, this would not be the initial conclusion, as the Buffs did manage to out-rebound the Bruins on both ends of the floor.

Turnovers were also not the biggest issue, as all 10 were early in the game and ultimately did not inhibit Colorado’s offense. The most telling stat Saturday night was the final assist total, as CU had just seven. For a team that passed the ball inside-and-out of USC just two days prior, they looked lost on the offensive, failing to produce open looks for teammates.

McKinley Wright IV, who on his own had a fantastic game, did his best to move the ball around. Ultimately, his 20 points came on his taking over when no other options came available.

Oftentimes this season, Colorado was able to shoot itself out of a corner; however, against UCLA they found out the hard way what happens when they have an off-shooting night.

Colorado hit just five shots on 19 attempts, good enough for a 26% average on the game. Unfortunately, most of their misses came from Gatling, who was just 1-7 from deep. Gatling did not take bad looks, either, but was just unable to convert on the looks.

While this loss is a tough one, it gives a chance for the Buffaloes to rally. This late in the season, the team that gets hot will ultimately make a run deep in the tournament. If Colorado can regain its focus and enter as an underdog instead of the favorite, perhaps this loss is just what CU needed to push its ceiling.

The road to the No. 1 seed in Vegas just got complicated

In a matter of two hours, Colorado went from controlling their own destiny in the Pac-12 to a three-way tie for second with Oregon and UCLA, both of whom hold tiebreakers.

Arizona State, which the Buffs beat twice, sits in first.

The Buffaloes now must win out, with help, to regain the top spot in the conference. While winning the regular-season conference crown would be nice, it is not the end-all, be-all for this team. Entering the tournament as a No. 2 or No. 3 would still put the Buffs in a nice position to make a run.

While it is not ideal, college basketball is all about close finishes.

Colorado’s NCAA Tournament seed may have taken a slight hit after the loss. Although CU is not a bubble team, it does limit their potential to sneak into the No. 2 or 3-seed conversation. Currently, the Buffs project as a 5-seed, which is still a strong spot to be in. Ideally, they could win their final three games, as well as a game or two in the conference tournament, and sneak up to No. 4, but their ceiling is now somewhat capped.

One thing is for sure: the rest of this season just became must-watch basketball as Colorado tries to make a Cinderella run at the Pac-12 title.

Looking ahead

Colorado has put itself in a tough position, as its final three games are all on the road. First up is a trip to Northern California to take on the Cal Bears, which, by all accounts, should be the easiest of the remaining games.

The Buffs beat Cal by six in Boulder earlier this month, but Cal has since slipped to 8th in the conference behind a sloppy stretch of basketball.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST on Thursday and will be televised on Pac-12 Network.