The Buffs, both literally and figuratively, threw the game away Thursday night in a 68-60 loss against the Oregon Ducks.
In a matchup between the No. 16 and No. 17 programs in the nation, the game had a championship feel as it was close deep into the second half. Despite a 20-0 run in the first 15 minutes by Colorado, the Ducks hung around until the very end.
More than anything else, Colorado’s inability to maintain possession of the basketball is what killed it, as its 16 turnovers continued giving the Ducks additional possesions. Furthermore, Oregon has exposed another weakness on the Colorado squad: the inability to break a full-court press. The Ducks turned to the pressure early in the second half, and the Buffaloes could not find a way to move past it.
Here’s what went down earlier tonight:
The team lost control
It’s tough to find a place to start with Colorado giving up big runs in the second half that culminated in the wrong side of a 15-2 sprint that put the game away for Oregon, but the turnovers are as good a spot as any.
Sixteen turnovers is far too many in a championship-caliber game on the road.
And this did not just happen because of the full-court press, but for a variety of reasons. The purpose of the press is not just to trap opponents for turnovers, but to slow down their offense and give them less time to work in the half-court. Colorado constantly saw the shot clock winding down before they could get any good looks set up.
This resulted in an array of wild 3-pointers as well as shot-clock violations that in turn gave Colorado prolonged scoring droughts throughout the second half. Overall, they were just a different team than the one that was up at halftime.
The Buffaloes came out firing from deep and saw their shooting percentage soar in the first half. But, as they often do in hostile environments, the Buffs failed to convert as many shots and settled for poor looks.
This is a perfect time to transition to the low-post play from Tyler Bey, who was a complete non-factor for the entire game. He managed just four points on six shot attempts, showing both his inability to get to the line as well as create shooting opportunities. It could be easy to blame it on the defense rather than Bey, but Evan Battey had no trouble making his presence felt with his double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.
It may be a sports cliche that is used to ease the minds of fans but tonight, even though Oregon played great ball, Colorado truly beat themselves.
The depth is good everywhere except…
There has not been a single game to this point that has exposed Colorado’s insufficient point guard play behind McKinley Wright until Thursday.
The full-court press killed the Buffaloes but there is a chain reaction that stems from it. Colorado had no choice but to play Wright for the majority of the second half because there was no one behind him on the bench that could properly execute the break.
It may be too critical to start this conversation now for a team that is 19-6 and, truthfully, is still in a great position to get between a four and six seed in the NCAA Tournament. However, this weakness has never been on full display until tonight.
Everyone across the country knows how valuable McKinley Wright IV is to this team, but the Buffs have been able to scrape by when he takes a breather during games. But when the team needs a real ball-handler, the list begins and ends with No. 25.
The press may become Colorado’s new zone defense as the dark cloud that overshadows a strong team, as until the Buffaloes showed they could beat it, teams would turn to the zone to dismantle Colorado’s attack (see the Oregon State game for this on perfect display).
While it is not time to slam the panic button yet, it will be interesting to see if teams begin to attack the Buffs consistently using the full-court press. If so, it may be the Achilles heel of a team that fans thought had overcome all its glaring flaws.
What’s the spin?
All in all, that loss hurts. Colorado had shown it could beat Oregon, but truly beat themselves tonight. However, the loss will not hurt Colorado’s national standings as much, as the Buffs were underdogs and on the road.
Furthermore, the Buffs’ starting five did not have a strong game. Battey and D’Shawn Schwartz made it to double-digits, but collectively, this was one of Colorado’s worst performances from its stars. McKinley Wright only managed eight points on 3-10 shooting, while he and Bey were responsible for six of the team’s turnovers.
Instead of dwelling on the loss, this game presents the narrative that even on their worst day, Colorado can stay within a two-score game of a national powerhouse in their arena. There is something to say for silver linings, and that gives some hope back to the Colorado Buffalo fans that desperately need it, especially after the turmoil in Boulder earlier in the week.
If they can bounce back and take down Oregon State, they should stick around their current ranking and stay in the heat of the Pac-12 race.
Looking ahead
Speaking of Oregon State, the Buffaloes will be out for blood come Saturday night as they look for revenge on a Beavers team that went on a 25-5 run to upset the Buffs in Boulder back on Jan. 5. Colorado is a much better team through-and-through and needs to find a way to come back to Boulder with a split on the weekend.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. MST and will be televised on FS1.
