While Boulder received heavy snow to kick off its’ Thanksgiving festivities, the Colorado Buffaloes were still enjoying time in Las Vegas and preparing to take home the MGM Resorts Main Event Championship Belt.
For the first time all season, the Buffs were behind for the majority of the game and had to claw their way back in. Colorado had some serious struggles all night, as Tyler Bey and Evan Battey found themselves in foul trouble early while McKinley Wright IV struggled throughout the game.
Still, with several factors going against CU in its biggest test of the early season, the Buffs pulled off a late-game run that gave them the nod 71-67 over Clemson, ending Colorado’s five-game losing streak against the ACC Conference.
Heres what went down Tuesday night:
McKinley Wright was… off
Every player can be afforded an off-night, as it is unreasonable to expect a 21-year-old to play at an All-Conference level every night of the season.
With that being said, forgettable is a generous adjective for Wrights’ outing. He still managed 10 points, four of which were extremely pivotal; a breakaway dunk to give them the lead, as well as two clutch free throws to seal the game. However, he shot a mere 3-13 from the field, including two misses from deep, to pair with three turnovers.
While his output was not what Colorado fans are accustomed to, this game can be spun as an absolute win. Colorado was able to pull off a win in a very close game against a strong opponent without its best guard playing close to his normal standards.
When reviewing the victory over Wyoming in the opening round of this tournament, we discussed how Coach Tad Boyle wanted his players to gain experience in both the arena and in back-to-back games. His experiment was a great success, as the Buffs overcame adversity early to take a big win in November.
Colorado needs to develop its frontcourt depth
Tyler Bey and Evan Battey might be the best big-man duo in the Pac-12, and seeing them play together is nothing short of an art form. However, when not one, but both players, got into foul trouble early, we saw what happened to CU.
This team has solid depth, as has been evident early this season. What we have yet to see is a forced rotation that includes leaving Battey and Bey on the bench for extended periods. Bey was still able to manage decent minutes on Tuesday despite picking up his third foul early in the second half, and we saw another great performance with his fourth double-double.
Evan Battey, on the other hand, picked up a few calls that forced him in and out of the game, and in those transitions, we saw two very different offenses.
While the defense was solid throughout, Colorado was forced to learn the true importance of Battey working the block on offense. It was not just his 250-pound presence putting the ball back up, but his passing to break up the zone that was sorely missed.
When both their young stars are on the court at once, the Buffs are a team to be reckoned with. I would love to see how they adjust their rotation moving forward, as even with Battey in-and-out, Dallas Walton did not get any minutes on Tuesday and has yet to see any significant action this season.
The Buffs finally learned how to shoot free throws
Man, it feels good to type that out. Colorado shot 96% from the charity stripe on 24-25 attempts, something that I was not sure would be seen this year.
Early in the season, the Buffs struggled to knock down free throws and got away with it since they were wining comfortably. The question was whether they avoid empty trips to the line in tight contests. Well, in the first truly competitive matchup of the season, Colorado came through and did not leave much to chance.
The entire starting lineup took at least two trips to the line, with the lone miss coming from Tyler Bey (although he still shot 9-10). Each stroke was consistent and it seemed as though the players had a renewed sense of confidence in their routines.
As the Buffs are five games into their season, they look to continue ironing out the wrinkles in their game and finding their true identity. Afer beating two quality opponents already in Arizona State and Clemson, the flight back to Boulder should be a fun one.
Looking Ahead
Colorado returns to Boulder on Saturday, Nov. 30 to take on Sacramento State. The game is at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on Pac-12 Network.
