Colorado's Pac-12 tournament run ends in semifinals with loss to #2 Arizona

BOULDER — The run is over.

The Colorado Buffaloes fell 82-72 to the #2 Arizona Wildcats in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament on Friday. Prior to the loss, Colorado had won eight of its last nine games including against Arizona in Boulder. The loss means the Buffs will probably play in the National Invitation Tournament, which begins next week.

The Buffs got off to a roaring start but couldn’t create much separation. They hit seven of their first nine shots. Four were 3-pointers. Three were layups. Colorado built an 18 to 11 lead but Arizona ripped off an 11-3 run to take back the lead. The Wildcats had sustained the Buffs’ best punch and the Buffs had nothing to show for it within minutes.

Colorado’s hot start can largely be attributed to sophomore forward Jabari Walker. He shot 6-of-9 from the field and 5-for-5 from deep in the first half, giving him 17 points. But Arizona forward Azuolas Tubelis dropped 18 first-half points to one-up Walker.

But Arizona adjusted at halftime and only allowed Walker to take one shot in the final 20 minutes. He finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals and 3 turnovers. He also sat for a few minutes because of his four fouls, but he still played 32 minutes in the game. Evan Battey only played 26 minutes because of his four fouls. Like Walker, Tubelis only scored two points in the second half.

The situation felt dire when Colorado gave its best shot but still trailed 47-38 at halftime. The Buffs gave the Cats a good run though.

With 16:16 on the clock, Battey hit a 3-pointer to pull within one point of the Wildcats. Then Arizona went on a run, but Colorado answered with a run of its own that was capped by a Keeshawn Barthelemy 3-pointer to bring the deficit back to one point with 11:22 on the clock. But the Wildcats slowly pulled away from there with a raucous crowd of Arizona fans that outnumbered the CU contingent 10 to 1 at their back.

The 3-ball was Colorado’s friend all night. The Buffs made 16 of their 32 attempts from deep. Walker made five, Barthelemy made four, Julian Hammond III made three and Battey made two. But Colorado’s inability to make any noise in the paint on either end of the court negated the Buffs’ success from deep.

The Buffs were outscored 30-14 in the paint and lost the rebounding battle 36-27. They only made three non-3-pointers in the second half. Plus, to make matters worse, the Wildcats made 40% of their own 3-pointers.

Beyond his success from deep, Hammond was solid for Colorado in his fourth-career start at point guard. He dished out five assists and only turned the ball over once while also pulling in three rebounds and recording a steal. Colorado won the 16 minutes he was on the court by six points, the best mark on the team.

The lack of turnovers for Hammond was crucial for a Colorado team that struggled to hold onto the ball in the first half. After turning it over eight times total against Oregon in the quarterfinals, the Buffs recorded 10 in the first half against Arizona. That number was cut to four in the second half.

K.J. Simpson, who backed up Hammond at point guard, struggled. Five of those turnovers were his own, but he also recorded four steals to counteract some of those. He was 1-for-10 from the field with seven points.