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On to the Next One: Buffs cruise past Washington State in Vegas

Ryan Koenigsberg Avatar
Ryan Koenigsberg
March 10, 2016
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LAS VEGAS – The house always wins and Tad Boyle-coached teams always win on Wednesdays at the Pac-12 Tournament, those are the two certainties of Las Vegas, Nevada. The Colorado Buffaloes wasted no time in making sure the second part of that was true on the first day of this year’s tournament, cruising from start to finish on their way to an 80-59 win, sending Boyle to 6-0 at Colorado in the first round of the conference tournament.

It was obviously a great win for us,” Boyle said after the game. “I mean, the first game’s always the hardest in tournament play, and you never know as a coach if your guys are going to be ready, especially in that 5-12 game.”

The Buffaloes were absolutely ready. Maybe the most impressive part of the victory for Colorado was the fact that their senior leader and lone All-Pac 12 performer, Josh Scott only scored six points on 3-of-8 from the field. Instead, the Buffs got and All-Pac 12 performance from the man just recently named the conference’s most improved player, George King.

King had an impressive, efficient night, pouring in 21 points on 7-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-3 from downtown. A huge confidence builder for the redshirt sophomore who admits his game is all about confidence.

“Oh, man, it’s a great feeling,” Kind said. “Especially after being in a slump the last couple games. It’s like a little weight off my shoulders. Finally, one goes in. That kind of gets me going a little bit, and I don’t credit my performance to that particular jump shot, but it did help for sure.

“I’m the type of player who strives off confidence” he added. “If I’m not confident in myself, no one else is going to be confident in me. I make sure before I strap on my shoes and whatever, put on that jersey, I’m confident. And I was able to do that today.

Boyle also wanted to make sure that nobody thought his lead man had a bad game.

“To me, Josh Scott was so good for us tonight because he played so unselfishly,” told the head coach. “He had five assists and no turnovers. He could have had nine or ten assists because we missed some jump shots off of the inside- out that we played off of Josh… He didn’t finish like he’s capable of tonight, and he knows that. So you look at eight points or whatever and five assists. We played through him. He demands so much attention that he makes life easier for these other guys, and that’s really what team basketball is all about. It might be George’s night tonight to score 20. It might be Tory’s the next night. It might be Josh’s the next night.”

For the Buffaloes, it was a convincing performance, that left no doubt in anybody’s mind.

“The biggest challenge I issued to our guys yesterday and certainly today as we prepared for this game was to play 40 minutes of defense and not have any letups,” Boyle explained. “Because we’ve had some leads evaporate in the second half due to some defensive lapses, and we did that against Washington State both times we’ve played them before tonight.

No lapses for the Buffs definitely meant a blowout win and some action for the walk-ons in the final minutes, featuring an off-balance triple from fan favorite Brett Brady.

As Boyle said, though, there is “no time for rejoicing” the Buffaloes will take to the court tomorrow against a much more formidable opponent in the Arizona Wildcats, a trip to the semi-finals of the tournament on the line.

HIGHLIGHTS

PLAYER OF THE GAME

George King

The wing was on a heater from the minute his feet hit the floor. He added four rebounds to go with his 21 points. King scored from all three levels, showing off the post-game most. King is the type of player who could spearhead a run for Colorado in this tournament and the bigger tournament that lies ahead.

Credit: Matt SIsneros, BSN Denver
Credit: Matt Sisneros, BSN Denver

QUOTE OF THE GAME

BY THE NUMBERS

10 – Colorado had just 10 turnovers on the night. A great number for a team who has struggled with valuing possessions.

37 – Colorado bench players contributed 37 points on the night. Big for a team whose top scorer didn’t have it going offensively.

39:08 – The time of the game Colorado was in the lead.

WHAT’S NEXT

Colorado will take on Arizona tomorrow at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Same time. Same place. For a trip to the semifinals.

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