One takeaway from CU's 76-64 win over Loyola Marymount

BOULDER — The turnovers are a problem.

Through the first seven games of the Colorado Buffaloes’ basketball season, the stat sheet ebbed and flowed in each outing; the 3-point shooting was good to start the season, then it cooled off and then it settled in at a fairly consistent mark. The free-throw shooting has generally been poor but there have been bright spots recently.

But game-in and game-out, the Buffs haven’t been able to stop turning the ball over.

Now, as we approach the quarter mark of the season, Colorado ranks last in the Pac-12 with 14.6 turnovers per game. Its .82 assists per turnover rank second-to-last.

Colorado had a chance to make a statement against Loyola Marymount on Wednesday.

Prior to the game, LMU had forced 13.5 turnovers per game, one of the best marks in the West Coast Conference. If Colorado held their turnovers under double-digits, it would be a big-time step toward changing the narrative.

That’s not what happened.

Colorado committed 13 turnovers in the first half and it’s 14th less than a minute into the second. Things cooled down from there, but the 18 total turnovers were far from acceptable.

But, for the seventh-consecutive game, Colorado still pulled out the win.

Here’s why:

Somehow, the Buffs’ defense is forcing even more turnovers than the offense is giving away. Over the course of the season, the Buffs have turned the ball over 79 times. Their opponents have turned it over 122 times.

Now. out of 344 Division I college basketball teams, Colorado is tied for 70th in turnover margin per game. Not bad, considering the narrative surrounding the team.

Who are the Buffs tied with?

The Kansas Jayhawks.

When Colorado heads to Lawrence on Saturday to take on the No.2 team in the country, they likely won’t be able to overcome another double-digit turnover performance. The margin for error is just too slim.

It’s up to star forward Tyler Bey to lead the change.

Bey has done a lot of things right in his junior season. He’s leading the Pac-12 in rebounding, he’s second in steals and he’s third in blocks. He’s scoring efficiently and has added 3-point range to his game. According to Ken Pomeroy’s formula, Bey is a top-10 national player of the year candidate.

But for all the good Bey is doing, there’s still one flaw in his game: He’s leading the Buffs with three turnovers per game.

There are seven other Buffs commiting at least one turnover per game, and many of them aren’t contributing enough positively to compensate, but Bey is the star so the standards are highest for him.

There are plenty of problems for this Colorado offense, but none of them can be fixed if it can’t keep the ball.