Two takeaways from Colorado’s 84-80 loss to Washington

Well, that one stunk.

Even after Colorado took an early 6-0 lead, tonight had a different feel to it. It was as if Washington had such a bad record that they were destined to upset the Buffs.

Of course, destiny was fulfilled in the Buffs’ 84-80 loss to the Huskies on Wednesday night. Washington – who was shooting just 29.3% from three this season – hit 12 of 25 to pair with 16-18 from the free-throw line.

The game had a good flow to it, with both coaches holding on to three timeouts until the final minutes of the game. Colorado had many chances but continued to just miss the mark on the victory.

Here are a few takeaways from the loss.

Battey and Horne shine

Quite frankly, Evan Battey and Jeriah Horne make this article much easier to write.

Collectively, the frontcourt pair combined for 42 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 62% from the floor.

While their stats together are impressive, their style of attack was very different.

Horne flashed towards the free-throw line – a cushion in the zone defense – and went to work. From there, he either passed, shot, or faked and drove into the hoop. Tonight, his dribble penetration resulted in eight free-throw attempts to go with his made baskets.

For Battey, it was a traditional post-scoring game. Washington could not match his size, and with an improved hook-shot, Battey has expanded his offensive arsenal in a few major ways.

Unfortunately, the duo’s scoring frenzy was about the only bright spot on the night. Still, the offensive efficiency boosts confidence in the Buffs’ paint offense moving forward.

Beyond the arc was as dry as the desert

Last week, when it rained it poured for the Buffs perimeter shooting.

Tonight, it felt like a season-long drought.

Colorado was just 1-18 from three, including several attempts late in the game. For a team that once had a double-digit lead, the collapse was palpable.

With a performance this poor, it is hard to single out any one player. Unfortunately, we have to call out some names.

McKinley Wright, Maddox Daniels, Keeshawn Barthelemy, and D’Shawn Schwartz were all a combined 0-13 from deep. For Wright and Barthelemy it’s an area that must improve but for Daniels and Schwartz, it’s a disappointing game for two of the conference’s premier 3-point shooters.

This historically poor outing was not a result of bad shot selection, but rather an unfortunate combination of factors. The zone defense of Washington invites shooting, with open looks on the wing and at the top of the key.

Unfortunately, the team became too gun-shy to fully take advantage.

One bad game is not the end of a season. This score does not indicate an inability to coach from Tad Boyle; in fact, his clock management and play design out of time outs were some of the best of the season.

With that, McKinley Wright’s poor 4-12 shooting should not take away from his overall greatness. It was just a bad loss, and bad losses can happen to good teams.

What’s next?

Colorado has a chance to regain some ground in the conference standings on Saturday as they take on the Washington State Cougars.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. MST on ESPN2.