KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After a Big 12 Championship-opening victory on Wednesday that left much to be desired, the Colorado Buffaloes need to act fast or face the music.
While the Buffs took care of business 66-58 against the Houston Cougars, “business” seemingly did not include the basketball. Thirty-three turnovers tattered the win with question marks as the eighth-seeded Arizona Wildcats lie ahead on Thursday.
CU can consider itself lucky that the Coogs shot just 34.4% from the field, as the Buffs gave up 14 free possessions in the fourth quarter alone and began to unravel late before time ran out on Houston’s season. Freshmen Kennedy Sanders and Erin Powell were notable, jittery eyesores, combining for eight turnovers in their first career postseason contest.
“Initially, we were just catching and dribbling, which is never great against pressure unless you have a really open seam. I thought we fixed that a little bit, but I think they were really aggressive and athletic,” head coach JR Payne said of the turnovers. “Some of our decisions, as far as passing across the court instead of maybe somebody closer that's open, I thought that that cost us.”
Payne did not take lightly the Buffaloes’ inability to stay out of their own way, but after a regular season that saw them place 15th out of 16 in the Big 12 in turnovers per game (17.7), every win has to be treated equally.
“At this time of the year, you win the game," Payne said of her message to the locker room. "Everybody uses the phrase 'Survive and advance,' and we certainly survived, and we certainly are advancing.”
Colorado cannot afford to play with its food or to simply “survive” against Arizona, it needs to thrive. The Wildcats crept through the back door CU left open in the Big 12 standings, winning their last four games to claim the tourney’s last first-round bye.
While the Buffs won their lone matchup with Arizona this season on Feb. 5, a stark contrast exists between Colorado at home and away from it. Wednesday’s victory was just the second on the road all season against a Big 12 foe.
The Wildcats are led by a volume shooter and a bruiser, Jada Williams in the backcourt and Breya Cunningham in the frontcourt. Senior forward Isis Beh has been the hot hand, however, averaging 15.5 points and 6.3 rebounds during Arizona’s four-game win streak.
As the black and gold cram for the Cats, Wednesday’s ugly affair can act as one of two things: a wake-up call, or a death sentence.
The fight to keep CU’s season alive continues inside the T-Mobile Center tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
Comments