The Colorado Buffaloes (9-8, 0-6 Big 12) struggled in Stillwater against the Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-7, 2-4 Big 12) from start to finish in a matchup that featured two teams in must-win mode. Colorado couldn’t stay out of foul trouble as they lost, 83-73.
The Buffs were led by Bangot Dak (15 PTS, 5 REB) who was the lone bright spot for CU for the second consecutive game. The game proved to be a free-throw fest early with both teams finding themselves in foul trouble, especially Colorado, as Assane Diop, Elijah Malone, Javonne Ruffin and RJ Smith all had two fouls in the first half.
Colorado has started slowly out of the gate in conference play despite showing flashes of consistency against Iowa State, UCF, West Virginia and Cincinnati. However, none of these flashes have translated into victories.
The Buffs rank at the bottom of the Big 12 in turnovers per game at 15, and four early turnovers in the first six minutes proved to be a continuum of one of the primary factors holding the Buffs back so far this season. Against Oklahoma State, the Buffs’ guards struggled to create their own shots early, relying on contested drives and jumpers to generate offense. CU shot just 1-for-9 from three in the first half, while OSU turned in 50% shooting from beyond the arc on 4-for-8 shooting, which is why CU found itself down 43-33 at the half.
OSU also took full advantage of CU's foul trouble, shooting 21-for-26 from the charity stripe, as opposed to 12 attempts for CU at the line in the half (Colorado shot 12-for-12). Twenty-six combined first-half fouls between the foes spoke to the sloppy nature of the game, with 16 of those fouls being committed by Colorado. Ten first-half turnovers from the Buffs did not help change the narrative surrounding their inability to take care of the basketball.
The Buffs came out fighting in the second half, surrendering no turnovers for almost the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Buffs found themselves down just four (45-41) at one point in the second half. However, foul trouble remained insurmountable, and they quickly found themselves right back in the same hole, down double digits.
Colorado’s offense was unable to establish its usual interior scoring, which usually helps the Buffs play to their primary strength — inside out. The offense was one-dimensional and relied far too heavily on perimeter shooting to try and keep pace with the Cowboys. Perimeter shooting did not improve in the second half, as the Buffs finished just 5-for-22 from three while shooting nearly 47 percent from the floor, highlighting another game where poor defense cost the team a chance to compete at the end.
Tad Boyle's 2016-2017 Buffs squad started conference play 0-6 in the PAC-12. The 2024-2025 squad officially joined the '16-'17 team as the only other CU team in program history to reach the same dreaded mark.
The same CU squad that took down UCONN, the back-to-back defending national champions, in Maui this November will look to rekindle that same success starting with a home tilt against BYU Tuesday at the CU Events Center. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Kommentare