BOULDER – Despite a valiant first half effort from the Colorado Buffaloes (16-8, 7-6), the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats (19-5, 10-3) proved too much to handle as they handed CU their first loss in Boulder this season.
“They never got rattled,” KJ Simpson said after the 99-79 loss. “That’s why they’re ranked for a reason. Good team like that, they play poised, they play under control, no matter how many points the other team scores, no matter what the runs is, and that’s what really happened.”
The Buffs gave the Pac-12’s top team a run for their money in the opening 20 minutes, only trailing 47-40 heading into the break. However, Arizona led a second half that gave Colorado flashbacks to their 47-point loss in Tuscon.
“I think we stayed the course,” Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said. “We felt really good about how the first half ended. We felt like we should have been up more, maybe had a call or two we didn’t think went our way at the end, but that’s how it goes on the road and you got to hang with it.”
In comparison to both teams' first meeting of the year, though, Colorado had two starters they didn’t have: Cody Williams and Tristan da Silva. While da Silva went for 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, Williams struggled as he only scored eight points on 3-of-7 shooting with five turnovers.
Simpson tied da Silva with 20 points but on 7-of-16 shooting (0-of-4 3PT). The Buffs' star point guard found his rhythm moving the basketball, posting a career-high nine assists with just one turnover.
On the away side, five Wildcats scored 14 or more points en route to the 20-point win, outscoring the Buffs by 13 points in the second half. Caleb Love led the scoring charge with 19 points (6-of-15 FG), though Pelle Larson wasn’t far behind with 18 points. Still, Oumar Ballo ultimately left the biggest mark on the game, scoring 16 points and grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds as he dominated the interior.
“Oumar Ballo is a dominant big,” Lloyd said. “...When Oumar Ballo plays like he did tonight, we’re a special team.”
Despite the big games from Arizona’s stars, Colorado came out of the gates hot as they built an early 8-2 lead just three minutes into the contest. Just over two minutes later, though, the Wildcats would do what they did all night, responding with an 11-0 run as they built their first and final lead of the game.
The Buffs didn’t waiver, keeping the game within seven heading into the intermission. Coming out of halftime, it was a different story.
Eddie Lampkin Jr., who had sat the last 10 minutes of the first half due to foul trouble, opened the half with a missed layup before Love hit a 3. On the next possession, da Silva missed a wide-open jumper from the elbow, quickly leading to another Arizona 3-pointer, this time from Keshad Johnson. Now down 13, the Buffs had to fight to make it a game.
“Early in the second half, we got good looks and didn’t make them,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. “They got good looks and made them and it goes from a seven-point game to a 12 or 13-point game, and we’re playing catch up from there.”
With the game falling apart for Colorado, Arizona turned the even turnover count (6-6) of the first half into a turnover battle favoring themselves by seven while scoring 23 points in transition. And while Colorado shot decently, making 26 shots on 54 attempts (48.1% FG), Arizona shot slightly better from the field (36-of-68, 52.9% FG) and much better from distance (UA: 10-of-22 3PT; CU: 5-of-17 3PT). While the Wildcats didn't dominate the rebound battle, only winning by two, they cleaned up their few misses, turning them into 23 second-chance points.
“When somebody shoots 53% from the field and scores 99 points in your building, the defense isn’t good enough,” Boyle said. “Part of that has to do with second-chance points, part of that has to do with not taking care of the ball, and part of it has to do with defense. I credit them (Arizona). I don’t discredit our guys because our guys fought and scratched and clawed and they gave everything they had. We just weren’t good enough.”
With defense and turnover issues continuing to be Colorado’s Achilles heel, they hit the road to face a UCLA (12-11, 7-5) team that is currently on a four-game win streak. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT on Thursday, February 15.
“It can change if the players decide they want to make a change,” Boyle said.
Cover photo by Roberto Patrick Gerra/Sko Buffs Sports
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