The Colorado men’s basketball team (9-9, 0-7 Big 12) hosted the Brigham Young Cougars (12-6, 3-4 Big 12) late on Tuesday night. The Buffaloes looked to end their six-game losing skid versus an underperforming BYU team.
Colorado had the game close in the first half, boasting a 14-0 run to lead the game 32-22, until BYU’s Richie Saunders went on a 7-0 run by himself. The Cougars closed the half 38-36.
BYU’s explosive offense and unique defensive strategy in the second half ran the Buffs out of the arena in dominant fashion. BYU opened the second half on a 22-1 run and never looked back, Outscoring Colorado 61-35 in the last 26 minutes.
The game ended in favor of the Cougars, 83-67.
BYU’s talent on the floor is something that CU knew about and it showed. BYU guard Richie Saunders put up 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting. The junior did not miss a single shot in the second half. The Cougars paired their sharpshooter with freshman Egor Demin, a 6-foot-9 guard with incredible passing abilities; he had seven assists on the night including a between-the-legs drop pass that led to a Saunders 3.
Brigham Young also dominated Colorado on defense. It would switch between a zone and man defense on almost every play, sometimes even changing in the middle of a play.
“(Washington State) would start out in zone and then go to man halfway through the possession. Well, guess what? BYU did that tonight.” Boyle mentioned of BYU's defense on Tuesday night, referencing the familiar strategy of a past conference opponent. “We knew what we were supposed to do when that happened. We didn’t do it.”
The Buffaloes haven’t faced much zone this season. So when BYU introduced CU to zone play, it was a disaster. The Buffs gave up 16 turnovers and had two shots blocked, scoring a total of 67 points on 21-of-46 field goals made.
Despite its poor offensive strife, the black and gold got to the stripe 27 times, knocking down 18 free throws.
“This team is a collective team. We don't have one guy that can carry this team, offensively or defensively,” Boyle said when asked about this season’s struggles. “So we have to rely on each other. I have confidence in (our) guys. The problem is you don't know which guys are going to show up.”
Julian Hammond III led the team in scoring with 17 points, the only Buff with double-digit points this game. All year long Colorado has struggled with turnovers and rebounding. Tuesday’s loss further proved another weakness: their lack of a star player.
The Buffaloes dropped to 9-9 on the season and still have not won a conference game. CU has not seemed to be improving, especially with its ball security. But Boyle and his Buffs are not at a loss of hope.
“You want a chance to do something that’s never been done?” Boyle said, chuckling. “We’ll have an opportunity to do that Saturday.”
Boyle has never led a Colorado team to a 0-8 conference start and will look to avoid that on Saturday when the Buffaloes travel to Tucson to take on the Arizona Wildcats at 1 p.m. MT (ESPN+).
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