Colorado
12-10: 4-6
Arizona State
16-5: 4-5
Buffs Falter In Second Half, Fall At ASU
January 27, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
TEMPE, Ariz. — A flurry of Arizona State 3-pointers and another big discrepancy at the foul line put the Colorado Buffaloes in a hole from which they could not escape Saturday, as the Buffs dropped an 80-66 decision at Wells Fargo Arena.
Colorado rallied from an 8-point deficit in the first half to tie the game at intermission, 32-32, then scrapped to a 51-47 lead with 10:52 to go.
But the No. 21 Sun Devils, who had hit just three of their 21 3-pointers up to that point, rattled in six of their next seven, including five in a row, to build a 10-point lead with 6:37 remaining. The Buffs managed to briefly cut the lead back to seven, but the Sun Devils stayed hot down the stretch to collect the win.
After missing all 10 tries from beyond the arc in the first half, ASU finished the night 10-for-31 from 3-point range.
The loss, Colorado's third in a row, dropped the Buffs to 12-10 overall and 4-6 in Pac-12 play while the Sun Devils improved to 16-5, 4-5.
Dominique Collier led CU with 11 points while Lucas Siewert and Namon Wright each chipped in 10.
ASU's Tra Holder led all scorers with 22 points, including four 3-pointers after halftime.
"This is an explosive Arizona State team that we saw tonight," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "We hold them to zero threes in the first half and they come out and make 10 of them in the second. … We had too many defensive breakdowns. When they shoot 50 percent and 47 percent from three in the second half, it's just too much to overcome. It puts too much pressure on your offense."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Along with ASU's 3-point barrage in the second half, the Buffs also found themselves on the short end of a big difference at the foul line for the second game in a row.
In Thursday's loss to Arizona, the Wildcats shot 23 free throws while the Buffs shot eight. Saturday, the Sun Devils attempted 22 free throws and the Buffs nine — a 45-17 difference over the two games. It is the fewest number of free throws ever attempted in a two-game Pac-12 road swing by the Buffs, easily surpassing the 27 they shot on the same road trip three years ago.
"We have to figure out a way to get to the foul line," Boyle said. "For some reason we are not getting to the foul line. We have eight free throw attempts against Arizona, we have nine tonight. We have to figure out offensively a better way. We had 41 shots that weren't threes. We have to be attacking the paint, attacking the glass. We have to be able to get to that foul line. When you're shots aren't going in, you have tough nights offensively, it's one way you can stay in it."
But even with the difference at the foul line, the Buffs managed to stay in the game until midway through the second half. CU overcame an eight-point deficit to tie the game by halftime, 32-32, then took its first lead of the game early in the second half on a George King basket, 36-35. The two teams then traded the lead five times before Colorado extended its margin to three, 48-45, on a King 3-pointer, then to four on a D'Shawn Schwartz trey, 51-47.
"I really felt like we could battle ourselves back in this game and we did early in the second half," Boyle said. "But we let them get going from three".
Indeed, the Sun Devils found their shooting eye after Schwartz's 3-pointer. Arizona State hit five straight 3-pointers and six of its next seven to forge a 65-55 lead with 6:37 to play. Holder had three in the surge and Shannon Evans hit a pair, fueling a 20-7 ASU run.
Colorado did manage to cut the deficit to seven twice in the ensuing minutes, but could never come closer and the Sun Devils slowly built their lead over the final few minutes.
Colorado's two leading scorers also struggled in the game. CU point guard McKinley Wright finished with just two points on 1-for-10 shooting, but he did have seven assists. King finished with eight points and 10 rebounds and Dallas Walton had eight boards. Namon Wright had 10 points, but just two in the second half.
 "It was a rough night for those two," Boyle said of King and McKinley Wright. "That puts us in a little bit of a bind, and other guys have to be able to step up. We count on those guys for a lot."
Thanks to 11 turnovers and foul trouble early for starters Tyler Bey and King, the Buffs fell behind by as much as eight in the first half. But the Sun Devils, who missed all 10 of their 3-point shots in the opening half, could never pull away. Colorado slowly chipped away at the ASU lead and a D'Shawn Schwartz layup with 44 seconds left in the half sent the two teams into intermission tied at 32-32.
With King on the bench for much of the half with two fouls, Namon Wright picked up the scoring slack with eight points on 4-for-4 shooting to go with four rebounds. Dallas Walton had four points and six rebounds in the half.
While the Buffs shot a better percentage from the field in the first half and had more field goals than the Sun Devils (13-11), the Sun Devils shot 13 free throws and made 10 while Colorado shot just four and made all four.
TURNING POINT: With 12 minutes to play, Colorado held a 48-45 lead and looked ready to take the game down to the wire. But the Sun Devils put together a 20-7 run, fueled by six 3-pointers, and the Buffs could never seriously threaten again.
WHAT IT MEANS: Now with three straight losses, the Buffs return to Boulder for a three-game homestand, beginning with next Friday's game vs. Utah. CU has five of its remaining eight games at home, but the Buffs need to take care of home court if they want to have a chance to finish in the top four of the conference standings.
CU STANDOUTS: Dominique Collier had 11 points, two rebounds and two assists. … King just missed a double-double, finishing with eight points and 10 rebounds. … Namon Wright had 10 points and six rebounds. … Dallas Walton had eight rebounds and six points. … McKinley Wright had just two points, but also had seven assists, three blocked shots and three rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: After missing all 10 3-point tries in the first half, ASU went 10-for-21 in the second half. The Sun Devils also hit 16 of their 22 free throws while CU was 8-for-9 from the line. Colorado also committed 17 turnovers, which the Sun Devils converted into 19 points.
QUOTEWORTHY: "We're not losing these games because of fight. We're not losing them because of a lack of toughness. We lost them because of the free throw differential and our inability to get stops in the second half. Arizona scores 50 on us in the second half, tonight these guys score 48 points in the second half on us. You can't do that unless you are really  scoring at a high clip." — CU coach Tad Boyle
"(Free throw discrepancy) is a sign of lack of aggressiveness offensively. Obviously people are attacking us. We have to learn how to guard the ball better, we have to learn how to not foul as much as we're fouling. It's a combination of two things — offensively not being aggressive enough in terms of paint touches and getting the ball in the lane and getting the ball to the rim. On the other end, fouling too much." — Boyle
NEXT UP: The Buffs begin a three-game homestand next Friday with a 7 p.m. game vs. Utah at the Coors Events Center (FS1). Colorado then plays host to Cal on Feb. 7 (9 p.m.) and Stanford on Feb. 11 (2 p.m.)
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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