Buffs Aim To Bounce Back Against Huskies
February 16, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
SEATTLE — When the week began, the Colorado Buffaloes had their eyes on a victory at Washington State and the momentum of a four-game winning streak to carry them into Saturday's game at Washington.
But now, after a disappointing loss in Pullman on Thursday, the 15-11 Buffs (7-7 Pac-12) head to UW's Alaska Airlines Arena for Saturday's 6 p.m. game (Pac-12 Networks) hoping to salvage a road trip split.
The good news is that history is on the Buffs' side in their matchup with the Huskies (17-9, 7-6), who beat Colorado 72-62 earlier this season in Boulder. Over the last four seasons, the two teams have split their season series, including the 2015 matchups when the visiting team won each game.
But now, Saturday's game becomes exponentially more important.
Thursday's 73-69 loss to the Cougars was damaging in a variety of ways, beginning with the fact that it came against the Pac-12's last-place team. The defeat definitely put a damper on CU's NCAA Tournament hopes — the Buffs dropped nearly 10 points in the RPI standings with the loss — and also made their chances of earning a top-four conference finish that much more difficult.
A win would have sent the Buffs to Seattle in a tie for fourth in the Pac-12. Now, they enter Saturday's game in a tie for eighth.
But they are by no means out of the running for a top-four finish, although the task now becomes more difficult. All four of Colorado's remaining games — Washington, USC, UCLA and Utah — are against teams currently ahead of the Buffs. CU is also still just one game behind fourth-place Utah and two behind USC and UCLA, who are tied for second.
The margin for error, however, has become razor thin, meaning the Buffs have to significantly improve their level of play in a hurry if they want to collect a road trip split.
The Buffs weren't particularly efficient on either end of the floor against the Cougars. Colorado allowed an eight-point lead in the second half to melt away by producing just two field goals in the final nine minutes, shooting just 2-for-10 from the field in that stretch while also missing four free throws. The Buffs also finished the game with 15 turnovers, which the Cougars converted into 18 points, and they allowed WSU's Malachi Flynn to score 21 of his 30 points in the second half.
Still, the Buffs have bounced back from such dismal performances before. Earlier this season, after a 70-58 loss at USC, Colorado came back to record a 68-59 win at UCLA, their first-ever win on the Bruins' home floor.
Last week, they also played poorly against Cal (although they escaped with a win), then came back with a solid effort to collect a win over Stanford.
Now, they need to do the same in Seattle.
SERIES: Washington holds a slim 13-11 edge in the all-time series, including a 9-2 edge in Seattle. Washington leads Colorado 6-5 in games played since the Buffs joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12, with the two teams having split their season series each of the last four years. Washington won the first meeting this year, 72-62, on Jan. 20 in Boulder.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks with Roxy Bernstein and Don MacLean. KOA 850 AM radio will broadcast the game with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu