Colorado
2-1
Wyoming
3-0
Buffs Lassoed By Cowboys In Hostile Environment
November 22, 2014 | Men's Basketball
LAMARIE, Wyo. - The trip up I-25 from Boulder to Laramie, Wyo. and Arena-Auditorium has never been an easy one for the Colorado Buffaloes, and Saturday afternoon was no different, as the Buffs fell to the Cowboys of Wyoming, 56-33.
From the tip, you knew it wouldn't be easy for Colorado, who didn't get their first bucket of the game until the 17 minute mark, a two-point jumper from junior guard Xavier Johnson. But even after Johnson broke the seal, the Buffs never found their rhythm on the offensive end, playing most of the game at the snails-pace that Wyoming loves so much.
"First of all, my hat goes off to Wyoming tonight," said head coach Tad Boyle after the game. "It wasn't even close. It was an old-fashion [butt] whipping. They whipped us in every conceivable way."
The one sequence when the Buffs did get things going at their pace, featured what may have been the lone bright spot for the Buffaloes on the day.
Highly anticipated freshman Dominique Collier, saw his first action of his college career late in the first half and provided a quick spark for the Buffs, starting his campaign going 2-for-2 with a couple of triples.
"I was just wide open," said Collier of his big shots. "Coach told me to be ready to play and I was just ready when he called my name. It felt pretty good to just be out here with my teammates for my first college game."
Collier's spark was part of an 11-0 run for the Buffs, and was much of the reason Colorado only trailed by two points at half.
But despite the good position the Buffs found themselves in heading into the locker room, Boyle wasn't exactly happy.
"Yes [I was satisfied], with the way we shot the ball [in the first half], but we couldn't make a pass," said Boyle. "They are such a better passing team than we are. I mean, they had 22 assists and eight turnovers, we had six assists and 12 turnovers.
"Passing was our Achilles' heel last year as a team," he continued. "And it reared its head today. We want to try and do everything off the dribble and you can't do that. You have to be able to move the ball."
Colorado scored just 9 points in the final 20 minutes, leaving them with just 33 points in the game, their lowest total since the Harry Truman administration. CU failed to place a single player in double figures for the first time since Nov. 18, 2006 when Air Force defeated the Buffs at the Coors Events Center, 84-46.
Meanwhile the Cowboys were clicking on all cylinders.Â
Led by Colorado kid, Josh Adams (Parker, Colo.), who put up 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, Wyoming seemingly got everything they wanted in their half-court set, shooting 52 percent for the game, including 40 percent from behind the arc.
"They shot the ball well from three. We were late all night getting to their guys," said Boyle. "I can say we were bad, but Wyoming had a lot to do with that. For us to beat good teams, we are going to have to play better than we did tonight. It's embarrassing."
Junior forward, Josh Scott, who on Saturday became just one of 26 Buffaloes all-time to grab 500 career rebounds, shared similar feelings with Boyle.
"I could sit here and say yeah I'd like the ball to get in the paint, whether it be on drives or whatever, but the bottom line is we didn't play defense," he said. "I'm not going to blame it on the guards for not getting us the ball. What it comes down to, is we need to change our mentality."
So how do the Buffs bounce back from here?
"We realize we're not as good as we thought we were," said a humbled Scott. "Then, just focus on the fact that we have another squad coming into Boulder and we need to win at home."Â
The Buffs will get the chance for that win when they take on another regional opponent, the Air Force Falcons, at the Coors Events Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
