Colorado
9-6, 1-2Pac-12
Arizona State
12-2, 0-2Pac-12
Buffs Knock Off No. 4 Arizona State
January 04, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Thursday afternoon, Colorado coach Tad Boyle showed his team highlight clips of the program's 15 wins over nationally ranked teams in his tenure in Boulder.
He then told the Buffs it was their turn to add the next chapter — and that's exactly what they did.
Spurred on by a raucous Coors Events Center crowd, the Buffs rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit to knock off fourth-ranked Arizona State in overtime, 90-81, outscoring the visitors 16-7 in the extra period for the victory. The Sun Devils were the highest-ranked team beaten by Colorado in the Boyle era, and the highest-ranked team beaten by the Buffs since CU knocked off No. 3 Texas in February 2003.
The win also ended a three-game CU losing streak and improved Colorado's record to 9-6 overall and 1-2 in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils lost their second in a row to fall to 12-2 and 0-2.
The win was a team effort in every regard as the Buffs battled back from big deficits in the first and second half to collect the win. Freshman McKinley Wright IV and junior Namon Wright each scored 19 points for Colorado while senior George King added 18 points and nine rebounds and senior Dominique Collier had 11 points and a team-high six assists.
Tra Holder led ASU with 24 points
"What a resilient group we had," Boyle said. "Our guys were a little bit down, felt like maybe we should have finished a little stronger in regulation. But they didn't stay down. We came out in overtime and made winning plays. .... I'm just really proud of them."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs trailed 12 early in the game, by five at the half and by as much as eight midway through the second half before putting together a 13-2 run that changed the complexion of the entire game.
McKinley Wright started the run with a driving layup and free throw before Dominique Collier drained a long 3-pointer. The Sun Devils momentarily halted the run with a Holder bucket before Tyler Bey scored inside, Dallas Walton hit a free throw and Bey followed with a bucket inside at the 8:20 mark to give Colorado it's first lead of the game, 55-54.
CU then finished the run when Walton recorded a big block on the defensive end and pushed the outlet pass to Collier. The senior then dropped a pass to Namon Wright, who finished the transition with a thunderous dunk for a 57-54 CU lead with 7:41 to go, igniting the Events Center crowd to a fever pitch in the process.
Colorado then held the lead for much of the rest of regulation, only to see the Sun Devils tie it up in the final seconds. King hit one of two free throws with 29 seconds remaining to give Colorado a 74-72 lead before Arizona State's Mickey Mitchell rebounded a missed 3-pointer and dunked it home to tie the game at 74-74 and send it into overtime.
King also had a message for his teammates in the huddle prior to the overtime period.
"We're made for this," King told his teammates.
The Buffs then dominated the extra period, scoring the first five points and never giving up the lead. McKinley Wright started the run with an offensive rebound and bucket, followed a minute later by a King 3-pointer, and Colorado led for the remainder of the period.
"We didn't win the tip and from there we did get a stop but we didn't get the rebound," ASU coach Bobby Hurley said of the opening minutes of the overtime. "Basketball amounts to a lot things, it's an entire game, but one play that we didn't make that their freshman point guard made in terms of getting that offensive rebound was very difficult because we did have great momentum at that point in the game."
The Sun Devils managed to pull within two in the final minute of overtime, but Colorado answered with seven free throws in the final 53 seconds, combined with three defensive stops on the other end. King virtually put the game away by grabbing a defensive rebound and drawing a foul with 41 seconds remaining and hitting both free throws to give CU a five-point lead.
"Defense won this game," McKinley Wright said. "We stressed how high scoring they are. The level they score the ball at, we knew we'd have to get stops."
In the first half, the Buffs once again put themselves in an early hole, falling behind 13-1 in the first five minutes. The Sun Devils hit five of their first eight field goal tries — including all three 3-point tries — while the Buffs missed their first seven attempts from the field.
But, Colorado switched to a zone defense and slowly climbed back in the game, putting together a 16-7 run at one point to pull within one, 27-26, before finally heading into the locker room at halftime trailing by five, 34-29.
"We just kept guarding them and trying to make everything tough," King said. "Coach put in a little wrinkle defensively a few days ago and I think it rattled them going against something they hadn't seen before. We kept playing with a lot of energy and effort, we stuck to the game plan and we never got down on ourselves. We stayed positive the whole game."Â
By game's end, the Sun Devils hit just 35.5 percent of their field goal attempts (27-for-76) and just nine of their 34 3-point tries — after hitting their first three. Colorado also won the rebound battle, 48-41.
TURNING POINT: Trailing by eight with roughly 11 minutes to go, the Buffs put together a 13-2 run to take the lead and never trailed again.
UPPERCLASSMEN RISE TO OCCASION: Colorado coach admitted he has been tough on seniors George King and Dominique Collier and junior Namon Wright. The three responded with their best games in weeks.
"I've been hard on them because they have not been holding up their end of the bargain in terms of what they're doing for this team over the last three or four weeks," Boyle said. "Tonight they stepped up. They made big shots, played aggressively. They really stepped up their game tonight."
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs halted a three-game losing streak in the best possible fashion, by knocking off the nation's fourth-ranked team. The win should give them some momentum as they continue a brutal Pac-12 stretch that includes Saturday's home game against No. 14 Arizona.
CU STANDOUTS: Junior Namon Wright scored 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting and also had seven rebounds. … McKinley Wright IV scored 19 points to go with five assists and three rebounds. … George King scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds. … Dominique Collier scored 11 points and dished out a team-high six assists. … Tyler Bey had eight points and eight rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs held ASU to just 35.5 percent shooting from the floor (27-for-76), including a 9-for-34 night from 3-point range. Colorado also had a 48-41 rebound edge and outscored the Sun Devils 17-9 on second-chance points.
NOTEWORTHY: The win was Colorado's 60th all-time against ranked teams, with Boyle's squad responsible for 16 of those. ... The Buffs are now 7-1 against ASU in Boulder. … CU is 2-0 in overtime games this season (the Buffs beat South Dakota State in double-overtime earlier this year). … CU shot 46 percent from the field after shooting just 39 percent in its first two Pac-12 games.
QUOTEWORTHY: "We can turn this thing around quick. A game plan is a game plan and we have to put it in and execute it. That presents a whole different challenge because Arizona comes with completely different problems than Arizona State." — CU head coach Tad Boyle on Saturday's game against 14th-ranked Arizona.
"Nobody expected us to win this game. Nobody believed in us except us and our fans. We don't care what anybody thinks, we're here to prove people wrong." — CU freshman McKinley Wright.
NEXT UP: The Buffs play host to No. 14 Arizona on Saturday in a noon game at the Coors Events Center. The Wildcats beat Utah, 94-82, Thursday.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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