Colorado
Arizona
Buffs Fall At Arizona In Pac-12 Opener
January 03, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
TUCSON, Ariz. — Colorado started fast and finished strong Thursday night in its Pac-12 opener, but a difficult stretch in the middle of game proved too much to overcome, as CU dropped a 64-56 decision to Arizona at the McKale Center.
The loss, CU's third in the last four games, dropped the Buffs to 9-4 overall (0-1 in Pac-12) while Arizona improved to 10-4, 1-0. The loss was CU's seventh in as many tries at McKale since the Buffs joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12. Since the beginning of the 2013 season, Arizona is 90-4 on its home floor.
After trailing by as much as 17 in the second half, the Buffs cut the margin to seven, 57-50, with 2:42 still left to play on a D'Shawn Schwartz 3-pointer.
But that was as close as the Buffs could come. Arizona build the lead back to double digits, then held the Buffs off in the final minute.
Sophomore McKinley Wright IV led CU with 17 points and Lucas Siewert added 11, but they were the only Buffs in double figures as Colorado shot just 19-for-53 from the field (35.8 percent). Schwartz had eight points and eight rebounds for CU and Tyler Bey had 11 rebounds and four points.
Brandon Williams led Arizona with 14 points as the Wildcats shot 25-for-58 (43.1 percent) and Brandon Randolph added 11.
CU was once again plagued by turnovers, committing 17 — including six by Wright — which led to 14 Arizona points. The Wildcats also dominated the game inside, outscoring Colorado 38-18 in the paint.
"We have some offensive woes right now," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "When you combine 35 percent shooting with 17 turnovers, you put a lot of pressure on your defense. I thought our defense was great in the second half, it really was. But our offensive efficiency is just not very good right now. I've got to do a better job as a coach to get these guys to understand that it's about the execution. When you get good shots you have to be able to stick them in the basket. I don't care if you're in the paint, I don't care if you're wide open from three. You have to be able to capitalize."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs started off hot, hitting five of their first six shots to take an 11-6 lead heading into the first media timeout.
But the Wildcats emerged from the timeout as a different team. The Buffs had empty possessions on four of their ensuing five tries with the ball while Arizona hit three of four from the field to finally take a 14-13 lead at the 11:37 mark on a Randolph 3-pointer.
Just two minutes later, Bey drew his second foul, sending Colorado's best inside defender to the bench. From that point, the Wildcats poured it on, putting together a 13-2 run that included an 8-0 surge. The Buffs' shooting, meanwhile, went cold and they compounded their problems with turnovers. By the 4:36 mark, Arizona had a 31-17 lead, outscoring Colorado 25-6 in an 11-minute stretch.
Colorado momentarily halted the run with four straight points, but Arizona once again answered with an 8-3 burst to close the half with a 39-24 lead. Colorado finished the half with nine turnovers and just two assists, and the Wildcats also had a 16-13 edge on the boards, leading to a 7-2 edge in second-chance points.
The Wildcats threatened to blow the game open in the second half, building their cushion to as much as 17, 54-37, midway through the period.
But to their credit, the Buffs never quit. Colorado put together a 13-3 run to narrow the deficit to seven, 57-50, getting 3-pointers from Wright, Siewert and Schwartz in the surge.
That was as close as Colorado could come, however. Arizona outscored CU 7-1 over the next two minutes, then held the Buffs off down the stretch.
"I have to tip my hat to our guys," Boyle said. "I thought their competitive nature could have gone away, it didn't. But we have to play better on the offensive end than we have the last four games."
The Buffs held Arizona to just 33 percent shooting in the second half (9-for-27), but never could resurrect their own offense, shooting just 9-for-28 in the final 20 minutes.
"I look at points in the paint — difference in the game," Boyle said. "We've got to get better in really every area of our offense. Execution, shooting the ball, finishing. We're just not good enough right now. We've got to get better."
TURNING POINT: Colorado trailed by just one, 14-13, midway through the first half when Bey drew his second foul, sending him to the bench. The Wildcats outscored Colorado 25-11 the rest of the half to take control for good.
WHAT IT MEANS: Now 0-1 in Pac-12 play, the Buffs need a win Saturday at Arizona State to earn a split on their trip to the desert.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado shot just 35.8 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers while Arizona shot 43 percent and had just 11 turnovers. The Wildcats also dominated Colorado inside, outscoring CU 38-18 in the paint.
NOTEWORTHY: Schwartz's eight rebounds were a career high ... Junior guard Deleon Brown did not make the trip, as he is addressing academic issues, according to Boyle. ... Only two Buffs, Evan Battey (4-for-8) and Wright (6-for-10) shot at least 50 percent from the field. ... Siewert was just 3-for-7 from the field but was 3-for-5 from 3-point range.
QUOTEWORTHY: "Arizona State is probably a more talented team than Arizona. They have some dudes. We're going to have our hands full on Saturday afternoon. We have to bounce back." — CU head coach Tad Boyle
"We just have to stay together and make the right reads. We have to sit down and watch the film and see what we can do better, starting with myself." — CU guard McKinley Wright
NEXT UP: The Buffs wrap up their trip to the desert Saturday with a 4 p.m. game at Arizona State. The Sun Devils fell to Utah, 96-86, in Tempe on Thursday.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
Â
