Buffs Get Third Shot At Huskies In Pac-12 Semifinals
March 14, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LAS VEGAS — The Colorado Buffaloes are hoping the third time is a charm against the Washington Huskies.
The Buffs have faced the Huskies twice this season, coming out on the short end both times. Friday, they will get one more shot at the Pac-12's regular season champs when the two teams square off in a 7 p.m. Pac-12 tournament semifinal at T-Mobile Arena.
In their first two games, the Huskies' zone defense proved to be a puzzle Colorado could not solve.
In early January in Boulder, Washington jumped out to a big lead early and held a 48-35 lead at the half before the Buffs finally narrowed the margin to one with just more than seven minutes to play. That, however, was as close as the Buffs could come, as UW pulled away down the stretch for a 77-70 win.
The first game is also the contest in which Colorado point guard McKinley Wright IV suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the next contest.
In CU's second meeting with the Huskies, a Feb. 23 matchup in Seattle, Washington again led from start to finish. Colorado committed 19 turnovers in the game — at that point a season high — that led to 18 points by the Huskies, and Washington also grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in a 64-55 win.
But since then, Colorado has won five straight games.
"Washington obviously is champion of the league over an 18-game schedule, and they're very, very good," CU head coach Tad Boyle said after Thursday's 73-58 quarterfinal win over Oregon State. "They've got a lot of good players. But the teams that have had success against Washington are the teams that have really guarded them well. And we're going to have to do that again tomorrow."
Washington advanced to the semifinals with a 78-75 win over USC, holding off a Trojans rally down the stretch.
The Huskies are not a high-scoring team — in fact they are just ninth in the league in scoring in conference play, averaging 69.8 points per game.
But led by senior guard Matisse Thybulle — the two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year — the Huskies have throttled teams defensively with their 2-3 zone defense, allowing opponents a league-low 62.3 points per game in conference play. Thybulle led the league in steals this season with 71 in conference play — nearly twice as many as any other player — and was second in the conference in blocked shots, averaging 2.56 per game.
The Huskies also have the Pac-12's Player of the Year in guard Jaylen Nowell, who averaged 15.7 points per game in conference play while handing out more than three assists per game.
"They can risk a lot with Thybulle by having him cheat out front," said CU sophomore forward Tyler Bey. "That's the big thing with their zone because he does so much, their bigs can stay inside."
Bey, who entered the Pac-12 tournament with five double-doubles, saw that streak come to an end in the win over Cal. Thursday, he saw his streak of games with double-digit rebounds end at eight, as he was limited to just six by the Beavers.
But the fact that the Buffs won without big games from Bey may be a positive, as it might mean he is due to break out Friday. There is also good news in the fact that he played just 18 minutes Thursday because of foul trouble, meaning he should be relatively well-rested (if that's possible playing a third game in three days).
"We have to take care of the ball," Bey said. "That's the main thing for us against that zone. We can't get frustrated if shots aren't going in. We have to stay with our principles — defense and rebounding."
Boyle, whose team has played solid defense throughout its current five-game win streak, said much the same.
"Obviously we're going to have to handle the zone and take care of the ball," he said. "We had 19 turnovers last time we played them in Seattle. Hopefully we can have that turnaround like we had today, taking care of the ball and ratcheting up our defense. And if we do, that we'll give ourselves a chance."
BUFFS BITS: Colorado junior forward Lucas Siewert was held scoreless Thursday by Oregon State, the first time he hasn't scored in a game since January 2018, a stretch of 47 games. Siewert struggled with his shooting, going 0-for-5, but he did grab six rebounds and hand out three assists. … Freshman guard Daylen Kountz, who had two steals that led to dunks against Cal, added another steal and breakaway slam against the Beavers. … With his 10 points and nine rebounds, CU freshman Evan Battey just missed his first career double-double. … Along with adding another solid defensive effort, CU's D'Shawn Schwartz scored in double figures (11 points) for the fifth time in the last six games.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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