Colorado
14-4,3-2Pac-12
Arizona
13-5,3-2Pac-12
No. 20 Buffs Fall At Arizona
January 18, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
TUCSON, Ariz. — Colorado's hopes for a road trip sweep in the desert came crashing down Saturday, as the Buffaloes dropped a 75-54 decision to Arizona at the McKale Center.
The 20th-ranked Buffs, who won at Arizona State on Thursday, dropped to 14-4 overall and 3-2 in Pac-12 play while Arizona improved to 13-5, 3-2. The loss was CU's eighth in a row at Arizona since joining the Pac-12 in 2011-12.
The Buffs jumped out to a quick 10-5 lead, but Arizona answered with a 24-5 run to take control and Colorado never threatened again. CU trailed 34-23 at intermission and managed to cut the deficit back to nine early in the second half, but UA quickly rebuilt the lead to double digits and extended the margin into the 20s down the stretch.
McKinley Wright IV led CU with 15 points and five assists, D'Shawn Schwartz added 12 points and Lucas Siewert had eight points and seven rebounds. The Wildcats put four players in double figures, led by Dylan Smith and Josh Green with 13 points apiece. Zeke Nnaji added a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double for UA.
The Buffs struggled on both ends of the floor for much of the game, particularly on the boards. CU shot just 36.7 percent (18-for-49) while the Wildcats were 28-for-59 from the floor (47.5 percent). UA also had nine 3-pointers, the most the Buffs have given up in their last nine games.
Colorado was also dominated on the boards, 39-25, with the 'Cats grabbing 13 offensive rebounds. It was the second game in a row the Buffs were outrebounded — a rarity in the Tad Boyle era — and CU opponents had 30 offensive rebounds in the two games in the desert.
Colorado also committed 12 turnovers to Arizona's 11, but the Wildcats had a 16-3 edge in points off turnovers.
"We pride ourselves on defense and rebounding, and we didn't do either one tonight,"Â Boyle said. "Minus-14 on the boards, that hasn't happened in a long time. We've been beat, but not like that. I thought the better offensive team won tonight. I've got to do a better job of helping our guys."
HOW IT HAPPENED: After a quick start that produced an early 10-5 lead, the Buffs went cold in the first half and the Wildcats got hot, leading to a 24-5 UA run and 29-15 Arizona lead with just under four minutes to play in the half.
The Wildcats had three 3-pointers in the run, along with three second-chance baskets to ignite the sold-out crowd. The Buffs, meanwhile, hit just one of their first nine 3-point tries.
"You have to answer that crowd with a great offensive possession, a bucket and a foul or getting fouled, getting to the free throw line and making two free throws," Boyle said. "Those are the things you have to do in these kinds of environments and we didn't do that tonight. Offensively we were not very good and we weren't good enough defensively. Arizona's a good team."
CU's normally reliable big men struggled on the boards all night. Junior Tyler Bey, who entered the game as the Pac-12's leading rebounder, finished with nine points and four rebounds while Evan Battey did not score and had only one rebound. Wright had three rebounds to go with Siewert's seven, but CU had just three players with more than one rebound.
The Buffs did manage to cut the deficit to 11 at intermission, 34-23, when Wright banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer. They then whittled the margin down to nine early in the second half when a Bey basket cut UA's lead to 36-27.
But the Wildcats quickly bumped the margin back into double digits, and the Buffs never came closer than 10 again. Arizona was 9-for-22 from beyond the arc, the most 3-pointers by a CU opponent since Northern Iowa had 14 in mid-December — nine games ago.
"We gave up 30 offensive rebounds on this trip to Arizona, 13 of them were tonight," Boyle said. "You can't let a good team have that many second-chance looks. You add that with the fact that their shooters, the guys we knew were shooters coming in, we let them get up 15 threes. You have to take threes away from shooters."
Colorado did manage to pull within 10 with 12:58 to play in the game when Schwartz hit a 3-pointer and Siewert converted a conventional 3-point play to cut UA's margin to 45-35. But the Wildcats quickly answered with a pair of 3-pointers and CU never threatened again.
 "It was obvious, everybody in the country saw it today," Wright said. "We got our butts whipped on the rebounding end. That was really it."
Colorado started well, taking an early 10-5 lead thanks to a 6-0 run. Wright hit a 3-pointer to start the surge, D'Shawn Schwartz added a free throw and a Daylen Kountz turnaround jumper gave CU a 10-5 lead with 13:52 to go in the first half.
But the Wildcats then caught fire, putting together a 9-0 run, part of a 24-5 onslaught that gave the Wildcats a 29-15 lead with just under four minutes to play. The Buffs hit just 1 of 9 field goal tries in that stretch, and also hurt themselves with turnovers. CU committed eight turnovers in the first half, which Arizona converted into 13 points and a 34-23 halftime lead.
NOTEWORTHY: It was the second game in a row CU was outrebounded, as ASU had a 42-40 edge. The last time CU was outrebounded in back-to-back games came in mid-December against Kansas and Northern Iowa (both losses).
TURNING POINT: Just after Colorado took an early 10-5 lead, the Wildcats put together a 9-0 run, part of a 24-5 surge that gave UA control and Colorado never completely recovered.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs still return home with a road split, but will need to take care of business next week when the two Washington schools visit Boulder. After that, seven of CU's last 11 conference games are on the road. What makes Saturday's loss particularly difficult is the fact that the Wildcats do not visit Boulder this year, meaning the two teams won't play again unless they meet in the Pac-12 or NCAA tournaments.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs were dominated on the boards, 39-25, including a 13-7 edge on the offensive boards … CU shot just 36.7 percent (18-for-49) while the Wildcats were 28-for-59 from the floor (47.5 percent) … UA also had nine 3-pointers, the most the Buffs have given up in their last nine games.
QUOTEWORTHY: "My challenge to our guys is we have to continue to improve. We can't feel like it's just the next game. We have to go back to practice on Monday and say, 'OK, what do we have to do to get better?' We have to really concentrate on that. In this league, you'd better be ready every single night. I'm not saying we weren't ready tonight, but we didn't play nearly well enough to compete, to give ourselves a chance to win tonight. When you do that, you're going to get beat." — CU head coach Tad Boyle
NEXT UP: The Buffs return home next week for a pair of games at the CU Events Center, beginning with an 8 p.m. game Thursday against Washington State, followed by a 7 p.m. matchup Saturday against Washington.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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