Colorado
21-8,10-6Pac-12
California
12-16,6-9Pac-12
Buffs Stumble On Road, Fall To Cal
February 27, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BERKELEY, Calif. — Nothing went right for Colorado here Thursday, as the cold-shooting Buffaloes fell behind by 12 at the half and never recovered in a 76-62 loss to California at Haas Pavilion.
The Buffaloes' second straight defeat — only their second two-game losing streak of the season and first in Pac-12 play — dropped CU to 21-8 overall and 10-6 in Pac-12 play. Cal improved to 12-16, 6-9.
Just one week ago, the Buffs were alone atop the Pac-12 standings. Now, after losses to UCLA and Cal, Colorado is in danger of slipping out of the league's top four and losing the first round conference tournament bye that goes with that finish.
McKinley Wright IV led the Buffs with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, Tyler Bey added 13 points and five rebounds and Lucas Siewert scored 11.
Cal's Matt Bradley finished with a career-high tying 26 points that included a 5-for-7 night from 3-point range, and the 76 points were Cal's season high in Pac-12 play.
The Buffs struggled all night from the floor. CU entered the game as the league's best 3-point shooting team in Pac-12 play, but finished just 6-for-29 from beyond the arc (20.7 percent), including a dismal 3-for-20 in the second half. Cal — one of the league's worst-shooting teams — shot 46.3 percent from the floor (25-for-54), including 9-for-20 from 3-point range.
Colorado committed just 11 turnovers in the game, but those led to a 21-5 Cal edge in points off turnovers.
"We've got some holes right now in our lineup and and guys are struggling a little bit," CU coach Tad Boyle said. "Our defense has left us. We've got some guys who can't make shots right now and they get their heads down. Defensively we're not tough enough. Execution, toughness and discipline win games this time of year and we're not that team."
HOW IT HAPPENED: After a slow start to open the game, the Buffs actually rallied to go ahead in the first half, coming back from an early 15-8 deficit to take a 23-21 lead with 8:45 to play in the half. Evan Battey hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and Siewert had a pair of treys in a 15-6 CU run, with Siewert's second 3-pointer giving the Buffs their first lead of the game.
But the Buffs didn't have much time to enjoy their lead. Bradley — who had 17 points in the first half — answered Siewert's 3-pointer with one of his own, the beginning of a 17-3 Cal run to close the half. Bradley added two more 3-pointers in the surge, and also hit two free throws after a technical foul on Boyle, who was protesting an offensive foul call on Wright. The foul, Wright's second of the half, brought him to the bench with 4:29 remaining in the half, and the Buffs trailed 38-26 at intermission.
The Buffs hurt themselves in Cal's closing run, fouling Bradley on a made 3-pointer, giving him a free throw for a four-point play. According to Boyle, it was the 13th time this year the Buffs have fouled a 3-point shooter.
"That's a cardinal sin in basketball — you should never foul a 3-point shooter 13 times in one year," Boyle said. "That's just an indication of where we are defensively."
The Bears entered the game as the Pac-12's lowest scoring team in conference play (59.3 points per game) and with the second-worst shooting percentage and 3-point percentage. But they finished 46.3 percent from the floor overall and 45.0 percent from 3-point range — their second good shooting performance against CU this season.
"We give guys confidence," Wright said. "When we don't shoot the ball as well as we're capable of, we let that affect us on the defensive end … We have to step up and be able to guard our matchup and take that personal and have some pride in our defense."
The Buffs did manage to cut the 12-point halftime deficit down to seven midway through the second half when a Maddox Daniels 3-pointer pulled CU to within 47-40 with with 11:32 to play.
But the Bears quickly answered with a 9-0 run to push their lead back to 16 and Colorado never cut the deficit back to single digits again.
While Wright and Bey did combine to shoot a combined 13-for-21 from the floor, their other four leaders in minutes played — Siewert, Evan Battey, Shane Gatling and D'Shawn Schwartz — shot just 8-for-32, with Schwartz enduring an 0-for-8 night.
The Buffs attempted just nine free throws and made six, the fourth time in the last five games they have attempted 10 or fewer free throws. After averaging more than 22 free throws a game for the first 24 games of the year, they have averaged just 11 tries per game over the last five.
"When you don't make shots, you'd better figure out another way to win," Boyle said. "That's by getting to the foul line, which we can't do. If you can't get stops, you can't get to the line, you can't finish through contact, you can't make open shots, you can't win."
TURNING POINT: After taking a 23-21 lead with just under nine minutes to play in the first half, the Buffs gave up a 17-3 run to finish the period and trailed by 12 at halftime. CU never came closer than seven again.
WHAT IT MEANS: While it's stlll mathematically possible for the Buffs to claim at least a tie for the Pac-12 title, the bigger picture is a top-four finish and first-round conference tourney bye. They need a win Sunday at Stanford to keep themselves in good position for that spot.
KEY STATISTICS: The Bears shot 46.3 percent from the field (25-for-54), including 9-for-20 from 3-point range … The Buffs shot just 41 percent (25-for-61), including 6-for-29 from 3-point range … CU attempted just nine free throws while the Bears shot 22 … Cal had a 21-5 edge in points off turnovers.
UP NEXT: The Buffs wrap up their Bay Area swing at Stanford on Sunday (4 p.m., ESPNU), then close the regular season with a 12:30 p.m. game March 7 at Utah.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
