Colorado
3-3,0-0Pac-12
Boise State
3-2,0-0Mountain West
Buffs Fall To Boise State In MBI Finale
November 20, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
CONWAY, S.C. — Consistency continued to evade Colorado on Sunday, as the Buffaloes dropped a 68-55 decision to Boise State in the fifth-place game of the Myrtle Beach Invitational.
Tad Boyle's Buffs, who fell to 3-3, have now followed a win-loss-win-loss pattern for the first six games of the season. Inexplicably, the Buffs are now 2-0 against top 25 teams and 1-3 against unranked opponents.
Boise State improved to 3-2.
The Buffs fell behind early against the Broncos and never recovered. Boise State led by as much as 11 in the first half, held an eight-point edge at intermission and never allowed the Buffs to come closer than six throughout the second half.
KJ Simpson led CU in scoring with 14 points but was the only Buff in double figures. CU shot just 36 percent from the floor, including a dismal 4-for-20 effort from 3-point range.
Marcus Shaver Jr. led BSU with 20 points. While the Broncos finished just 39 percent from the floor, it was their 52 percent effort in the first half (17-for-33, including seven 3-pointers) that made the difference.
Boyle, who watched his team dismantle No. 24 Texas A&M just two days earlier, 103-75, was understandably irate after the loss. CU has now dropped three games to unranked foes — Grambling State, UMass and Boise State while collecting wins over UC Riverside, No. 11 Tennessee and the No. 24 Aggies.
"Our players disrespected the Colorado uniform," Boyle told KOA radio. "Every former player should be disappointed and embarrassed with the way these guys represented any former player who wore this uniform. We got out-toughed, we got out-hustled, we got out-executed and we got out-coached. I'm doing an absolutely awful job with this team and I thank God we get to go home and get some practice time. I'm telling you, Tuesday's going to be a hell of a practice for us."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado started slowly and Boise used a 13-4 run to take a 19-10 lead eight minutes in. The Buffs committed five turnovers in the first eight minutes that led to seven BSU points to help fuel the Broncos' run.
Boise then built its lead to as much as 11 late in the half as shooting woes haunted the Buffs. Colorado hit just six of its first 15 field goal tries, including a 1-for-7 effort from long range.
Meanwhile, CU's defense around the arc fell short, a problem compounded by BSU's offensive rebounds. When Shaver drained a second-chance 3-pointer to give the Broncos a 30-19 lead with just more than 6 minutes to play, it elicited a quick timeout from CU's Boyle.
"All you have to do right now to beat Colorado is get up in them and fluster them and be physical with them because we wilt like a flower," Boyle said. "We did it at Grambling. We did it against UMass and we did it tonight. We just wilt like flowers. We're not tough enough to handle pressure, to handle anybody that's up in our stuff."
Colorado did manage to temporarily whittle away at the lead. A Nique Clifford three-point play with just under two minutes to play pulled the Buffs to within 35-32.
But the Broncos answered with two more treys down the stretch while the Buffs managed just a free throw and Colorado trailed, 41-33, at the break.
Boise State shot 52 percent from the floor in the opening half (17-for-33), including 7-for-13 from beyond the arc. The Buffs shot just 11-for-23 and hit just three of 10 3-point tries.
Colorado also lost the battle on the boards in the opening half, 18-12, with Boise's six offensive rebounds leading to seven second-chance points.
"We got beat by a tougher team," Boyle said. "The first half was where it was at. The first half was where we lost that game."
Colorado never came closer than six after intermission. The Buffs tightened up their defense considerably after the break but they went ice cold from the floor, hitting just five of their first 21 shots of the half.
CU did pull to within 50-44 with 11:23 to play after Ethan Wright drove the baseline for a bucket and Jalen Gabbidon drained a long 3-pointer. But the Broncos slowly built the cushion back to double digits. CU endured nearly a five-minute stretch without a field goal and with 5:32 to play, Colorado trailed 58-47 and CU never mounted a serious threat again.
"I'm not giving up on this team by any stretch of the imagination," Boyle said. "But we have to figure things out. I have to do a much better job of coaching. We have good enough players. But we better figure some things out."
BUFFS NOTES: The Buffs were without the services of J'Vonne Hadley for the second straight game. Hadley suffered an injury in the tourney opener against UMass … Starter Tristan da Silva played only sparingly in the second half because of what Boyle said were migraine issues.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs have now lost three games that could be critical deciding factors when it comes to NCAA Tournament selection time.
KEY STATISTICS: Boise State shot 52 percent from the floor in the opening half (17-for-33), including 7-for-13 from beyond the arc … Colorado finished the game just 4-for-20 from 3-point range … Colorado lost the battle on the boards in the opening half, 18-12, and finished with a one-rebound deficit (40-39) … BSU had 13 offensive rebounds.
NEXT UP: The Buffs return home from their five-game road trip next Sunday for a 1 p.m. game against Yale (Pac-12 matchup).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
