Colorado
12-11,4-8Pac-12
Oregon State
9-13,3-8Pac-12
Buffs Fall At Oregon State
January 28, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado's offense went cold after a hot start Saturday and the Buffaloes' road woes continued as CU dropped a 60-52 decision to Oregon State at Gill Coliseum.
Tad Boyle's Buffs fell to 12-11 overall and 4-8 in Pac-12 play while losing for the seventh time in eight road games this season. The Beavers improved to 9-13, 3-8.
Colorado led by seven early and still had a two-point edge seven minutes into the second half. But the Beavers used an 11-0 run to take control and CU never came closer than three again.
Colorado's Tristan da Silva recorded his second career double-double, finishing with a career-high 15 rebounds and 22 points, including CU's last 13 points of the game. But J'Vonne Hadley was the only other Buff in double figures, finishing with 11 points. KJ Simpson, the Pac-12's third leading scorer, had his second straight off night, finishing with just four points on 1-for-13 shooting.
Jordan Pope led the Beavers with 19 points, including five 3-pointers in the second half.
The Buffs once again hurt themselves with turnovers, committing 13 miscues that led to 15 OSU points. Colorado shot just 35 percent from the floor (21-for-60), including an 11-for-36 effort in the second half. The Beavers shot just 38 percent (18-for-47), but hit 17 of their 22 free throws while the Buffs were 3-for-7 from the stripe.
"I wish I had the answers right now," Boyle said. "I don't, but it's my job. It's nobody's fault but mine and I have to do a better job with this basketball team."
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Buffs led by one at the half and had a two-point edge, 36-34, with 13 minutes to play.
But OSU's Pope caught fire, knocking down five threes in a six-minute span, including three in an 11-0 OSU run. With 8:50 to play, the Buffs trailed by nine, 45-36.
Colorado did manage to chip away at the lead. Da Silva hit a pair of threes to pull CU to within 50-47 with just more than five minutes to play.
But that was as close as Colorado could come. CU couldn't come up with some critical stops in the closing minutes and the Buffs hit just one of their final eight field goal tries while OSU made five free throws in the final minute.
OSU's defense made sure to make it tough on Simpson all night. Combined with his 2-for-13 night in Thursday's loss to Oregon, CU's standout sophomore is 3-for-26 from the floor over his last three games.
"People are going to game plan to take KJ out of the game," Boyle said. "They'll do what Oregon did to him and what Oregon State did to him tonight. And we can't let that happen. You can't be a one- or two-trick pony in this league."
Colorado's offense looked to be on target early, as the Buffs hit nine of their first 16 shots. CU took a 26-25 lead into the locker room at intermission, a margin that could have been much bigger had it not been for turnovers. The Buffs committed 10 miscues in the first half, leading to 10 Oregon State points.
Still, Colorado led by seven midway through the first period. A 3-pointer from da Silva sparked an 8-0 run and another trey from Nique Clifford gave CU a 17-10 lead at the 10:29 mark.
But the Buffs finished the half hitting just one of their last eight attempts when OSU switched to a zone defense, leading to a five-minute scoring drought that also included three CU turnovers.
Ethan Wright finally ended the drought with a corner 3-pointer to break a 22-22 tie and Hadley added a free throw before OSU hit a 3-pointer in the last minute of the half.
But the Buffs couldn't maintain their edge in the second half.
"When your team is not playing to the level of their capability, it's on the coach," Boyle said. "It's my job to find the answers."
TURNING POINT: An 11-0 Oregon State run midway through the second half turned a two-point CU lead into a nine-point deficit and Colorado never came closer than three again.
WHAT IT MEANS: Now 4-8 in league play, the Buffs are firmly mired in ninth place in the conference standings.
NEXT UP: CU returns home next week for a pair of games against the Bay Area schools. Colorado hosts Cal on Thursday in an 8 p.m. game at the CU Events Center, followed by a Feb. 5 (Sunday) game against Stanford at 5 p.m.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
