Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Colorado couldn’t finish the job.
It was a new game, but still the same old story for the Colorado Buffaloes. Turnovers and a lack of execution down the stretch doomed the Buffs against #21 West Virginia in Boulder on Sunday, despite a valiant comeback effort.
Even with the Mountaineers’ ranked status, with great wins over Gonzaga and Kansas this season, oddsmakers favored the Buffaloes in this matchup. WVU’s injury woes gave the Buffs the chance to knock off one of the better Big 12 squads this season, without star guard Tucker DeVries and Jayden Stone.
From the get-go, the Mountaineers didn’t look like a squad hobbled by injuries, building up a quick lead with good shooting from Javon Small and Jonathan Powell.
The Buffs simply couldn’t keep pace with WVU in the first half, struggling to battle the Mountaineers’ length down low. The Mountaineers fully utilized their length advantage to clog up any lanes below the basket and force CU to take low-percentage shots, finishing shooting 48% on FGs and only 9-15 on layups.
What hurt the Buffaloes the most in the first half was their turnover issues. The turnover bug traveled back to Boulder after CU’s heartbreaking loss to Orlando last Wednesday and was in full force at The Keg on Sunday. Colorado had 11 turnovers in the first half against WVU, resulting in 12 easy Mountaineer points. A lot of those turnovers were ugly too, with multiple passes heaved out of bounds or right to WVU players due to a lack of communication.
Those 12 points off turnovers turned into the difference in the first half, as the Buffaloes headed into halftime down 40-29, looking to regroup and win their first Big 12 game of the season.
The start of the second half didn’t look promising for Colorado, as the WVU’s Javon Small hit back-to-back-to-back stepback three-pointers over CU defenders to get his team going. Small, who has firmly established himself as Big 12’s leading scorer and potential conference player of the year, extended the Mountaineers’ lead to 14.
As for the non-Small Mountaineers, things were a different story. WVU’s signature “Press Virginia” defense proved to backfire, as the Mountaineers were committing a foul on seemingly every CU possession. Due to WVU’s rampant fouling, Colorado reached the bonus with 13 minutes left to play in the game.
Colorado’s defense clamped down, smothering WVU and giving them no space to work. As soon as Colorado reached the bonus, the Mountaineers bricked five consecutive shots and made only one shot in a six-minute span.
On the offensive floor, Colorado began to find their rhythm. Granted, that was because of WVU’s insistence on fouling anything or anyone with a pulse, but Colorado still capitalized. The Mountaineers committed 17 fouls in the second half, with Colorado making 24 of their 28 shots from the line.
Elite defense and free-throw shooting put Colorado back into the game, pulling within two points of West Virginia five times in the second half, but ultimately couldn’t close things out. On each of those five occasions, WVU would draw a foul or hit a big shot, as Colorado never even tied the game in the second half, let alone take the lead.
Colorado had plenty of opportunities to win this game. WVU’s sloppy second-half play was practically begging for the Buffs to steal the win, but CU couldn’t dig themselves out of their turnover hole. After the 78-70 loss to the Mountaineers, Colorado now falls to 0-4 in Big 12 play.
Julian Hammond once again was Colorado’s best player, finishing the contest with 23 points and four rebounds, shooting 8-8 on FTs. This was Hammond’s second straight 20+ point game, as he finished with 26 on Wednesday in Orlando. Assane Diop also played a pivotal role in Colorado’s comeback attempt, tallying 13 points and five boards.
West Virginia’s Javon Small stole the show, finishing with 26 points, four three-pointers, four boards, seven assists, a block and a steal.
The bad news doesn’t end at the final score for Colorado either, as two Buffaloes starters were injured in the second half against WVU. Center Elijah Malone tweaked his back, while guard RJ Smith “wasn’t feeling himself” according to coach Tad Boyle. Malone and Smith’s status is unclear for CU’s upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Wednesday.
Both the Buffs and Bearcats are 0-4 in Big 12 play, meaning that Wednesday’s matchup will be a battle of two desperate squads. It’ll be a scrappy showdown, so we’ll have to see if this Colorado team has what it takes to respond in the face of adversity.
by RylandScholes
Continue reading...
