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EWTAH – New year, same Colorado Buffaloes basketball team. Exactly like what they have displayed all season, the Buffs failed to play good basketball, missing way too many shots in the second half and they weren’t able to make the stops to back it up as CU fell to the Utah Utes 76-60 on New Year’s Day.
“I really thought our team was ready to play,” head coach Tad Boyle said after the game to 760. “We’ve had great practices, great energy, great karma going but we do not play like we practice.”
The Buffaloes had 15 turnovers, in which Utah turned into 20 points, as they struggled to get anything going offensively throughout the game.
“We had no patience on offense,” Boyle said. “And then we kept turning the ball over. You put a lot of your pressure on your defense when you turn the ball over that much.”
It wasn’t just the turnovers where the Buffs struggled on Sunday night. It was almost every facet of the game where they definitely weren’t at their best.
“We weren’t good enough tonight in any phase of the game,” Boyle said. “You name it: shooting, taking care of the ball. We didn’t deserve to win this game, which I thought was a winnable game so I’m disappointed.”
Behind Derrick White and Xavier Johnson, the Buffaloes got off to a 10-2 lead with both of them getting five points in the first four minutes. The hot shooting didn’t stay around for long as CU would end up shooting a mere 41% in the first half.
Utah’s David Collette had 8 points in the first half on 4-for-7 which led to the Utes shooting 47% from the field for the half. The Buffs were able to stay in the game by forcing six turnovers and converting that into ten points. Colorado had turnover problems themselves as Utah had ten takeaways in the first half. Utah finished the half on a 22-9 run which led to their 36-29 lead at halftime.
In the second half, nothing was going right for the CU Buffs offensively. They continued to miss shots and the defense that usually bails them out were non-existent on this night. The Utah Utes couldn’t miss, which didn’t bode well at all for the Buffs at all.
“Nothing was good enough for us defensively,” Boyle said. “And that’s something that we’ve been able to hang our hat on and it failed us.
Utah went on a 26-10 run to start the first half to give themselves a 62-39 lead with about ten minutes left in the game. The Utes ended up shooting over 50% from the field after going 18-for-31 in the second half.
Lorenzo Bonam ended up leading the way for the Utes with 15 points after going 3-for-3 from the three-point line while Collette finished with 14. After being out with an injury the last two games, the Utes star Kyle Kuzma was able to grab 14 points himself on 6-for-12 shooting.
White was the one bright spot for the Buffaloes. White had 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting and added eight assists and two rebounds. George King, after being moved back into the sixth man role, was able to grab himself 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
PLAYER OF THE GAME:
David Collette
14 points (7-for-11), 9 rebounds
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME:
Utah’s 22-9 run to end the second half that put them up 36-29.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Colorado-Utah
FG : 40%-52%
3FG : 33%-38%
FT : 73%-60%
Turnovers: 15-10
Rebounds: 33-33
WHAT’S NEXT:
The Buffaloes will continue their road stint as they head to Tempe on Thursday to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils and then to Tucson for their matchup against the Arizona Wildcats.
Chase Howell
Continue reading...
“I really thought our team was ready to play,” head coach Tad Boyle said after the game to 760. “We’ve had great practices, great energy, great karma going but we do not play like we practice.”
The Buffaloes had 15 turnovers, in which Utah turned into 20 points, as they struggled to get anything going offensively throughout the game.
“We had no patience on offense,” Boyle said. “And then we kept turning the ball over. You put a lot of your pressure on your defense when you turn the ball over that much.”
It wasn’t just the turnovers where the Buffs struggled on Sunday night. It was almost every facet of the game where they definitely weren’t at their best.
“We weren’t good enough tonight in any phase of the game,” Boyle said. “You name it: shooting, taking care of the ball. We didn’t deserve to win this game, which I thought was a winnable game so I’m disappointed.”
Behind Derrick White and Xavier Johnson, the Buffaloes got off to a 10-2 lead with both of them getting five points in the first four minutes. The hot shooting didn’t stay around for long as CU would end up shooting a mere 41% in the first half.
Utah’s David Collette had 8 points in the first half on 4-for-7 which led to the Utes shooting 47% from the field for the half. The Buffs were able to stay in the game by forcing six turnovers and converting that into ten points. Colorado had turnover problems themselves as Utah had ten takeaways in the first half. Utah finished the half on a 22-9 run which led to their 36-29 lead at halftime.
In the second half, nothing was going right for the CU Buffs offensively. They continued to miss shots and the defense that usually bails them out were non-existent on this night. The Utah Utes couldn’t miss, which didn’t bode well at all for the Buffs at all.
“Nothing was good enough for us defensively,” Boyle said. “And that’s something that we’ve been able to hang our hat on and it failed us.
Utah went on a 26-10 run to start the first half to give themselves a 62-39 lead with about ten minutes left in the game. The Utes ended up shooting over 50% from the field after going 18-for-31 in the second half.
Lorenzo Bonam ended up leading the way for the Utes with 15 points after going 3-for-3 from the three-point line while Collette finished with 14. After being out with an injury the last two games, the Utes star Kyle Kuzma was able to grab 14 points himself on 6-for-12 shooting.
White was the one bright spot for the Buffaloes. White had 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting and added eight assists and two rebounds. George King, after being moved back into the sixth man role, was able to grab himself 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
PLAYER OF THE GAME:
David Collette
14 points (7-for-11), 9 rebounds
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME:
Utah’s 22-9 run to end the second half that put them up 36-29.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Colorado-Utah
FG : 40%-52%
3FG : 33%-38%
FT : 73%-60%
Turnovers: 15-10
Rebounds: 33-33
WHAT’S NEXT:
The Buffaloes will continue their road stint as they head to Tempe on Thursday to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils and then to Tucson for their matchup against the Arizona Wildcats.
Chase Howell
Continue reading...