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The Buffs’ season has come to an end.
The Colorado Buffaloes’ postseason run has ended before it got started, as the Buffs fell 64-55 to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the second round of the WBIT.
After back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances, the Buffs narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament. It was a transition year for JR Payne’s squad, as CU lost a number of key contributors that needed to be replaced on a shoestring transfer budget. They managed well, winning 21 games this season, but they lacked the quality wins of the previous two or three seasons.
Colorado was chosen as a #1 seed in the WBIT, allowing them to host games in Boulder until the quarterfinals. This was a huge advantage that helped them demolish Southeastern Louisiana in the opening round. Gonzaga, however, is a much better team, and their defense is a whole lot better than the Lions’.
Colorado struggled badly to put the ball in the basket. They started strong, taking a 10-2 after a couple minutes, but the Buffs scored just 15 points the rest of the first half. A lot of that was CU missing makeable layups and going cold from outside, but credit to the Bulldogs because their length and athleticism clearly made the Buffs uncomfortable.
Despite the shooting slump, Colorado kept fighting and continued to play as a team. Jade Masogayo and Lior Garzon found some success attacking the basket, while guards Kindyll Wetta and Grace Oliver hit a couple shots. The Buffs were right there tied at 36 with 16 minutes left to play, but the Zags made back-to-back triples to put some distance between them at their Big 12 foes.
Colorado never recovered. Be it the cold shooting or the turnovers, the Buffs just didn’t have enough offensive firepower to compete. It’s hard to win when you shoot below 40% from the field, sub-30% from three and you lose the possession battle.
This is a sad end for the Colorado seniors. Lior Garzon, Sara-Rose Smith, Johana Teder and Kindyll Wetta all played their final games in CU uniform. Frida Formann played her last game two weeks ago, when she subbed in at the very end of senior day. Smith, Wetta and Formann were key pieces of those Sweet Sixteen runs and played a huge role in building the culture at Colorado basketball.
by Sam Metivier
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