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Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Buffaloes just couldn’t hold on to the ball.
There are times when the Colorado Buffaloes in 2023 show a crazy amount of skill and talent as a team. They won by nearly 60 points combined against Oregon and Oregon State at home. They, of course, have defeated top team Tennessee on the road and systematically dismembered Texas A&M, who is storming the SEC right now.
Also, of course, CU has lost to Cal and Grambling State this year. That is not good (shocking analysis). Losing to USC on the road only hurts the burgeoning rivalry between the two programs. It is not that terribly shocking. However, the way in which CU lost this game was somewhat upsetting. The Buffs dominated the boards, 38-24 and shot just fine from the field. There was one telling stat that explained the loss. Colorado turned the ball over 21 TIMES. 21 EMPTY POSSESSIONS. Against a solid team like USC, on the road, that just can’t happen if you expect to win the game.
Colorado’s two best players, KJ Simpson and Tristan Da Silva, combined for 13 of those turnovers. That also spells disaster for CU. Despite all of this bad news, the Buffs took a two point deficit into halftime thanks in large part to the contributions of two redshirt freshmen. Lawson Lovering beasted out this game, to the tune of 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Javon Ruffin was about the only guy who could reliably hit the outside shot. He went 3/6 from 3 point range and gave great minutes all night.
In the end, the Buffs fell to 3-4 in conference with a brutal stretch coming up. UCLA is next, on Fox primetime, in a game that will be a very tough matchup for the Buffs.
by Jack Barsch
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