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The Buffs played a good game, but ultimately fell.
The Buffs fell again last night, dropping their season record to 9-15 and 0-12 in the Big 12. But it a great effort for a Colorado team that scratched and clawed in this 10-point loss the 5th-ranked Houston Cougars.
Colorado didn’t start well. Their defense in general has been a mess all season and the Cougs had little trouble creating the looks they wanted. All they had to do was pass the ball around the wing, make a quick cut to the basket, the Buffs’ help defense would get confused, and easy peasy Houston had an open look.
The Buffs settled in after eight minutes or so. Houston plays hard and they’re aggressive, and that rattled CU in the early minutes. But after a timeout, they looked much more composed and worked the ball around for some three-pointers that splashed. After trailing 14-3, the Buffs went on an 11-0 run to tie the game and force a Kelvin Sampson timeout.
In what could have been a beatdown, the Buffs trailed just 31-27 at halftime. This team is playing hard and they’re getting much better. They had some great moments, some nice pick-and-rolls, timely off-ball cuts, and actual team chemistry that’s been missing since last March. And this was against the third-ranked defense in the country, per Ken Pomeroy.
Houston looked ready to pull away early in the second half, but Colorado hung in strong. Julian Hammond hit a three shots from outside — part of his 22-point performance — and then Bangot Dak stepped into a three to make the score 48-45 with under nine minutes to play. Colorado would get within two minutes a couple minutes later, when Andrej Jakimovski converted all his free throws when fouled beyond the arc.
The Buffs didn’t exactly shoot the lights out, but they made timely shots to compliment a very solid defensive performance. But instead of an upset similar to the win over UConn, those shots stopped falling in the final minutes. Houston, meanwhile, was able to work the ball inside, draw some fouls and ultimately pull away for the 69-59 win.
Colorado lost again, but this was perhaps the most encouraging game in the Big 12 schedule. They kept the turnovers under control, ran a relatively effective offense, and may have figured out some things on the defensive side of the court. If they play like this, they’re going to come away with a few wins in their final eight games.
by Sam Metivier
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