If it were a baseball game, Colorado was leading until probably around the 7th inning, before ultimately blowing it. There's no other way to describe what happened in Eugene on Thursday: the Buffs had a great first half and a terrible second half. 18 total turnovers and an extremely quiet offensive performance by the team in general during the second half doomed the Buffs on the road. Real bummer.
No. 16 Colorado on the road for a showdown with No. 17 Oregon. You couldn't have drawn up a higher stakes regular season game in heaven. With the Buffs entering this one a single game ahead of the Ducks in league standings, good for first place in the Pac-12.
A win would propel CU to a more comfortable two-game lead in the Pac and truly put this team’s destiny in its own hands down the stretch. A loss, and the stage would likely be set for a rest-of-the-season dogfight between these two squads, daring each other to mess up late in the season and drop crucial games.
Colorado had this one in the palm of the hand but ultimately faltered big time. After leading by nine at halftime, Oregon outscored CU, 42-25 in the final half, while the Ducks’ full court press greatly disrupted the Buffs’ ability to 1) get the ball to half court or better and 2) be able to work with anything of a respectable shot clock once in the offensive zone and settled.
Frankly, you could feel the momentum being sucked away from CU as the game went on. Payton Pritchard (15 points, 9 rebounds) and specifically Will Richardson (21 points, 11 boards) took over. The Buffs straight up looked gassed trying to defend and in general from around five minutes left in the second half, aka, the most pivotal point in the game.
STATS:
Look, this obviously was a game that was going to be tough to win to begin with, but the fact of the matter is that Colorado had a win in its pocket for 33-34 minutes of this one but completely crumbled down the stretch.
This team, man. They take two or three steps forward only to take the fourth backwards. CU’s 18 turnovers were the most surrendered since Dec. 13 on the road in Fort Collins.
"Sheesh. I didn't know that," said junior guard McKinley Wright IV of the turnovers. "We've been good in that area as of late and for some reason tonight — I don't know. We worked on it the last couple days in practice, we knew (Oregon) was going to press all night long...tonight we just didn't come to meet passes, we were lazy with the ball (and) we let them slap down at the ball and strip us."
"Oregon deserved to win this game," Tad Boyle said after the loss. 'They were the aggressor in the second half and that was the disappointing part...it wasn't because of effort. We didn't execute and we didn't play very smart."
I have to say, yes, Oregon’s press was pesky all night long, and yes, the Buffaloes one again mentioned working on it in practice and seemed befuddled, as did Boyle, regarding their inability to move the ball upcourt and prudently get rid of the ball to avoid two or three guys in the face.
I really just felt like these guys got flustered. They had a big time first half, were up comfortably at halftime, but as the second half progressed and Oregon gained momentum, the Buffs simply didn't know what to do with the ball.
Criticize Boyle all you want for imagined lapses in his coaching, but there’s no way he’s just lazing off and failing to prepare these guys. When they fail to execute and adjust, it’s on the players.
But at the end of the day, was it really the press that fully doomed Colorado? I’d say no. Only a portion of the 18 turnovers came as a direct result of the press. Many fell into the category of what plagued CU early in the year — allowing opposing players to pickpocket under the glass and on the perimeter. Sloppy ball handling and undisciplined play led to the vast majority of the turnovers.
Perhaps D’Shawn Schwartz put it best: “It’s extremely frustrating. We dropped the UCLA game (on the road). Going 1-for-2 on road trips is not ideal for a team like us, especially trying to do what we’re trying to do. This would have been a big separating game for us. Obviously we have to look forward to the next game. Oregon State is going to give us their best shot. They beat us last time, so we have to go out there and win.”
Tonight, Colorado had a golden opportunity to create some solid separation between itself and the Ducks as both teams head down the stretch leading up to the Pac-12 Tournament. Now, the two teams will engage in a battle — who’s going to mess up here in the next month? Colorado’s loss isn’t catastrophic, but ultimately it lessens the team’s margin for error for the rest of the season.
In terms of player report cards, on the whole, everyone fell asleep and broke down in the second half. No question about it. Evan Battey scored 10 of his 14 points in the final half, which deserves some appreciation, but again — Wright IV and Tyler Bey scored zero points in the last 20 minutes. Simply unheard of. Bey scored a season-low four points on the night and Wright IV, although certainly solid to an extent in the first half, didn’t show up in the second.
Once again, Colorado’s bench failed to do much of anything. Lucas Siewert dropped nine points, all via three-pointers (he went 3-of-7 from deep; all of his shots attempted were from deep). But bench production has been an issue for the Buffs dating back to the Cal game, when Siewert in particular first got on a cold spell.
Additionally, I am really beginning to have an issue with the occasional lineup we are seeing featuring: Eli Parquet, Maddox Daniels, Dallas Walton, Daylen Kountz and Siewert. Frankly, when those five are seeing extended minutes together, good things aren’t happening.
For the love of god, Daniels had three turnovers in five minutes; five minutes on the floor!
Colorado has quality depth, yes. That’s fair to say. But when that group of five is on the court together, it’s hurting the team, not showcasing depth. The aforementioned five players are best utilized not as a collective unit, but via individuals or pairs of guys coming off the bench. Siewert and Kountz coming into a game and seeing minutes = fine. Daniels and Walton subbing in = fine. But from my vantage point, when Boyle has turned to a five-man rotation comprised solely of bench guys, they’re getting outclassed.
Player of the game: Battey. Double-double of 14 points and 11 boards. Onward to Oregon State, a team that pulled off a similar victory over CU back in early January to what Oregon just did. Colorado has to handle business on Saturday. Getting swept on the road is simply not an option that, as Schwartz put it, lines up with what this team is looking to do this season.
No. 16 Colorado on the road for a showdown with No. 17 Oregon. You couldn't have drawn up a higher stakes regular season game in heaven. With the Buffs entering this one a single game ahead of the Ducks in league standings, good for first place in the Pac-12.
A win would propel CU to a more comfortable two-game lead in the Pac and truly put this team’s destiny in its own hands down the stretch. A loss, and the stage would likely be set for a rest-of-the-season dogfight between these two squads, daring each other to mess up late in the season and drop crucial games.
Colorado had this one in the palm of the hand but ultimately faltered big time. After leading by nine at halftime, Oregon outscored CU, 42-25 in the final half, while the Ducks’ full court press greatly disrupted the Buffs’ ability to 1) get the ball to half court or better and 2) be able to work with anything of a respectable shot clock once in the offensive zone and settled.
Frankly, you could feel the momentum being sucked away from CU as the game went on. Payton Pritchard (15 points, 9 rebounds) and specifically Will Richardson (21 points, 11 boards) took over. The Buffs straight up looked gassed trying to defend and in general from around five minutes left in the second half, aka, the most pivotal point in the game.
STATS:
Look, this obviously was a game that was going to be tough to win to begin with, but the fact of the matter is that Colorado had a win in its pocket for 33-34 minutes of this one but completely crumbled down the stretch.
This team, man. They take two or three steps forward only to take the fourth backwards. CU’s 18 turnovers were the most surrendered since Dec. 13 on the road in Fort Collins.
"Sheesh. I didn't know that," said junior guard McKinley Wright IV of the turnovers. "We've been good in that area as of late and for some reason tonight — I don't know. We worked on it the last couple days in practice, we knew (Oregon) was going to press all night long...tonight we just didn't come to meet passes, we were lazy with the ball (and) we let them slap down at the ball and strip us."
"Oregon deserved to win this game," Tad Boyle said after the loss. 'They were the aggressor in the second half and that was the disappointing part...it wasn't because of effort. We didn't execute and we didn't play very smart."
I have to say, yes, Oregon’s press was pesky all night long, and yes, the Buffaloes one again mentioned working on it in practice and seemed befuddled, as did Boyle, regarding their inability to move the ball upcourt and prudently get rid of the ball to avoid two or three guys in the face.
I really just felt like these guys got flustered. They had a big time first half, were up comfortably at halftime, but as the second half progressed and Oregon gained momentum, the Buffs simply didn't know what to do with the ball.
Criticize Boyle all you want for imagined lapses in his coaching, but there’s no way he’s just lazing off and failing to prepare these guys. When they fail to execute and adjust, it’s on the players.
But at the end of the day, was it really the press that fully doomed Colorado? I’d say no. Only a portion of the 18 turnovers came as a direct result of the press. Many fell into the category of what plagued CU early in the year — allowing opposing players to pickpocket under the glass and on the perimeter. Sloppy ball handling and undisciplined play led to the vast majority of the turnovers.
Perhaps D’Shawn Schwartz put it best: “It’s extremely frustrating. We dropped the UCLA game (on the road). Going 1-for-2 on road trips is not ideal for a team like us, especially trying to do what we’re trying to do. This would have been a big separating game for us. Obviously we have to look forward to the next game. Oregon State is going to give us their best shot. They beat us last time, so we have to go out there and win.”
Tonight, Colorado had a golden opportunity to create some solid separation between itself and the Ducks as both teams head down the stretch leading up to the Pac-12 Tournament. Now, the two teams will engage in a battle — who’s going to mess up here in the next month? Colorado’s loss isn’t catastrophic, but ultimately it lessens the team’s margin for error for the rest of the season.
In terms of player report cards, on the whole, everyone fell asleep and broke down in the second half. No question about it. Evan Battey scored 10 of his 14 points in the final half, which deserves some appreciation, but again — Wright IV and Tyler Bey scored zero points in the last 20 minutes. Simply unheard of. Bey scored a season-low four points on the night and Wright IV, although certainly solid to an extent in the first half, didn’t show up in the second.
Once again, Colorado’s bench failed to do much of anything. Lucas Siewert dropped nine points, all via three-pointers (he went 3-of-7 from deep; all of his shots attempted were from deep). But bench production has been an issue for the Buffs dating back to the Cal game, when Siewert in particular first got on a cold spell.
Additionally, I am really beginning to have an issue with the occasional lineup we are seeing featuring: Eli Parquet, Maddox Daniels, Dallas Walton, Daylen Kountz and Siewert. Frankly, when those five are seeing extended minutes together, good things aren’t happening.
For the love of god, Daniels had three turnovers in five minutes; five minutes on the floor!
Colorado has quality depth, yes. That’s fair to say. But when that group of five is on the court together, it’s hurting the team, not showcasing depth. The aforementioned five players are best utilized not as a collective unit, but via individuals or pairs of guys coming off the bench. Siewert and Kountz coming into a game and seeing minutes = fine. Daniels and Walton subbing in = fine. But from my vantage point, when Boyle has turned to a five-man rotation comprised solely of bench guys, they’re getting outclassed.
Player of the game: Battey. Double-double of 14 points and 11 boards. Onward to Oregon State, a team that pulled off a similar victory over CU back in early January to what Oregon just did. Colorado has to handle business on Saturday. Getting swept on the road is simply not an option that, as Schwartz put it, lines up with what this team is looking to do this season.
