After an absolutely agonizingly bad first half and despite once trailing by 16 points near midway through the second half, Colorado toughed it out, rallied and came back to defeat Stanford, 81-74, good for the third-largest second half comeback in program history.
Colorado was 3-of-13 in the first half from deep, and then a perfect 8-of-8 in the second half. In fact, the Buffs made 10 straight three-pointers — the last 10 the team as a whole attempted.
In both games of this homestand, Colorado indeed has looked shaky for extended periods of time, but alas, the Buffs got wins in both affairs and now carry some good momentum heading into Thursday's showdown with Oregon, which is set to be a ranked matchup.
Pending an Oregon vs. Oregon State game tonight at 8:30 in Corvallis, for the next few hours at the minimum, Colorado sits atop the Pac-12. This is the deepest into a season that CU has ranked first in its conference since the Big Eight days, specifically, in 1968-69.
STATS:
McKinley Wright IV and D'Shawn Schwartz put the team on their backs in the second half, scoring 15 points apiece in the final 20 minutes of play; both players hit a pair of three-pointers and made seven FTs in the last half.
Tyler Bey had 11 points and nine boards in the second half, finishing with his ninth double-double of the season. All in all, the Buffs shot 29% from the floor in the first half, making just six field goals and then caught fire in the second, drilling 14, good for a 70% make rate. Insane.
The Buffaloes managed to go on a 16-2 run in the thick of the second half, propelling the rally and allowing the team to take the lead and eventually the game. Quite the turnaround from an ice cold first half.
"We just had to shoot the ball with confidence. In the first half we were getting good looks but stuff just wasn't falling for us. When that happens you're supposed to tighten up on the defensive end but we didn't do that either. Coach got on us a little at halftime but he told us we were going to win the game. He knew it was going to come down to stops and guarding the ball. Shots started falling:" Wright IV.
"The only way we were going to get (our deficit) shrunk was to get stops. And then when we got the thing tied, the only way we were going to get this thing to Colorado's advantage was to continue to get stops. You cannot trade baskets with teams and get ahead, or come from behind. It's about getting stops, and out guys did that in the second half when they needed to:" Boyle.
From a basketball perspective, it was an incredible comeback and great win for the program. From a human standpoint, something truly incredible happened today in Boulder.
Evan Battey was moving at full speed up the court after a steal and was pursued closely by Stanford's Oscar Da Silva. The two beasts of young men collided under Stanford's net and violently fell to the floor. Da Silva was knocked out ice cold for upwards of I'd say at least a few minutes. It was graphic. Severe impact to the head, lifeless looking body, players nearby immediately waving for coaches and emergency folks to come over: all the ingredients of a really scary injury situation.
Quite frankly it was the most brutal on-court injury situation I've ever personally witnessed. Battey was absolutely heartbroken by the happening. He said postgame that he thought he elbowed Da Silva on the way down and went to the locker room clearly feeling extremely guilty about what happened.
"I've known Evan for years now and the dude's got the biggest heart out of anyone I've ever met, including my family. I've never met somebody with a heart like his:" Wright IV on Battey.
It was an emotional ordeal. For players and coaches, fans, and media members alike. Absolutely horrifying. As Da Silva left the court (thankfully under his own power) players from Colorado and Stanford formed a big circle at half court to share a prayer for his well-being.
"It was emotional. I think the way their coaches and players responded, and our coaches and players responded, was really special," Tad Boyle said after the game.
I think I speak for everyone when I say I'll be keeping Oscar and his family in my prayers. I'd heard unofficial reports that he appeared to be OK afterwards, although a stitches to the face were required. Overall, awful happening, but fantastic sportsmanship showed on both sides in its aftermath.
Wright IV: He took over the basketball game in the second half. His 21 points were the second-most he's dropped in 2019-20, trailing only his 29 scored against Dayton back on Dec. 22. He was hitting threes, driving to the hoop and getting to the FT line, of which he made 10 of 11 attempted shots. I credit him with really helping to shift momentum this evening to Colorado's favor. His deep three-pointer made with 11:12 to play tied the game at 49-all and got the sellout crowd of 10,930 people at the CU Events Center on their feet. Wright IV finished the game with an astounding +26. He played like a leader and propelled this team to an important win.
Schwartz: He was right behind Wright IV with 20 points of his own, 15 of which came in the final half. He was 5-of-9 from the floor, secured seven rebounds and got to the FT line nine times, making seven of his attempts. He had some dagger three-pointers in the second half, as well and along with Wright IV, refused to let this team drop the game.
Battey: A healthy 13 points and four assists was the stat line for Battey in an emotional rollercoaster of a game. I loved how he hit a three-pointer in the second half, too. He, as was the case with mostly everyone on the team, woke up from an offensive coma in the second half, scoring nine of his 11 points in the final 20 minutes of play. I'm proud of Evan for how he handled himself on the court today given the circumstances.
Bey: A big part of getting stops is preventing second chance opportunities, and when the Buffaloes were transitioning from trailing, to coming back, to working to build a comfortable lead, Bey was helping the team greatly with his rebounding, finishing with 12 on the night to go along with 11 points. He only attempted five field goals during the entire game, strange, for sure, but in any event, hard to complain about a double double.
Something to note is the lack of bench production the Buffaloes have had over this homestand. 15 points from CU's bench over the last two games. Lucas Siewert has encountered a rough patch to an otherwise solid season, and Maddox Daniels also has been cold. Colorado is winning via production from the main cast, which is expected and good, of course, but healthy regular contributions form the bench are what's supposed to give this team a consistent edge. It plays into the "quality depth" Boyle talks about often.
"I'm not going to look too much into that. I've got confidence in the guys coming off the bench. We shortened the bench (vs. Stanford); some of those guys didn't get the minutes they usually get. We're going to be fine. Sometimes it's difficult when Maddox and Eli (Parquet) didn't get a lot of extended minutes. Daylen (Kountz) didn't. Dallas (Walton) didn't. Our bench is good, I've got confidence in them, and I think that'll turn itself as the season goes on:" Boyle.
I'd probably agree. I'm more concerned about Siewert getting back into it. He scored six tonight, making half of his threes. Hopefully that's a good sign.
Overall — great win. Dramatic, nothing short of exciting. It was done in front of the biggest crowd since Feb. of 2016 when CU hosted Arizona. Onward to Oregon. I land in Eugene on game day this Thursday and will cover the game and the OSU game Saturday. Looking forward to it. Big, big rad swing.
Colorado was 3-of-13 in the first half from deep, and then a perfect 8-of-8 in the second half. In fact, the Buffs made 10 straight three-pointers — the last 10 the team as a whole attempted.
In both games of this homestand, Colorado indeed has looked shaky for extended periods of time, but alas, the Buffs got wins in both affairs and now carry some good momentum heading into Thursday's showdown with Oregon, which is set to be a ranked matchup.
Pending an Oregon vs. Oregon State game tonight at 8:30 in Corvallis, for the next few hours at the minimum, Colorado sits atop the Pac-12. This is the deepest into a season that CU has ranked first in its conference since the Big Eight days, specifically, in 1968-69.
STATS:
McKinley Wright IV and D'Shawn Schwartz put the team on their backs in the second half, scoring 15 points apiece in the final 20 minutes of play; both players hit a pair of three-pointers and made seven FTs in the last half.
Tyler Bey had 11 points and nine boards in the second half, finishing with his ninth double-double of the season. All in all, the Buffs shot 29% from the floor in the first half, making just six field goals and then caught fire in the second, drilling 14, good for a 70% make rate. Insane.
The Buffaloes managed to go on a 16-2 run in the thick of the second half, propelling the rally and allowing the team to take the lead and eventually the game. Quite the turnaround from an ice cold first half.
"We just had to shoot the ball with confidence. In the first half we were getting good looks but stuff just wasn't falling for us. When that happens you're supposed to tighten up on the defensive end but we didn't do that either. Coach got on us a little at halftime but he told us we were going to win the game. He knew it was going to come down to stops and guarding the ball. Shots started falling:" Wright IV.
"The only way we were going to get (our deficit) shrunk was to get stops. And then when we got the thing tied, the only way we were going to get this thing to Colorado's advantage was to continue to get stops. You cannot trade baskets with teams and get ahead, or come from behind. It's about getting stops, and out guys did that in the second half when they needed to:" Boyle.
From a basketball perspective, it was an incredible comeback and great win for the program. From a human standpoint, something truly incredible happened today in Boulder.
Evan Battey was moving at full speed up the court after a steal and was pursued closely by Stanford's Oscar Da Silva. The two beasts of young men collided under Stanford's net and violently fell to the floor. Da Silva was knocked out ice cold for upwards of I'd say at least a few minutes. It was graphic. Severe impact to the head, lifeless looking body, players nearby immediately waving for coaches and emergency folks to come over: all the ingredients of a really scary injury situation.
Quite frankly it was the most brutal on-court injury situation I've ever personally witnessed. Battey was absolutely heartbroken by the happening. He said postgame that he thought he elbowed Da Silva on the way down and went to the locker room clearly feeling extremely guilty about what happened.
"I've known Evan for years now and the dude's got the biggest heart out of anyone I've ever met, including my family. I've never met somebody with a heart like his:" Wright IV on Battey.
It was an emotional ordeal. For players and coaches, fans, and media members alike. Absolutely horrifying. As Da Silva left the court (thankfully under his own power) players from Colorado and Stanford formed a big circle at half court to share a prayer for his well-being.
"It was emotional. I think the way their coaches and players responded, and our coaches and players responded, was really special," Tad Boyle said after the game.
I think I speak for everyone when I say I'll be keeping Oscar and his family in my prayers. I'd heard unofficial reports that he appeared to be OK afterwards, although a stitches to the face were required. Overall, awful happening, but fantastic sportsmanship showed on both sides in its aftermath.
Wright IV: He took over the basketball game in the second half. His 21 points were the second-most he's dropped in 2019-20, trailing only his 29 scored against Dayton back on Dec. 22. He was hitting threes, driving to the hoop and getting to the FT line, of which he made 10 of 11 attempted shots. I credit him with really helping to shift momentum this evening to Colorado's favor. His deep three-pointer made with 11:12 to play tied the game at 49-all and got the sellout crowd of 10,930 people at the CU Events Center on their feet. Wright IV finished the game with an astounding +26. He played like a leader and propelled this team to an important win.
Schwartz: He was right behind Wright IV with 20 points of his own, 15 of which came in the final half. He was 5-of-9 from the floor, secured seven rebounds and got to the FT line nine times, making seven of his attempts. He had some dagger three-pointers in the second half, as well and along with Wright IV, refused to let this team drop the game.
Battey: A healthy 13 points and four assists was the stat line for Battey in an emotional rollercoaster of a game. I loved how he hit a three-pointer in the second half, too. He, as was the case with mostly everyone on the team, woke up from an offensive coma in the second half, scoring nine of his 11 points in the final 20 minutes of play. I'm proud of Evan for how he handled himself on the court today given the circumstances.
Bey: A big part of getting stops is preventing second chance opportunities, and when the Buffaloes were transitioning from trailing, to coming back, to working to build a comfortable lead, Bey was helping the team greatly with his rebounding, finishing with 12 on the night to go along with 11 points. He only attempted five field goals during the entire game, strange, for sure, but in any event, hard to complain about a double double.
Something to note is the lack of bench production the Buffaloes have had over this homestand. 15 points from CU's bench over the last two games. Lucas Siewert has encountered a rough patch to an otherwise solid season, and Maddox Daniels also has been cold. Colorado is winning via production from the main cast, which is expected and good, of course, but healthy regular contributions form the bench are what's supposed to give this team a consistent edge. It plays into the "quality depth" Boyle talks about often.
"I'm not going to look too much into that. I've got confidence in the guys coming off the bench. We shortened the bench (vs. Stanford); some of those guys didn't get the minutes they usually get. We're going to be fine. Sometimes it's difficult when Maddox and Eli (Parquet) didn't get a lot of extended minutes. Daylen (Kountz) didn't. Dallas (Walton) didn't. Our bench is good, I've got confidence in them, and I think that'll turn itself as the season goes on:" Boyle.
I'd probably agree. I'm more concerned about Siewert getting back into it. He scored six tonight, making half of his threes. Hopefully that's a good sign.
Overall — great win. Dramatic, nothing short of exciting. It was done in front of the biggest crowd since Feb. of 2016 when CU hosted Arizona. Onward to Oregon. I land in Eugene on game day this Thursday and will cover the game and the OSU game Saturday. Looking forward to it. Big, big rad swing.
