The Colorado Buffaloes entered Saturday riding a three-game win streak, but it quickly became apparent during their matchup with the Utah Utes that they weren’t going to build on that streak any, as they failed to lead the game at any point.
As has become a consistent theme for the Buffaloes for much of the season, but especially in recent weeks, the offense got off to a painfully sluggish start, allowing the Utes to score the first seven points of the contest.
Jalen Gabbidon missed a tough drive to the basket, as well as a wide-open one; Nique Clifford used some good footwork to get a pretty look on a turnaround jumper that harmlessly clanged away, and Lawson Lovering threw up a brick.
The Buffaloes’ offense quickly stirred awake, unleashing their own 7-0 run, thanks largely to K.J. Simpson hitting a tricky lay-up and a three-point shot, but the damage had already been done at that point.
Immediately allowing another, even larger Utah run undid all that good work though, and seemingly sapped Colorado of their fight. The two Carlson’s on the Utes took over, and helped drop a 14-3 bomb on the head of the Buffaloes, and gave Utah a 21-10 lead just 10 minutes into the contest.
Tristan Da Silva, the Colorado Buffaloes’ leading scorer, who was in the midst of a five-game 20-point scoring streak entering the night, was ice-cold and the opposing defense removed him as an option on most possessions. With Da Silva missing, the Colorado offense also went on the lam.
The only thing that even kept this game a competitive affair in the first half were K.J. Simpson’s offensive efforts, and Ethan Wright, Luke O’Brien and Julian Hammond III providing sparks off the bench.
Simpson buoyed the Buffs to help them survive the first run, while Wright got a couple of tought lay-ups, O’Brien hit a three and got an offensive put-back, and Hammond made a silky three-point shot, hit four free-throws and recorded two boards to help CU realize a second run, and tighten the game to 32-36.
Unfortunately, a quick mid-range shot from Branden Carlson stole back the momentum for the Utes, and put the halftime score at 32-38, in favor of Utah
While the score was definitely disappointing for Tad Boyle and Co., it also wasn’t that different from the script the prior two Colorado victories followed. Sluggish first-half offense kept in it by impressive defense, and then, in the second half, the offense would wake up, and win it for the Buffaloes.
On Saturday night, it never quite woke up.
Out of halftime, the Buffaloes got a couple of tough buckets at the rim, and narrowed the lead even further, to 36-41, but soon allowed the Utes to tally nine unanswered points on them, undoing all their hard work yet again.
Once the Colorado Buffaloes fell down 18 with eight minutes to go, the life seemed sapped out of the building and the game felt over. A late surge by the Buffs proved a pulse was still present, but there wasn’t enough of one to ever make the game that competitive.
With this loss, any slim March Madness hopes that Tad Boyle’s crew might’ve had are thoroughly dead, and a lot of the momentum they gained last week seems to have disipated. Hopefully the Buffaloes can cure their road trip curse before season’s end, so it doesn’t mar another campaign, once Colorado returns in the fall, with Cody Williams, hopefully, in tow.
