Written by Paul Fritz
Boulder, CO - Coming off three consecutive losses, the main question entering Sunday was whether the Buffs could keep UCLA at bay and prevent a thrashing on their final home game of the season. Colorado put up a cool 45 points in the first half that included 10 total three pointers while shooting 46.7% from the field. #15 Dominique Collier led the way, draining 4 three pointers on 5 attempts and 14 total points. Luckily for the Buffs, it was enough to come away with an 80-76 victory over UCLA.
It’s known that the Buffs have multiple offensive weapons, especially from the beyond the arc. But they put themselves in trouble when they give up steals and offensive rebounds.
Coming into the second half with a 9-point lead, the Buffs couldn’t hold the Bruins off for long as they chipped away at a 10-point Buffs lead, bringing it back to even after 7 minutes. The Buffs strategy of playing the perimeter and taking chances at the three-point line was simply not sustainable. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Colorado was 1-6 from the perimeter and shot only 20% from the field. (3-15).
The Buffs didn’t make many careless mistakes on turnovers but their aggressive must-score offensive mentality was left in the locker room. They looked deflated and couldn’t drive into the paint. Consequently, their scoring suffered as they only put up 9 points in the entire first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. It was a case of being lackadaisical and being comfortable with their lead.
The game saw all hands on deck with an exciting 7 minutes to go as Collier hit his 5th three pointer and put the Buffs back up by 6. A tremendous block by King led to a drive and finish by #25 McKinley Wright, blowing the lid off of Coors Event Center.
The most interesting battle of the night was without a doubt freshman point guard McKinley Wright and Bruins #3 Holiday.
#24 George King lit the building on fire drilling a three, putting the Buffs at a 17-1 scoring run over a 4-minute period. UCLA simply lost all momentum and rhythm, putting themselves in a position to rely on three point attempts to get them back in the game.
Wright twisted his ankle hard with just a couple minutes left. He thankfully found his way back into the game. The Buffs were ultimately able to close it out by converting their free throws. UCLA just couldn’t crawl their way back in time, losing their second of the year to Colorado and giving the Buffs their 8th conference win of the season.
The Buffs will head into Utah for their final game of the season on March 3rd at 5pm. If Colorado wins this one, they can head into the Las Vegas Pac-12 Tournament with some good momentum that could help propel them to a magical run into the tournament.
It’s known that the Buffs have multiple offensive weapons, especially from the beyond the arc. But they put themselves in trouble when they give up steals and offensive rebounds.
Coming into the second half with a 9-point lead, the Buffs couldn’t hold the Bruins off for long as they chipped away at a 10-point Buffs lead, bringing it back to even after 7 minutes. The Buffs strategy of playing the perimeter and taking chances at the three-point line was simply not sustainable. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Colorado was 1-6 from the perimeter and shot only 20% from the field. (3-15).
The Buffs didn’t make many careless mistakes on turnovers but their aggressive must-score offensive mentality was left in the locker room. They looked deflated and couldn’t drive into the paint. Consequently, their scoring suffered as they only put up 9 points in the entire first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. It was a case of being lackadaisical and being comfortable with their lead.
The game saw all hands on deck with an exciting 7 minutes to go as Collier hit his 5th three pointer and put the Buffs back up by 6. A tremendous block by King led to a drive and finish by #25 McKinley Wright, blowing the lid off of Coors Event Center.
The most interesting battle of the night was without a doubt freshman point guard McKinley Wright and Bruins #3 Holiday.
#24 George King lit the building on fire drilling a three, putting the Buffs at a 17-1 scoring run over a 4-minute period. UCLA simply lost all momentum and rhythm, putting themselves in a position to rely on three point attempts to get them back in the game.
Wright twisted his ankle hard with just a couple minutes left. He thankfully found his way back into the game. The Buffs were ultimately able to close it out by converting their free throws. UCLA just couldn’t crawl their way back in time, losing their second of the year to Colorado and giving the Buffs their 8th conference win of the season.
The Buffs will head into Utah for their final game of the season on March 3rd at 5pm. If Colorado wins this one, they can head into the Las Vegas Pac-12 Tournament with some good momentum that could help propel them to a magical run into the tournament.