The Colorado Buffaloes showed why Coors Event Center is such a hard place to play, beating the Arizona Wildcats 64-63. Colorado didn't even have its best game of the year; Andre Roberson had his worst game so far, and the Buffaloes still won. Carlon Brown stepped up down the stretch and led the way for the Buffaloes with 19 points. Although Colorado struggled offensively at times, their second half defense kept them in the game limiting Arizona to 33% shooting overall, and 14% from the three point line. Overall, with this win, the Buffaloes proved that they can beat anyone in the Pac-12 at home. If the Buffaloes can improve their road woes, they will continue to contend in the Pac-12.
Things the Buffaloes did well: Colorado took advantage of Arizona all night long in the transition and it was a contributing factor in their win. They played great defensively and didn't take too many ill-advised shots as well. Carlon Brown had a good performance helping the Buffaloes when they were in need of scoring and Austin Dufault looks like a completely different player in Pac-12 play. He no longer looks intimidated, but looks like he belongs. He was talking back and forth to Solomon Hill all game and didn't let Hill get the better of him. Spencer Dinwiddie continues to establish his midrange runner and added 13 points. Because of the contributions from Dinwiddie, Dufault, and Brown, along with the bench scoring of Booker, the Buffaloes were able to win this game.
Things the Buffaloes struggled with: Every good player has had a rough outing, and that is exactly what happened with Andre Roberson tonight. However, the positive that can be taken from his performance was that he didn't let it affect his defense and hustle. He still managed to get 4 blocks and 7 rebounds. Additionally, in the first half, Colorado could not stop the pick and roll from Arizona's motion offense. They made some good second half adjustments, however, too many times help didn't come to the roller and layups opened up for Arizona. Colorado also struggled with free throw shooting going 16-26 from the line. Ultimately, Colorado needs to improve its man defense against offenses that use picks consistently, but they still managed to get the win.
Up Next: Colorado travels to Los Angeles to take on USC on Thursday and UCLA on Saturday. Colorado needs to win against USC. They have to prove they can win on the road and USC is a very weak team. If they can win against USC, they can go into the UCLA game with some momentum and maybe pull out a sweep in LA. A split would be fine, but Colorado cannot lose both of these games. More importantly, if they play how they played tonight, they should have no problem beating USC.