Colorado definitely came out better than their previous road losses, but still couldn't get its first crucial road win as they lost to Arizona 71-57. The Buffaloes kept up with the Wildcats till the latter part of the second half, when Arizona was able to pull away. Colorado couldn't stop Arizona's inside presence and committed way too many lazy fouls. Andre Roberson had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Carlon Brown added 11 points for the Buffaloes. However, Colorado was unable to stop the inside presence of Jesse Perry and Solomon Hill who combined for 33 points. Overall, it was an expected rough game for the Buffaloes, and they will need to be able to rebound with a win against Arizona State to stay near the top of the Pac-12 conference.
Things the Buffaloes did well: The Buffaloes shot the ball well from inside the three point line and didn't come out in the second half and completely fall apart like their games at UCLA and at Stanford. Andre Roberson had a good game and was the only bright spot defensively. There just wasn't any consistent play for the Buffaloes as they couldn't beat Arizona's strong defensive and were unable to hit any three pointers early to spread the floor.
Things the Buffaloes struggled with: Colorado shows on screens, however, it is impossible to show effectively when the shower is so slow and unable to recover. The pick and roll was a problem in the first meeting and it was just as big of a problem tonight. Besides Roberson, Colorado had a very hard time boxing out and let Arizona get some offensive rebounds in very critical situations. Once again, Colorado struggled from the three-point line, going 4-19 from beyond the arc. Additionally, Colorado just played poorly on offense. Usually, the bench provides a good spark, however, that was not the case tonight as Askia Booker had one of his rougher games. Furthermore, the Buffaloes have to be more efficient against good defenses if they want to score consistently.
Up Next: Colorado takes on Arizona State this Saturday. Although they were unable to beat Arizona, they need to beat Arizona State if they want to have any chance of making the postseason. Arizona State should be an easy win, but you never know with Colorado on the road.