Buffaloes embarrassed in Washington

The Colorado Buffaloes finished their road trip in Washington in a fitting way as they were blown by the Washington Huskies. The Buffs hung in for a bit, but were bashed in the second half and lost, 82-59.

If you were to design a defense to stop the Buffs, it would look exactly like Washington’s. They play 2-3 zone with lengthy, athletic defenders led by the omnipresence force known as Matisse Thybulle. On the rare chance CU was able to get into that zone, Thybulle was seemingly always there to create a turnover and run it back for a fast break layup.

Once Thybulle got into foul trouble, the Buffs had room to make their run. After a sloppy start, CU started to run their offense through Lucas Siewert and Dallas Walton in the high post. Those two are excellent passers and they have the shooting to make a defense pay for leaving them open. CU was able to work through the zone with active passing as they took the lead and hung around for the rest of the first half.

Once the second half began, Washington adjusted and Colorado did not. It didn’t help Thybulle was back in destroying the world. Once the Huskies defense was back in full force, the Buffs’ offense went from mediocre to abysmal, especially once those midrange jumpers stopped falling and they started forcing passes. Powered by [too many] fast break points on [too many] CU turnovers, the Huskies wasted the Buffs with a 23-point win. The only positive-ish thing about the second half was that Tyler Bey returned after looking like he hurt his knee.

It’s not all bad, though. Spencer Dinwiddie won the Taco Bell Skills Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend. That was cool.

Next up for the Buffs is a homestand against USC (Wed., 8:30) and UCLA (Sun., 2:00). The Buffs are looking for the home sweep to secure a spot in the NIT and you best be there if you can, especially on Senior Day.