Colorado falls in overtime to Washington State

The Colorado Buffaloes are reeling right now. Any hopes of an NCAA Tournament berth or Pac-12 contention were essentially thrown out the window (barring a miraculous run in the Pac-12 Tournament) when the team started conference play 0-6, and that was before they lost to Washington State 91-89 in overtime. Now that they have little to play for in terms of larger goals, the Buffs are a shadow of their shadow’s former self.

Colorado teams focus their success around feisty defense, tenacious rebounding and get just enough offense from a singular star to edge out tough competition. When the losses pile up and motivation is hard to come by, defense and rebounding suffer accordingly. And when that happens, we have a slippery slope into a malaise of unwatchable basketball. At the moment, we’re seeing how far this slide can extend and what’s at the bottom.

If you had the option of watching Colorado play Washington State or watching UCLA play Arizona and you chose CU, you may need help. The only reason I watched CU-Wazzu was because I had to cover it, and even then I was flipping to CBS every few minutes in efforts to give my eyes a break from the otherwise relentless pain. It bordered on torture that this game went into overtime.

If you’re reading this, it’s either because you either watched the CU game and want some analysis to confirm your darkest suspicions and/or provide optimism, or because you didn’t watch (lucky you) and you want to know what happened. To the former, you’re right, this team is struggling right now, but there’s some hope for them if Tad Boyle lights a fire beneath their collective honchos. To the latter, here’s a quick summation:

Colorado began the game on fire offensively, but cooled off until four minutes left in the game. Their defense was abysmal as they let Charles Callison and company hit every shot they attempted. Thanks to Derrick White and his 21 points after halftime, the offense rose from the dead and made a run to erase a 10-point deficit and force overtime. In overtime, Colorado committed one turnover too many, made one shot too few and leave Washington winless in the Pac-12.

Anyway, here’s a box score from the game. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.