When things get ugly for the buffs, sometimes they don’t get better.
CU’s men’s basketball lost to the Stanford University Cardinal 74-50 in front of 11,036 fans at the Coors Events Center Thursday night. The Buffs now sit in fourth place in the Pac-12 with a record of 18-9 overall and 10-5 in the Pac-12. The Cardinal are 19-9 and 8-7 in the Pac-12.
Forward, Andre Roberson, drives to the hoop in Thursday's game at Coors Event Center. Roberson had nine points and eight rebounds on the night. (CU Independent/Nate Bruzdzinski)
“For whatever reason, we got down on ourselves the first few minutes of the game and we couldn’t score,” said Buffs senior forward Austin Dufault. “Instead of locking in, defending, and rebounding, we just kind of folded, and they really just took it to us.”
The Buffs never led in the game, shooting only 29.6 percent from the field and 4-of-19 from behind the three-point arc. They were 14-of-30 from the free throw line and were out rebounded 26-50. The Buffs never scored two consecutive baskets.
The Cardinal, on the other hand, shot 49.1 percent, hitting 9-of-18 three-point shots and 9-of-12 field goals.
Stanford freshman guard Chasson Randle led in scoring with 20 points, while sophomore forward John Gage came off the bench to score 11.
Freshman guard Askia Booker was the only Buff with more than 10 points, scoring 12. Sophomore forward Andre Roberson grabbed nine points and 11 rebounds.
Stanford opened the scoring with a three-pointer, and the Buffs responded as Roberson hit one of two free throws. From there, however, things went downhill.
The Buffs failed to score another point until the 14:16 mark, as the Cardinal had pushed the lead to 9-1. Stanford pushed on from there, and the Buffs couldn’t find enough offense to ever make a strong impact.
At halftime, the Cardinal had a 40-20 lead and had held the Buffs to 20.7 percent, the eighth-worst first half shooting percentage since the 1954-55 season.
Booker said the team let the missed shots get into their heads and affect their defense.
“As a team, we let our offense get to our defense,” Booker said. “Shots weren’t falling, and I think that transferred right to our defense. Everybody got their heads down.”
It was more of the same in the second half. The Buffs couldn’t find enough offense to get themselves back in the game, and the Cardinal kept making them pay. The Cardinal grabbed a 29-point lead with 12:30 left, all but sealing the win.
Dufault said he and his teammates weren’t happy with their mentality to start the game.
“You can talk about everything on paper, but when the ball goes up, you just got to be ready to play, and tonight we weren’t and they were,” Dufault said.
Colorado head coach Tad Boyle didn’t try to sugar coat anything after the game.
“I don’t have much to say about that one, other than it was just an old fashioned butt-whipping we took in every phase of the game,” Boyle said.
Despite the loss, Boyle said he was still happy with his team’s effort.
“We just had no answers, we just got beat,” Boyle said. “There wasn’t anything our guys could do about it. They tried. I thought our effort was good, but our execution wasn’t very good.”
The Buffs will look to rebound against the University of California Bears on Sunday, Feb. 26. Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m.
Dufault said the Buffs have to put this loss behind them quickly as they prepare for the Pac-12-leading Bears.
“Our season’s winding down, and we’re still, I think, one of the top teams in our league,” Dufault said. “We just have to look at this game, learn from it, and move on, and try to put it in the rear-view mirror as fast as we can and get ready to play Cal.”
(Courtesy CU Sportsmag)
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Mark McNeillie at Mark.mcneillie@colorado.edu. Contact CU Sportsmag Reporters Alexis Perry at Alex.perry@colorado.edu and Michael Kerner at Michael.kerner@colorado.edu.
Alexis Perry and Michael Kerner
