Dallas – Colorado’s star player, sophomore guard Richard Roby, sat on a stool in a locker room tucked somewhere amid the cavernous American Airlines Center.
He looked lost.
Minutes after CU’s dreams of an NCAA Tournament bid evaporated Friday in the 86-53 loss to Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament, Roby couldn’t explain the disaster.
“I’m as confused as you guys,” Roby told reporters. “We hit our peak, I think, in the middle of the season, and that’s not good.”
That explanation is as good as any. Armed with the most experienced roster in the conference, the Buffaloes stood 15-3 on Jan. 28. They had won at Missouri and at Oklahoma State for the first time in decades. They rode a five-game winning streak in league play. They earned a national ranking (No. 25 in the coaches poll) for the first time in 10 years.
Then the Buffs played their way out of an NCAA Tournament bid.
They have won only five of their past 11 games. The six losses were by an average of 16.7 points.
Tonight, Colorado (20-9) likely will settle for a bid to the National Invitation Tournament. The Buffs, who went 14-1 at the Coors Events Center to tie a school record, hope to get a home game in this week’s opening round.
CU coach Ricardo Patton said Friday he believes the Buffs are worthy of a NCAA Tournament bid. But after getting crushed by the Aggies, Colorado’s RPI dropped from 52 to 59.
What happened? Although Colorado set a school record for 3-pointers and finished the regular season as the top scoring team (78.7) in the Big 12, the Buffs and the basket didn’t get along down the stretch.
As CU’s best shooters slumped, the team slumped. Andy Osborn hit only three of his last 16 attempted 3-pointers. Marcus Hall reached double figures only twice in his last six games and was shut out by the Aggies. Chris Copeland was inconsistent all season, scoring six points or fewer in six Big 12 games and 15 points or more in eight league games.
Julius Ashby, academically ineligible for the first semester, never regained his form. The 6-foot-9 center averaged 16.5 points and seven rebounds in the 2005 Big 12 Tournament, six points and three rebounds this time.
Roby, selected to the all-Big 12 first team by the coaches, tried to compensate for his teammates’ struggles and began to force too many off-balance shots. The 6-6 guard hit just 51-of-152 shots (.336) from the field in the past 11 games.
With CU’s primary players misfiring, the Buffs were prone to prolonged droughts. They missed 19 consecutive shots against Kansas, were outscored 25-7 to start the game against Nebraska and couldn’t recover Friday from a 23-2 run by Texas A&M in the first half.
Whether it’s nerves, a lack of focus, overconfidence or unselfishness, nobody seems to know.
“We get away from our offense; we don’t execute,” Roby said. “Everybody runs around and wants to do it on their own, but that’s not the way it works. We end up getting blown out.”
The NIT will mark the sixth postseason appearance for Colorado in Patton’s 10 seasons. CU athletic director Mike Bohn said Thursday that Patton will return as coach and said his support of Patton did not change after Friday’s loss.
“The NIT wasn’t our goal,” Hall said. “Anytime you don’t reach your goal, you’re disappointed. If we play in the NIT, guys just have to come out and play hard.”
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
