No one can say Derrick White didn’t make the most of his limited time with the Colorado Buffaloes, right down to what likely was his final shot at the Coors Events Center.
White and Xavier Johnson put the finishing touches on a memorable Senior Day for the Buffs Saturday afternoon, with White hitting a critical 3-pointer in the final minute and Johnson leading all scorers with 19 points as the Buffs outlasted Cal for a 54-46 win in a defensive slugfest.
The victory allowed the Buffs to finish the Pac-12 Conference schedule with an 8-10 mark — a figure short of preseason expectations yet nonetheless solid on the heels of CU’s discouraging 0-7 start in the league. CU finishes with the No. 7 seed for the opening round of the league tournament on Wednesday in Las Vegas and a likely first-round date against Washington State, assuming the Cougars lose late Saturday night against No. 3 UCLA.
If Washington State somehow pulls off the upset, the Buffs instead will play Stanford.
Saturday’s victory also boosted the Buffs’ chances of earning a bid to the NIT, though it remains uncertain if CU would get a home game. It was a devastating defeat for a Cal team that not only is fighting for NCAA Tournament relevancy, but also dropped out of the No. 4 slot (and the final first-round bye) for the league tournament.
“We’ve won eight out of 11, and that says something about this team’s resiliency,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “You’ve got to win some close games. You’ve got to win some grind-it-out games like today. Again, the 0-7 start, we can look back at all the close calls that didn’t go our way. This group’s four possessions away, defensively, from being 12-6.
“But we’re not. We’re 8-10. You’re never as good as you think you are when you look at your record, and you’re never as bad as you think you are.”