LAHAINA, Hawaii — Defeating second-ranked UConn showed the new-look Colorado men’s basketball team is quite capable of competing with the top programs in the nation.
Iowa State showed the Buffaloes they still have plenty of work to do before Big 12 Conference play begins in a month. Against, as fate would have it, Iowa State.
The Buffs took aim at a second top-five victory in as many days in their final contest at the Maui Invitational but instead were humbled by the fifth-ranked Cyclones, who routed CU 99-71 on Wednesday at the Lahaina Civic Center.
A combination of too many reckless turnovers by CU, particularly in the first half, and torrid shooting from the Cyclones made it a long morning in Hawaii for the Buffs, who return home with a 1-2 mark against a loaded field at the most prestigious nonconference tournament in college basketball.
“Today, it was all a matter of taking care of the ball and not boxing out,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “I wasn’t a math major but I can add. Fifty-one points of their 99 came off of offensive rebounds where we don’t box out or we get punked or beat, whatever you want to say. Thirty-seven on turnovers and 14 on second-chance points. Our half-court defense wasn’t very good either.
“You put the combination of turnovers, not boxing out, and not guarding, and this is what you get.”
CU (5-2) stayed close early, but with the game tied 22-22 Iowa State slowly took control, outscoring the Buffs 23-12 over the remainder of the first half to take a 45-34 lead at the break. The Buffs had curtailed their early-season turnover issues heading into the game, but CU committed nine in the first half, leading to a 20-2 advantage for Iowa State in points off turnovers at the break.
Iowa State shot 57.6% in the first half, even better than the 56.0% first-half mark No. 2 UConn posted against the Buffs a day earlier. Against the Huskies, the Buffs were able to put the clamps down, but the Cyclones continued to pour it on, pushing their lead to 33 points before cruising to the win.
Iowa State finished with a 60.3 field goal percentage overall and went 11 for 25 from the arc. The Buffs had no answer for the Cyclones’ Milan Momcilovic, who shot 9 for 13 overall and 6 for 9 on 3-pointers before finishing with a game-high 24 points.
CU didn’t shoot the ball horribly, posting a 41.8% mark overall and a 42.1 percentage from the arc (8 for 19). But Iowa State outrebounded CU 31-25, and the Buffs were dominated in other significant areas like points off turnovers (37-10), second chance points (14-5), fast break points (22-6), and bench points (30-20).
Julian Hammond III led the Buffs with 20 points and forward Andrej Jakimovski added 18.
“We just couldn’t get stops,” Jakimovski said. “For us, everything starts on the defensive end, and they score 99 points. We just couldn’t get stops. We didn’t take care of the ball, and those are two huge things for us.
“We’ve got to bounce back. It was a good experience for us, three good games. We got a taste of what a Big 12 opponent is doing, and I think we’re going to be ready.”
Fast break
Why the Buffs lost: Pick any number of reasons. CU’s defense allowed Iowa State to shoot 60%, and the fifth-ranked Cyclones turned 18 Buffaloes turnovers into a 37-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Three stars
1. ISU’s Milan Momcilovic. CU had no answer for Momcilovic, who went 9-for-13 overall with six 3-pointers.
2. ISU’s Curtis Jones. Jones came off the bench to record 19 points, six rebounds and three assists without a turnover.
3. CU’s Julian Hammond III. The senior guard helped keep the Buffs close early. He finished 6-for-11 from the floor and 6-for-6 at the free throw line with 20 points.
Up next: The Buffs travel home on Thursday night before turning their sights to a Monday night home game against Pacific (7 p.m., ESPN+).
Iowa State 99, Colorado 71
COLORADO (5-2)
Baskin 2-5 2-2 7, Diop 1-3 0-0 2, Jakimovski 5-13 6-6 18, Malone 2-7 0-0 4, Hammond 6-11 6-6 20, Ruffin 0-2 0-0 0, Dak 3-5 1-2 8, Smith 2-6 0-0 6, Rancik 1-1 1-1 3, Carrington 1-1 1-1 3, Kossaras 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-55 17-18 71.
IOWA STATE (5-1)
Jefferson 3-6 4-4 10, Momcilovic 9-13 0-0 24, Jackson 4-4 2-3 10, Gilbert 5-8 4-4 15, Lipsey 3-7 4-7 10, Jones 7-14 2-2 19, Heise 2-2 0-0 4, Chatfield 0-0 0-0 0, Indrusaitis 2-4 2-3 7, Fish 0-0 0-0 0, Kelderman 0-0 0-0 0, Rock 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-58 18-23 99.
Halftime: Iowa State 45-34. 3-point field goals: Colorado 8-19 (Smith 2-4, Hammond 2-5, Jakimovski 2-6, Dak 1-1, Baskin 1-2, Ruffin 0-1); Iowa State 11-25 (Momcilovic 6-9, Jones 3-9, Gilbert 1-2, Indrusaitis 1-2, Jefferson 0-1, Lipsey 0-2). Rebounds: Colorado 25 (Baskin 8); Iowa State 31 (Jefferson, Jones 6). Assists: Colorado 18 (Ruffin 4), Iowa State 18 (Gilbert 6). Total fouls: Colorado 17, Iowa St. 19. A: 2,400.
