Fast break
Why the Buffs lost: CU shot .276 in the first half, committed 11 turnovers in the second half, and surrendered 12 offensive rebounds.
Three stars
1. Utah’s Gabe Madsen. Shook off a shooting slump to go 4-for-7 from long range while leading all scorers with 17 points.
2. Utah’s Ezra Ausar. Scored 10 points and led Utah’s advantage on the glass with seven rebounds.
3. CU’s Javon Ruffin. Continued a recent hot streak by hitting three 3-pointers in a game for the first time this season, finishing with a team-high 13 points.
Up next: CU faces a tall task in the quest for the first Big 12 win with a visit on Saturday from No. 5 Houston (2 p.m., ESPN+).
SALT LAKE CITY — If there was a positive from the latest setback, itap that the Colorado men’s basketball team didn’t fold after one of their worst halves in a conference run that has been full of bad halves.
However, a little grit and fortitude weren’t nearly enough to change the Buffaloes’ fortunes.
Colorado’s Big 12 misery continued on Wednesday night, as Utah held off the Buffs’ comeback bid to hand CU a 72-59 defeat at the Huntsman Center.
The defeat dropped CU to 0-11 in the Big 12, the program’s worst start to a conference schedule since the 1985-86 team finished 0-14 in the Big Eight, and it extended the Buffs’ longest losing streak in 15 seasons under head coach Tad Boyle.
“I’m proud of our guys for fighting back in that thing. We clawed our way back in the second half and we were right there,” Boyle said. “But we were not able to sustain anything to get over the hump. Part of it is turnovers, which has been our Achilles heel all year. We can’t get our stops. We can’t get a rebound. We can’t complete a play.
“I’ve never coached a team where we shot 38% from the field and felt, man, we should’ve won that game. But we didn’t. They did. They made plays down the stretch. We didn’t. This team, every game itap different.”
After a cold-shooting first half that saw the Buffs shoot just 27.6%, CU trailed by 12 at halftime before mounting a comeback, scoring the first seven points of the second half. The Buffs battled to within two points on a pair of Assane Diop free throws with 8 minutes, 1 second remaining, and still were within 55-52 with 3:58 to play.
However, as was the case in several near-misses during the losing streak, the Buffs faltered at crunch time.
After CU’s Trevor Baskin missed a free throw that could have finished a 3-point play and pulled the Buffs within two points, Utah’s Gabe Madsen was credited with a bucket on a goaltending call on Colorado’s Bangot Dak. Utah’s next possession began with a miss on the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity, but the Utes grabbed the offensive rebound and converted a 3-pointer from Hunter Erickson.
All told, the Utes needed only a little more than a minute and a half to reel off 11 consecutive points and send the Buffs to their 11th consecutive defeat — the program’s longest losing streak since the Buffs lost the final 12 games of the 2008-09 season.
The familiar shortcomings that have kept the Buffs winless in the Big 12 all played a part in the latest defeat. Utah entered the game averaging a Big 12-low 8.4 forced turnovers per game but the Buffs, the league leader in turnovers, committed 11 after halftime after recording just four during the first half. The Utes also finished with 12 offensive rebounds — the ninth time a CU foe has posted double-digit offensive rebounds — leading to a 15-6 advantage for the Utes in second-chance points.
“We gave up a lot of offensive boards. I feel like that was kind of what did it at the end,” CU guard Javon Ruffin said. “We had a few turnovers. I had two turnovers that we just can’t have once you get to that point in the game. If we take away a couple of those and box out and rebound and finish every possession, maybe we get a couple extra instead of letting them get some. That was the difference.”
Utah 72, Colorado 59
COLORADO (9-13, 0-11 Big 12)
Baskin 2-6 0-1 4, Dak 5-8 0-0 11, Jakimovski 2-9 2-2 7, Rancik 2-5 0-0 5, Hammond 3-9 1-1 8, Ruffin 4-9 2-3 13, Diop 3-6 5-6 11, Malone 0-0 0-0 0, R.Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Kossaras 0-1 0-0 0, Carrington 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 10-13 59.
UTAH (13-9, 5-6)
Ausar 3-6 4-7 10, Wahlin 3-6 1-1 9, Lovering 4-7 4-10 12, G.Madsen 5-10 3-4 17, Sharavjamts 0-0 2-5 2, Erickson 1-2 0-0 3, Dawes 0-2 1-2 1, Keller 4-5 0-2 8, M.Madsen 3-8 3-4 10, Little 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-47 18-35 72.
Halftime: Utah 32-20. 3-point field goals: Colorado 7-27 (Ruffin 3-6, Dak 1-2, Rancik 1-2, Hammond 1-4, Jakimovski 1-6, Kossaras 0-1, Baskin 0-2, Diop 0-2, R.Smith 0-2); Utah 8-18 (G.Madsen 4-7, Wahlin 2-3, Erickson 1-2, M.Madsen 1-3, Ausar 0-1, Keller 0-1, Little 0-1). Rebounds: Colorado 31 (Baskin 7); Utah 39 (Ausar 7). Assists: Colorado 8 (Ruffin 3); Utah 16 (Lovering, Erickson, M.Madsen 3). Turnovers: Colorado 15 (Dak, Ruffin 3); Utah 15 (G. Madsen 4). Total fouls: Colorado 23, Utah 17. A: 7,581.
