CINCINNATI — The blueprint wasn’t exactly the same.
Yet with ample time still remaining in the second half, the Colorado men’s basketball team found itself in a situation that recently has become familiar by falling into deficits of 20-plus points.
It is a commendable trait the Buffaloes have been able to put up fights in both instances, first against Texas Tech on Saturday and again on Wednesday night at Cincinnati. But itap an untenable way to make a living in the Big 12 Conference.
The Buffs actually got off to a decent start against Texas Tech, taking an early lead before the Red Raiders built a 24-point lead with less than 14 minutes remaining. The opposite held true at Cincinnati, as CU fell behind 10-0 just minutes after tipoff and trailed by 21 points 3-plus minutes into the second half.
Itap a habit the Buffs will have to correct in a hurry going into another tough road challenge on Saturday at West Virginia (4 p.m. MT, CBS Sports Network).
“If you look at the Texas Tech game, the first five, six minutes of the game, it wasn’t that bad,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “(Cincinnati) was awful. There’s no question. We got punched in the mouth and withered like a ragdoll. We’ve got to be tougher. In this league, especially on the road, if you don’t play with toughness, mentally and physically, you’ve got no chance. And thatap what happened in the first half (against Cincinnati) without a doubt.”
The Buffs have displayed ample mental toughness, rallying enough against Texas Tech to put up a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer before trimming Cincinnati’s big lead to just four points late in Wednesday’s loss.
But itap the lack of physical toughness that is putting CU in holes too deep to escape.
Against Cincinnati’s rugged, physical defense, the Buffs committed 17 turnovers, their second-highest total of the season. The first five of those giveaways occurred in the first 4 minutes, 10 seconds, and all five of those turnovers can be attributed directly to the Bearcats’ aggressive defensive pressure.
“I would definitely say itap a little different,” CU freshman guard Isaiah Johnson said of the Bearcats’ physical style of defense. “A few of us haven’t experienced any of this yet. But this game (at Cincinnati) really showed us how physical the Big 12 will be. So we should know what it is going forward.”
Despite the poor start the Buffs still turned in a decent game on the glass, outrebounding Cincinnati 33-32 while limiting the Bearcats to eight offensive rebounds after CU’s previous three opponents all recorded at least 12.
In an ode to the desperate search for defensive answers, the Buffs continued to embrace the very un-Boyle-like approach of utilizing a zone defense. It didn’t help, as Cincinnati’s early .571 shooting percentage was the largest first-half mark by a CU foe this season. While the Bearcats finished just 3-for-17 on 3-pointers, the Buffs twice fouled Cincinnati freshman Shon Abaev on 3-point attempts. And Cincinnati repeatedly cut through the CU zone for easy baskets.
“We weren’t very good in the paint (at Cincinnati), and that showed up,” Boyle said. “We knew (Moustapha Thiam) was going to make some free throw line jumpers. Itap the dunks. Itap the seven layups that bother me. You should never give up a layup. They made two threes in the first half and one in the second. We know thatap something Cincinnati struggles to do.
“The zone is designed to keep the ball in front of you. And we got beat baseline for dunks. Then we got beat baseline for dump-offs to bigs at the rim. If you don’t play with sound principles and discipline and effort, it doesn’t matter what defense you’re in.”
