Fast break
Why the Buffs lost: Defense and rebounding. Oklahoma State shot .453 overall and went 4-for-7 on 3-pointers in the second half, while also outrebounding CU 44-34.
Three stars
1. OSU’s Christian Coleman. Posted a double-double, finishing with 17 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots.
2. OSU’s Anthony Roy. The Cowboys’ leading scorer made amends for his six-point showing in Boulder last month, going 10-for-11 on free throws before finishing with 24 points and vie rebounds.
3. CU’s Bangot Dak. The junior forward put together one of his top all-around performances of the season, going 10-for-13 overall and 2-for-3 on 3-pointers with a career-high-tying 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
Up next: The offseason, unless the Buffs unexpectedly accept a bid to the NIT.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The mantras of defense and rebounding have been infused in Colorado head coach Tad Boyle since he was a player under the legendary Larry Brown at Kansas.
Boyle said his old coach reached out recently via text messages and reiterated all of those enduring coaching points. The reassurance, though, didn’t help the Buffaloes at the Big 12 Conference tournament.
The CU men’s basketball team struggled to guard Oklahoma State and watched the Cowboys dominate the glass, a combination that led to a 92-83 defeat in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament on Tuesday at T-Mobile Center.
The Buffaloes had won 14 of its previous 15 first-round matchups at the conference tournament under Boyle. This time, though, CU made a quick exit that likely will end its season.
“(Brown) texted me a couple weeks ago, and I shared it with these guys — if you defend, if you rebound and take care of the ball, you give yourself a chance to win,” Boyle said. “We took care of the ball. But defending and rebounding tonight cost us the game.”
Oklahoma State shot 45% in each half, and shook off a 1-for-10 mark from 3-point range to go 4-for-7 in the second half. More damaging to the Buffs, however, were the repeated attacks to the basket that CU simply couldn’t defend without fouling, as the Cowboys finished with a 29-for-35 mark at the free throw line. It marked the most made free throws this season by a CU foe while tying the second-most attempts.
CU, on the other hand, went just 9-for-16 at the free throw line and settled for 3-pointers frequently during the first half, going 6-for-18 from the arc before halftime. The Buffs and OSU finished among the bottom four in the 16-team Big 12 in average rebounding margin, but it was the Cowboys who owned the best of that matchup, outrebounding a CU team that played its third game without second leading scorer Sebastian Rancik 44-34. OSU turned 15 offensive rebounds into a 17-8 advantage in second-chance points.
CU’s 83 points was the same scoring total it posted in a convincing home win against Oklahoma State less than three weeks ago. Due to the sub-par defense and rebounding, 83 points wasn’t enough to get the job done this time.
“Tonight, we lost convincingly because we didn’t guard, we didn’t rebound,” Boyle said. “Fifteen offensive rebounds, we’re minus-10 (overall), against a team thatap not a good rebounding team. Now, we aren’t either. You had two bad rebounding teams tonight, and one of them was plus-10 and one of them was minus-10. Thatap why we lost the game.”
CU used an 11-0 run to build a nine-point lead in the first half, but OSU led 41-40 at halftime. The Cowboys scored the first seven points of the second half and gradually padded their lead throughout the rest of the way. Bangot Dak was a bright spot for the Buffs, tying his career-high with 22 points while adding eight rebounds, and point guard Barrington Hargress scored 18 points with nine assists. But standout freshman and leading scorer Isaiah Johnson was battered by the OSU defense into a 5-for-15 night, with a 2-for-9 showing on 3-pointers.
“They were pretty aggressive with me I’d say the whole game,” Johnson said. “I just don’t think I settled down and I don’t think I really hit the shots I’m capable of hitting that I’ve hit in the past. Credit to them on the defense.”
Oklahoma State 92, CU Buffs men’s basketball 83
OKLAHOMA STATE (19-13)
C. Coleman 7-16 3-4 17, Ahmed 2-4 3-6 7, Clary 1-9 4-4 7, Miller 1-6 7-7 9, Roy 6-9 10-11 24, Curry 6-9 2-2 15, Ragland 2-2 0-0 4, I. Coleman 3-8 0-1 6, Crotty 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 29-64 29-35 92.
COLORADO (17-15)
Dak 10-13 0-1 22, Malone 3-8 0-0 6, Johnson 5-15 2-3 14, Holland 3-8 1-2 9, Hargress 6-11 5-6 18, Sanders 1-3 0-2 2, Ifaola 0-0 0-0 0, Michaeli 0-3 1-2 1, Inman 4-7 0-0 11, Crawford 0-0 0-0 0, Kossaras 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-68 9-16 83.
Halftime: Oklahoma State 41-40. 3-point field goals: Oklahoma State 5-17 (C. Coleman 0-2, Clary 1-5, Miller 0-2, Roy 2-5, Curry 1-2, Crotty 1-1); Colorado 10-29 (Dak 2-3, Malone 0-1, Johnson 2-9, Holland 2-5, Hargress 1-4, Michaeli 0-2, Inman 3-5). Rebounds: Oklahoma State 44 (C. Coleman 14); Colorado 34 (Dak 8). Assists: Oklahoma State 17 (Clary 6); Colorado 18 (Hargress 9). Turnovers: Oklahoma State 7 (Clary 3); Colorado 8 (Malone, Holland 2). Total fouls: Oklahoma State 17; Colorado 20.
