The Buffs foul out in Vegas losing to the Arizona Wildcats
A red sea flooded the T-Mobile Arena on March 11 as the Wildcats fired on all cylinders against the Buffs in the Pac-12 tournament matchup, defeating Colorado 82-72.
Arizona frequented the free-throw line tonight as Jabari Walker and Evan Battey entered foul trouble. The Buffs best shooters had to frequent the bench. CU ended with 21 fouls and Arizona had 14.
“We did not lose this game because of officiating. We lost it because of maybe free throw shooting, but it wasn’t officiating,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “It was a totally different game official-wise, officiating-wise today than it was in Boulder. And in Tucson they just blew our doors open. We weren’t very good that night.”
Arizona presented both a physical offensive and defensive game. From tonight’s performance, Arizona clearly watched the film from the Feb. 26 Buffs upset.
The first however framed a different outcome as Jabari Walker walked on the Wildcats during the first half going 5-5 from downtown and 6-9 from the field. He wasn’t in foul trouble then with only one personal foul.
Final three from Keeshawn Barthelemy. Buffs put up a great fight, but couldn’t finish. Arizona moves on winning 82-72. pic.twitter.com/L7Zw5Cmci1
— Sko Buffs Sports (@SBS_CU) March 12, 2022
Arizona adjusted defensively late in the half, with huge blocks and leaving little accessibility from open looks in the paint, only making 8 compared to Arizona’s 18.
Those 18 points in the paint mostly came from Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis. He did well off the boards with 4 rebounds and when the ball was in his possession he found a way to finish. Tubelis finished the first with 18 points.
The Buffs did not stop their efforts and many came from Freshman Julian Hammond III with three rebounds, three assists and six points.
Walker was the leading scorer in the first with 17 points, but going into the second the fouls on him (and his teammates) would cut his points short.
“The big guys were closer to me so I didn’t get the same three-point opportunities, and I just wanted to become a better playmaker in that second half,” Walker said. “And I got some other guys some good looks, double in the post a couple times. So the dynamics of the game just changed in the second half, and I just went with the flow.”
For the Buffs, getting to the rim was a rare occurrence with Ballo, Tubelis and Koloko at the helm of the defensive ship with 30 defensive rebounds compared to the Buffs 19.
As the second continued, the Buffs ambitions to get to the championships were still in reach. During the second, CU had back to back to back threes, Clifford with the first, Hammond with the second and Battey with the third.
Battey and Walker received their fourth fouls with around 10 minutes left in the game. The Buffs went on a 2:42 scoring drought without their presence on the court. Boyle brought them back with 8:00 minutes left, but the ‘Cats continued to pound the paint. Arizona scored on almost every drive, steadily increasing the lead to 74-65 with 2:52 left.
Looking forward, Tad and the team take it game-by-game. Colorado won’t likely be in the NCAA tournament, but the National Invitation Tournament is still in reach.
“I think nobody expected us to be here, young team, didn’t pick – they picked us sixth, we finished fourth,” Battey said. “We’ve had some triumphs as far as overcoming some adversity that I’m really proud of. And I love this team. So I’d say our fight and just – this one game doesn’t define us.”
