The Buffs started strong, but fell apart against Sparty.
Something got in the flight from Denver to Honolulu. Maybe it was it the luggage held up at LAX, maybe it was fatigue from the seven-hour flight and three-hour time difference, or it was the temperature shock going from frigid Colorado weather to the black sand beaches of Maui. Or maybe the Buffs aren’t that good and they predictably struggled against a very solid Michigan State Spartans.
Colorado started strong in the 72-56 loss. The first ten minutes were good for the Buffs. They played good team basketball — Tad Ball Reloaded — as the offense was flowing, everyone got a feel for the ball, the shooters hit open jumpers and the bigs got points in the paint. But suddenly, when the Buffs were tied 21-21 with nine minutes left in the first half, they just stopped scoring.
Michigan State figured out the rhythm of Colorado’s offense and that was that for the Buffs. They don’t have the athleticism or the skill to create advantages against good defenders, so once that offensive flow is disrupted, there’s not much the Buffs can do to create easy shots. The Buffs were forced to settle for jumpers and this isn’t a great shooting team. They made just two of twelve shots in those nine minutes and were outscored 17-4 down the stretch.
Worse for the Buffs was that they couldn’t get the stops they needed on the defensive end. Tom Izzo’s bench lineups tore them apart. Coen Carr was a demon in transition and the Buffs couldn’t track him back. Tre Holloman has a quick first step and could get wherever he wanted on CU’s defensively limited backcourt. And Jase Sanders was hitting everything, getting to his spots with ease.
Colorado fought back briefly in the second half, but it was all Sparty. Whenever the Buffs built a bit of momentum, Michigan State would come back and score, then score another just because. Tad Boyle’s Buffs never seriously challenged for the win after the first ten minutes of the game.
Next up for the Buffs is a Tuesday afternoon date with the defending back-to-back national champions. The #2 Connecticut Huskies lost an overtime thriller to the Memphis Tigers, their fifth loss since February 2022 (!). The Buffs opened as 15.5-point underdogs and it would be a small miracle if they came that close. UConn is pissed off and are looking to tear Colorado to shreds.