Buffs Get Another Shot At Arizona In Pac-12 Quarterfinals
March 08, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LAS VEGAS — For the fifth time in six Pac-12 tournament appearances, the Colorado Buffaloes will face off with the Arizona Wildcats, this one coming Thursday in a 7 p.m. quarterfinal matchup at T-Mobile Arena.
"A great challenge," said CU coach Tad Boyle, whose Buffs dropped an 82-73 decision to the Wildcats earlier this season in Tucson. "I talked about that with Sean (Miller, UA coach) a couple weeks ago, and here we are again."
CU's first tourney appearance against the Wildcats ended on a high note, as the Buffs beat Arizona in the 2012 tournament final to earn an NCAA berth. But since then, the Buffs have lost three in a row to the 'Cats in the Pac-12 postseason.
Now, they have a chance to end that streak — but to do that, they know they can't afford to put forth a first half like they did in Wednesday night's tournament opener, when they fell behind by 19 to Washington State before rallying for the win.
"We play a first half like we did tonight and Arizona, number one, is probably not going to let us back in the game, and number two, instead of a 14-point game at halftime, it might be a 24-point game at halftime," Boyle said. "The one thing we know about Arizona, they're very efficient. They don't beat themselves. You have to go beat Arizona, and the way you beat them is to be rock solid defensively."
In their first meeting this year, the Buffs fell behind by as much as 20 in the second half before closing the gap to five in the closing minutes. That, though, was as close as they could get.
But that game also came in early January, part of a stretch that saw CU lose its first seven Pac-12 games. Since that skid, they have won nine of their last 12.
The 27-4 Wildcats, who finished with a 16-2 conference mark to tie with Oregon for the league title, bring a No. 7 national ranking into the game. They are also a different team than the Buffs saw early in the season, mostly because of the presence of guard Allonzo Trier. The Arizona sophomore was serving a suspension when the two teams met in January, and has had a major impact on the 'Cats since his return. In his 12 games, he's averaged 16.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
"We're a different team and they're a different team," Boyle said. "They've got Allonzo Trier back and he's back in the flow of what they're doing. That game seems like a lifetime ago."
If the Buffs play solid defense — as they did in the second half against WSU on Wednesday — they can hang with the Wildcats. But they can't afford another slow start.
"It's beyond Xs and Os," Boyle said. "Our guys know what they need to do to be successful. Against Arizona, you better put 40 minutes together. We don't have to play perfect, but the margin for error goes down significantly."
In their first meeting this season, the Buffs put three players in double figures, led by 26 points from Xavier Johnson, and George King added a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double. The Buffs also had a 38-32 edge in rebounding, but the big difference was turnovers and free throws. Colorado committed 15 turnovers in the game, which the Wildcats converted into 24 points; and CU was just 10-for-14 from the line while the Wildcats hit 26 of their 33 attempts.
"That game was so long ago, we're a completely different team and they're a completely different team," said Johnson, who had 19 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's win over WSU. "We just know that if we rebound like we did at their place, we'll give ourselves a chance. We just have to play for 40 minutes."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
