After the loss, the CU Buffs get two-time defending champion UConn

LAHAINA, Hawaii – The Colorado men’s basketball team is relegated to the losers bracket.

But in a nod to how strong the field is at the 40th Maui Invitational, the challenge for the Buffaloes has become even more daunting.

CU opened play at the Lahaina Civic Center on Monday with a 72-56 loss to Michigan State, suffering its first loss of the season. Instead of facing another unlucky team in a battle of first-round losers, the Buffs will face second-seeded, two-time defending champion UConn on Tuesday (1:30 p.m. MT, ESPN2). UConn was upset by Memphis in a wild overtime affair in the opening game of the Maui Invitational.

It will be the first time the Buffs face a reigning national champion since they lost twice to 2008 champion Kansas in the 2008-09 Big 12 schedule.

“‘Who’s going to be hungrier (Tuesday)?’ For me, that’s what I’m going to find out about our team,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “I know they will be ready. You will be angry. Who will be angrier, UConn or Colorado? We’ll find out.”

CU and UConn have met only once before, with the Huskies handing the Buffs a 74-67 loss in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Huskies put together a wild rally in the final three minutes of regulation against Memphis and tied the game with a 3-pointer that beat the buzzer. But the Tigers held off the Huskies in the overtime session and got a boost from an untimely technical foul from UConn head coach Dan Hurley.

“There’s no time to really have a hangover,” CU forward Trevor Baskin said. “You play against the two-time national champions the next day. You can’t wallow in self-pity for two days or you’ll get your ass kicked again. We really need to learn from what we did (Monday) and try to fix those issues and do our best (against UConn).”

Mutual respect

Boyle and his Michigan State counterpart Tom Izzo have a combined 45 seasons at the helm of their programs — 15 for Boyle at CU, 30 for Izzo at Michigan State — but Monday’s matchup was the first time the two experienced trainers competed against each other. That includes Boyle’s 12 years as a Division I assistant before landing his first head coaching job at Northern Colorado.

However, the pair met on various NCAA committees, and Michigan State’s Hall of Fame coach praised Boyle’s program.

“To me, Tad is one of the better coaches in the job,” Izzo said. “He had three pros last year and not every one of them was a household name. I knew they were really sharp on offense. They also missed some shots, just like us. But I thought defensively that we did some things that we wanted to do and credit my staff for that. We took risks on some things. We didn’t turn the ball over because its length could lead to turnovers. And we spent a lot of time on our rebounding because they were pretty good outrebounding teams too.

“He’s going to get this team back. That wasn’t their best game either. We all know what that’s like. We’ve all been there. It wasn’t that we were great, and it wasn’t that they were terrible. They just missed a couple shots and I thought we did a couple things with our rushing offense that bothered them.”

Impact on sales

The Buffs finished with a season turnover of just 12 against the Spartans for the second straight game. Still, CU managed to pull off a flurry of giveaways that helped thwart any chance of a comeback.

CU trailed by 13 points at halftime but turned heads at the break, posting an 8-2 win highlighted by two 3-pointers from Julian Hammond that cut the Spartans’ lead to seven.

An Assane Diop steal gave the Buffs a chance to cut the lead even further, but CU continued to commit turnovers on its next three possessions. After committing just four turnovers in the first half, the Buffs committed five turnovers in the first four minutes, 54 seconds after halftime.

Remarkable

Michigan State legend and Naismith Hall of Famer Magic Johnson was in attendance at the game. … The Spartans grabbed nine offensive rebounds. All five of CU’s opponents have grabbed at least nine offensive rebounds this season. … The Spartans’ starters finished the game 13 of 31 (.419). Their reserves shot .567 (17 for 30). … CU’s bench was 3 for 17 (.176). … CU’s Bangot Dak is 1-for-5 and 1-for-10 in his last two games. … On Monday, Baylor’s Norchad Omier was named Big 12 Player of the Week, while Texas Tech’s JT Toppin earned Newcomer of the Week honors.

Originally published: November 25, 2024 at 8:32 pm MST

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After the loss, the CU Buffs get two-time defending champion UConn – BuffZone

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