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Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
The Buffs had their chance but couldn’t get the job done
The Colorado Buffaloes’ incredible run has finally come to an end. After falling to Marquette by a final score of 81-77, the Buffs got bounced from the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.
You wouldn’t be able to tell by the final score, but Marquette gave the Buffs the business in the first half, no other way to put it. Much like Florida did on Friday, the Golden Eagles were pretty much getting whatever they wanted against CU’s defense.
Colorado had no answer for Tyler Kolek’s insane passes and swooping left-handed layups, as well as Kam Jones’ three-ball. Jones went ballistic on the Buffs from deep, hitting four of his seven attempts, helping Marquette build a sizable lead over Colorado.
Colorado’s offense just couldn't keep up with Kolek and company. For being the nation’s sixth best team from deep, the Buffs sure didn’t look the part in the first half. CU attempted 13 three-pointers, most of them were wide open looks, but only hit three.
Marquette coach Shaka Smart’s defensive game plan had players like Eddie Lampkin and J’Vonne Hadley smothered in the paint and they just couldn’t find a solution. A desperate CU offense kept passing the ball into no-man’s land and handing the ball to Marquette, as the Buffs finished the half with seven turnovers.
At halftime, the Golden Eagles finished shooting a whopping 67.9% (19-28) from the field, while Colorado shot only 46.7% (14-30). Marquette’s six three-points, four of which came from Jones, gave them a massive edge over the Buffs. CU went to the locker room down 45-34.
If the Buffs could limit their turnovers and start making their open threes in the second half, this game was still very winnable. Thankfully, that’s exactly what happened. Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson immediately drilled back-to-back triples to open the half, cutting Marquette’s lead to only four points.
What ensued was three-point madness for Colorado, courtesy of Simpson. The newly-crowned “Mr. Big Shot 2.0” drilled four three-pointers in the span of three and a half minutes of game clock, including a series of back-to-back-to-back shots from deep. All of a sudden, the Buffs had a one point lead.
Upon taking the lead, what followed was perhaps the most frustrating 15 minutes of basketball from the Buffs in recent memory. After taking that lead, KJ Simpson missed a wide open three-pointer and Marquette would answer by ripping off a 8-2 run to regain a five point lead.
That same exact sequence of Colorado tying the game, missing a wide open look and Marquette going on a 5-0 run to begin to pull away happened two additional times. The Buffs kept fighting back into the game, leveling the playing field twice, but were continually unable to make any shot when given a chance to make a lead.
Colorado had a whopping 14 opportunities to tie or take a lead in the second half and only managed to score on three of them, as all of the other attempts resulted in either a missed shot or turnover. In total, the Buffs took six shots that would have given them the lead in the last 15 minutes of the game, and ultimately missed all of them.
After squandering opportunity after opportunity, Colorado just couldn’t manage to overcome the Golden Eagles. Kolek’s insane layups, Jones’ crazy three-point shooting streak and Colorado’s inability to hit clutch shots proved to be insurmountable, as the Buffs fell by a margin of four points.
Sure, the conclusion of this game was frustrating and certainly stings. The Buffs had their chance to steal this game, but ultimately couldn’t make clutch shots. However, let’s take step back and consider the context of the situation.
After that UCLA loss in mid February, this team had basically been playing in single elimination games for the last six weeks. If Colorado had lost any of those games, there was absolutely no chance of even making it to the Big Dance. They then proceeded to rip off 8 consecutive wins, won 11 of their final 13 games and gave us the new most iconic moment in program history.
It’s natural to be angry, frustrated or even sad after a loss like this, but you should also be proud. Be proud that your Buffaloes managed to pull off that miracle run and that this team almost upset an incredibly good Marquette team that’s easily a top ten team in the country.
We’ll remember this 2023-24 team forever in Boulder. We’ll remember their insane resiliency in the face of injuries piling up. We’ll remember that win over #15 Miami in Brooklyn. We’ll remember Tristan da Silva’s hot steak to end the season. We’ll remember J’Vonne Hadley becoming one of the most underrated defenders in the country. We’ll remember Eddie Lampkin calling people “too small” at least five times per game. We’ll remember KJ’s shot.
This squad has left us with a lot of memories that we will be forever thankful for. Be proud of what the Buffs did this season. This may be the final ride for this group, so hold onto that feeling as long as you can.
Thank you for a great season, Colorado Basketball. We’ll see ya when we see ya.
by RylandScholes
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