Hoping to send a message to other Pac-12 teams that they would compete down the stretch for the conference regular season title, the Colorado Buffaloes fell flat in a 74-50 defeat against the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday night. The Buffaloes were down big early and struggled offensively all night long.
By the time the Buffaloes scored their first two-point basket, a layup by Andre Roberson, there were three minutes and 37 seconds left in the half with Stanford holding a 30-15 advantage. Eventually, the Cardinal would extend that lead to as many as 29 points while giving the Buffaloes little chance for a comeback.
On the night, the Buffaloes shot just 30 percent from the field, making 4-of-19 shots from behind the three-point line and an brutal 14-of-30 shots from the free throw line. It's just hard to win when you're not only making contested shots, but missing the easy ones from the charity stripe. Stanford shot much better, on the other hand, making 49 percent of its shots from the field.
Askia Booker was the only Colorado player scoring in double-figures on Thursday, scoring 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting. Roberson nearly had a double-double, finishing the night with nine points and 12 rebounds. Chasson Randle led Stanford, scoring 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Josh Owens also matched Roberson with nine points and 12 rebounds on his own.
For more on these teams, head over to Colorado blog Ralphie Report and Stanford blog Rule of Tree. Visit SB Nation NCAA Basketball as we approach March Madness.