Junior forward Casey Crawford shoots a lay up over Nebraska defense during their game on Jan. 27 in the Coors Events Center. The Buffs defeated rival Nebraska 72-60. (CU Independent file/Molly Maher)
In a game where every possession could mean the difference between a breakthrough win and another heartbreaking loss, it was one big man’s play off the bench that swung the balance in CU’s favor.
Junior forward Casey Crawford, whose playing time and role has fluctuated from starter to third-string benchwarmer, showed Buff fans what he’s capable of on Saturday afternoon.
Crawford scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds in 12 minutes of play (all in the second half), and was the key factor in Colorado’s 75-72 win over the Cyclones, Iowa State coach Greg McDermott said.
“He was the difference in the game,” McDermott said. “We were trying to provide help on some of their back cuts and trying to make it difficult for Burks and Higgins as much as we could. We had to give up something and Casey Crawford was just that.”
Crawford hit back-to-back threes to break a tie and put the Buffs up 63-59 with just over six minutes remaining. After his third three-point attempt rattled in-and-out, the junior showed some lost post skills, taking a nice pass from fellow junior Marcus Relphorde and laying it in for two. And after junior Cory Higgins broke up Crawford’s run with a pair of free throws, the big man grabbed an offensive rebound off a Relphorde miss and scored a tough put back bucket.
Watching his play against Cyclones, one would wonder how a player with such offensive firepower could have been relegated to benchwarmer duty at times this season. Even with his role on the team in flux from time to time, Crawford said he has remained focused and ready to go on a moment’s notice.
“It’s tough just waiting there, not playing the first half and not knowing if you’re going to get in, but coach has always told me, ‘Casey, if I need you, be ready,’” Crawford said. “It’s tough on a player, but it’s helped me out a lot. Some consistency is nice sometimes, but I just go out there and follow orders, and play as hard as I can and do the best that I can.”
The man giving those orders is known to be quite uncharacteristic with who he does and doesn’t play. For a while freshman Shane Harris-Tunks was CU coach Jeff Bzdelik’s go-to forward off the bench, even starting against Big 12 foes Baylor and Kansas State.
Then Bzdelik turned to sophomore Trey Eckloff during the middle of the season, handing the youngster a start in their second matchup with K-State in Manhattan.
It seemed the veteran Crawford was the odd man out until a recent string of solid games versus Iowa State (the first meeting), both Kansas games and Nebraska helped him re-establish himself in the rotation and earn the chance to play in a close game in crunch time.
After Saturday’s win, Bzdelik recognized that Crawford’s long-range shooting was the key adjustment to turning things around when his team trailed ISU early in the second half.
“As the game went on we figured out their defense and started getting some drives to the basket,” Bzdelik said. “Casey really contributed to this win from the standpoint that he spread out their defense and they gave him some air to shoot, and he was able to knock down some shots. Then they had to expand their defense on him, and that enabled us to drive to the basket.”
Now the question is whether Colorado will be able to carry the momentum from a close win into the road victory they have yet achieve.
Higgins, the other hero of Saturday’s game, has high expectations for himself and his teammates heading into their final two games. Higgins, whose 33-point effort showed how much he wants this season to continue, said that he felt the win was just what the doctor ordered.
“Us being able to grind out this close win shows a lot of growth and maturity,” Higgins said. “We want to win out. Today was the first step of that. Now we have to focus on Nebraska.”
As for Crawford, his attitude was almost a mirror reflection of team’s following the contest. With more confidence following a victory and a couple solid individual performances, he expects his teammates and himself to come out firing on all cylinders against Nebraska on Tuesday.
Case and point: when asked whether his third three-point attempt during his own mini-scoring run was set in the offense or just him “feeling it,” the junior didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Oh, that one over Brackins,” Crawford said. “That was definitely a heat-check.”
Contact CU-Independent Staff Writer David Starcer at David.starcer@colorado.edu.
