The University of Colorado men’s basketball team simply outplayed the California Bears Sunday afternoon, winning 81-71.
Colorado’s defense was overpowering in the first half. They held Cal to only 18 points with a 20.6 field goal percentage.
“As much as you preach playing the possession, we kind of tighten the screws when the score gets close,” sophomore Spencer Dinwiddie said.
The Buffs had 20 turnovers, but still ended up on top. Freshman Xavier Johnson says that as a team they need to get better to decrease turnovers.
“We just got to be more careful with the ball,” Johnson said. “I had a couple turnovers myself, and as a group we’ve got to be better.”
Johnson, Booker, Roberson and Dinwiddie all had 15 or more points. The Bears had two that reached this, Justin Cobbs scored 22 and Allen Crabbe scored 21.
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“I think, offensively, our guys have made some strides,” Head Coach Tad Boyle said. “You have seen it in the last couple of games. We had 6 or 7 assists for a while, now we are at 12 or 13. Our guys are sharing (the ball).”
Dinwiddie said this game was a big win for their team.
“To say you don’t look at the standings would be a lie,” Dinwiddle said. “You try not to focus on them, but you do. We knew the people on top of us were playing each other and if we got these next two then we could move up and gain some traction.”
Colorado’s record is now 4-4 in the Pac-12 and 14-6 overall. California’s record is now 3-4 in the conference and 11-8 overall.
The Buffs head to Utah next weekend and do not return home until Feb. 14 when they take on Arizona.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jillian Arja at Jillian.Arja@colorado.edu.
