CU Men’s Basketball loses in tough defensive match

By Grayson O'Roark in Front Page, Sports on Mar 10, 2013 3:32 / comments

The University of Colorado men’s basketball team ended the 2012-13 season with a disappointing 64-58 loss to the Oregon State Beavers in Boulder Saturday afternoon. The loss puts Colorado at 20-10 overall and 10-8 in the Pac-12 and seals their fifth seed for the Pac-12 Tournament.

Click above to see the GIF story of senior day. (Robert R. Denton/CU Independent)

Sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie kept Colorado alive with 10 points in the final two minutes of the game, but Colorado could not get a defensive stop and fell short.

The Buffs trailed the entire second half and only shot 35 percent from the floor.

Oregon State’s 2-3 zone caused problems for Colorado, who couldn’t develop an offensive flow, Head Coach Tad Boyle said.

“The zone gave us trouble all game, and it is frustrating because we practiced for it,” said Boyle.

That defense made it hard to play their game, Dinwiddie said.

“We could not get in the lane and could not hit threes, which made it a tough night against that zone,” Dinwiddie said.

[Show as slideshow]

Sophomore guard Askia Booker and freshman forward Xavier Johnson shot only 6 of 20 and made a combined 14 points. No player but Dinwiddie managed to score more than 9 points.

Oregon State out-boarded the Buffs 38-30 including 12 offensive rebounds, which was largely attributable to the fact that junior forward Andre Roberson, the nation’s leading rebounder, was unable to play for a second game in a row due to viral infection.

“We’re a better team with Andre than without him, and I do not know the answer to when he will be back, but I expect him to play Wednesday,” Boyle said after the game.

Oregon State got a big game out of sophomore forward Eric Moreland, who had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Beavers stand at 14-17 overall, and 4-14 in the Pac 12 after Saturday’s game.

Boyle said this loss was on him for not preparing his team well enough, but this isn’t the last game for the team.

“It is win or go home from here out,” Boyle said. “I do not care who we play first round I just know we have to win.”

The tournament will be held in Last Vegas from Wednesday through Sunday. Colorado will likely face either Washington State or a rematch against the Beavers.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson Oroak at Grayson.oroak@colorado.edu.