Tournament run ends with loss to Arizona

By Grayson O'Roark in Front Page, Sports on Mar 15, 2013 8:45 / comments

The fate of the CU men’s basketball team’s March Madness bid lies with the NCAA selection committee after the Buffs lost 79-69 to the Arizona Wildcats in Las Vegas Thursday. Colorado leaves the conference tournament with an overall record of 21-11 and 10-8 in the Pac-12.

After trailing 11 at the half, the Buffs fought back and found themselves down just four in the final 3 minutes of play, though the comeback was never fulfilled.

“I thought our guys responded to some adversity very well but just didn’t have enough to get over the hump at the end of the game,” Head Coach Tad Boyle said.

Colorado was led by sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie’s 18 points and junior forward Andre Roberson’s 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Buffs shot 43 percent from the floor Thursday, but allowed 13 turnovers as well.

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Freshman forward Xavier Johnson helped out with 11 points and sophomore guard Askia Booker added 12 points, including two three-pointers.

The Buffs only had six assists all game, which resulted in poor ball movement and turnovers.

“When we’re at our best, we’re in double-digit assists, and that didn’t happen tonight,” Boyle said.

The Wildcat’s bench managed to score 25 points, including Brandon Ashley and Jordin Mayes who each had eight points.

“Arizona’s got the most quality depth of any team in this league, and that showed tonight,” Boyle said.

Roberson gave a strong performance in his second game back from illness that kept him from playing last week.

“I feel real good, I have fresh legs and I feel like I am all the way back,” Roberson said after the game.

Arizona advances to the Pac-12 semi-finals to face top seed UCLA Friday at 7 p.m. Colorado returns home to watch Selection Sunday to see if their efforts throughout the season have earned them a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Grayson O’Roark at Grayson.oroark@colorado.edu.