LAHAINA, Hawaii — The mid-term exam isn’t complete.
But in the first phase of the Colorado men’s basketball team testing itself against college basketball’s elite, the Buffaloes struggled. And the test is about to get even more difficult.
The Buffs opened play in the Maui Invitational on Monday and were handed a harsh reality check by Michigan State, which got to the rim at will and out-toughed CU inside while handing the Buffs their first loss of the season, 72-56, at the Lahaina Civic Center.
CU will have to regroup in a hurry, as it continues play in the tournament on Tuesday against second-ranked, two-time defending champion UConn, which was upset in overtime by Memphis in Monday’s opening game.
Last week, Boyle described the three-game Maui trip as a “mid-term” exam for his club. By no definition did Monday’s effort warrant a passing grade.
The big question surrounding CU after opening the year 4-0 at home against mid-major foes was whether the new-look Buffs could hold their own physically against bigger, more athletic power conference foes. Against the Spartans, the answer was a resounding no.
“This is what I call an old-fashioned (butt)-whipping in every phase of the game,” Boyle said. “Hats off to Michigan State. We prepared for a fight. They didn’t do anything that we didn’t expect. I thought coach (Mike) Rohn did a great job with the scouting report and the game plan. We just didn’t show up. We lost this game on every front — offensively, defensively, rebounding the ball. All the things that we work on. They were better than us at every phase of the game.”
CU made its first three shots but that would account for just about all the first-half highlights offensively for the Buffs, who missed their final 10 3-point attempts of the half. The game was tied 21-21 before Michigan State went on a 17-4 run, opening up a 38-25 lead at the break.
The Buffs briefly made noise to start the second half, with a pair of 3-pointers from Julian Hammond III, pulling within 40-33. But it was a spark the Buffs couldn’t sustain, and the Spartans gradually padded their lead the rest of the way.
CU finished with a decent total of 13 assists, but too often during the first half the Buffs’ offense eroded into a series of one-on-one battles that Colorado simply wasn’t going to win against the more athletic Spartans.
“I think we got a little too drive-happy, myself included,” CU’s Trevor Baskin said. “We got a little fixated on trying to attack the rim and over-dribbled a little bit. We did a poor job of adjusting and getting back to what we did the first 10 minutes of the game.”
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After outrebounding each of its first four opponents by double-digits, CU was dominated on the glass, with Michigan State posting a 42-29 rebounding advantage. And although the Spartans’ early-season struggles from long-range continued — missing their first 14 3-pointers and finishing 2 for 21 — they had enough easy looks inside to finish 28 for 40 (70.0%) on 2-pointers.
CU (4-1) knocked down its first two 3-pointers but went 2 for 17 the rest of the way. Elijah Malone was a bright spot for the Buffs, going 7 for 10 with 14 points and a team-high five rebounds. Hammond led the Buffs with 15 points, adding four assists. However, outside of Malone and Hammond, the rest of the Buffs went 7 for 33 (21.2%).
“It’s soft,” Boyle said of his team’s defense. “That gets back to that toughness factor. The number one thing on the board … was keep the ball out of the paint. Whether it was from guarding the ball and gap help, whether it was post defense, you name it. Transition defense. We weren’t able to do it. They got the ball in the paint whenever they wanted in different ways. To me, it’s a matter of toughness.
“With Michigan State, if you are not tough, you have no chance to beat them. And we weren’t very tough, and we had no chance to beat them.”
Fast break
Why the Buffs lost: Defense and rebounding. Michigan State struggled from long range but shot 70% on 2-pointers, while also outrebounding the Buffs 42-29.
Three stars
Jase Richardson: The Michigan State freshman came off the bench to go 6-for-8 with 13 points and four rebounds.
Elijah Malone: The CU big man was a bright spot, going 7-for-10 with 14 points and a team-best five rebounds.
Szymon Zapala: The Spartans’ 7-footer was just 2-for-5, but he went 3-for-4 at the free throw line and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
Up next: Another huge challenge awaits CU on Tuesday against No. 2, two-time defending national champion UConn (1:30 p.m. MT, ESPN2).
Michigan State 72, CU Buffs men’s basketball 56
COLORADO (4-1)
Baskin 3-7 0-1 9, Jakimovski 1-7 1-2 4, Diop 0-2 1-2 1, Malone 7-10 0-0 14, Hammond III 6-11 0-0 15, Dak 1-5 1-2 3, Smith 1-4 0-2 2, Rancik 0-4 4-6 4, Ruffin 1-4 0-0 2, Carrington 0-0 0-0 0, Kossaras 0-0 2-2 2, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Pease 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 12-20 56.
MICHIGAN STATE (5-1)
Kohler 2-4 0-0 4, Fidler 3-8 2-2 9, Zapala 2-5 3-4 7, Fears Jr. 4-6 0-0 8, Akins 2-8 0-0 4, Holloman 2-7 3-3 7, Richardson 6-8 0-0 13, Cooper 3-3 0-0 6, Booker 2-6 2-2 6, Carr 4-4 0-2 8, Teng 0-0 0-0 0, Mormand 0-2 0-0 0, Sanders 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-61 10-13 72.
Halftime — Michigan State 38-25. 3-point field goals — Colorado 4-19 (Baskin 0-1, Jakimovski 1-4, Diop 0-1, Hammond III 3-7, Dak 0-2, Smith 0-1, Rancik 0-2, Ruffin 0-1); Michigan State 2-21 (Kohler 0-2, Fidler 1-4, Fears Jr. 0-1, Akins 0-4, Holloman 0-2, Richardson 1-2, Booker 0-4, Normand 0-2). Rebounds — Colorado 29 (Malone 5); Michigan State 42 (Zapala 8). Assists — Colorado 13 (Hammond III 4); Michigan State 11 (Fears Jr. 6). Turnovers — Colorado 12 (Hammond III 3); Michigan State 11 (Holloman 3). Total fouls — Michigan State 17; Colorado 14. A — 2,400.
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