Picture courtsey of Cliff Grassmick
Bullshit Bullshit Bullshit. That is how I feel about the game today in Boulder. The Cowboys battled horrible officiating (once again) yet still managed to have a 12 point lead in the second half.
Now I'll be the first to admit that you can't blame the officials for a loss. However, we were unable to play defense without fouling. What that led to in the second half was open shots for the Buffs due to many of our guys playing with 4 fouls.
On top of our inability to play defense without fouling, we settled for bad shots down the stretch. You simply can't dribble around for 28 seconds and then decide to throw one up. It doesn't work.
On the bright side of things, coach Ford made the decision to start Jean Paul Olukemi and what a decision that was. JPO was on fire at times throughout the game and in my mind, solidified himself as a leader on the team. It's the first time all year when I've felt like someone was saying:
"Give me the fucking ball"
And they did. JPO finished the day with a team best 21 points, hitting 8 consecutive points down the stretch. He took a charge with 30 second left to put the cowboys in the position to steal a road win but couldn't connect on a long range 3 to seal the deal.
Bottom line here is that Colorado made 34of 39 free throws. I think it's safe to say that when you get 34 points from the foul line, you're gonna win.
Although I'm disappointed with the loss, I'm encouraged by the performance on the road. Winning on the road in the Big 12 is not easy and I'm glad to see this team respond with some toughness.
The Cowboys return to Stillwater this week for a game against the Iowa State Cyclones on Wednesday night. Home sweet home.