Coming into Saturday, things were already looking bleak for Colorado basketball. Tad Boyle's team carried a seven-game losing streak into Arizona's McKale Center, which has been a house of horrors for the Buffs over the years.

Early on, Colorado braved the hostile environment, hanging with a hot Arizona squad for most of the day. However, it wasn’t enough in the end as a late burst allowed the Wildcats to run away with a 78-63 win in Tucson.

With this loss, Colorado (9-10, 0-8 Big 12) dropped its eighth straight game, its longest losing streak under Boyle. The Buffs are still in last place in the Big 12 and are one of just three Power Five teams (South Carolina and Miami) to be winless in conference play. Arizona (13-6, 7-1) stays close to the top of the Big 12 with its 10th win in its last 11 games.

“I’m proud of our guys for not losing their fight,” Boyle said after the game. “That’s what it’s gonna take to win a game in this league. Eventually, I think we will.”

This loss can’t be chalked up to a lack of effort or willingness to change things up. Boyle came into this game and threw the kitchen sink at the Wildcats, who took some time to get acclimated. Former walk-on forward Harrison Carrington got his first career start for Colorado while Assane Diop went to the bench for the first time since November and Javon Ruffin was back in the first five in place of RJ Smith.

Colorado started the game in a 2-3 zone, something that Boyle has traditionally been reluctant to go to in years past. Arizona diced it up to start, jumping out to a quick 9-3 lead on a 3-pointer by Anthony Dell’Orso and a jumper on the inside by Oakland transfer Trey Townsend, but the Buffs eventually settled in.

“I thought our game plan was good coming in here,” Boyle said. “Coach (Mike) Rohn did a great job. Obviously, we’re not a zone team, but we felt like that’s the one thing we could maybe do to try to keep the crowd out of it. This is my 13th time in this building and I haven’t won yet, and I think the crowd is a big part of it.”

After that initial run, which forced a Boyle timeout just under 3 minutes into the game, the Buffs started playing with tons of energy and activity on the defensive end of the floor. The pass into the middle of the lane – a common key against a zone – was taken away by Colorado’s defense, and Arizona found it tough to get going offensively as a result.

On the other end, the Buffs were able to climb back in it thanks to a balanced effort led by Andrej Jakimovski. The Washington State transfer scored five quick points, a 3-pointer and a nice finish in the lane, to cut the early Arizona lead to just 23-21 with 7:22 to go in the first half. A couple of minutes later, Julian Hammond drained a jumper to give Colorado its first lead at 26-25 at the under-4:00 timeout.

Arizona responded as expected, closing the first half with a pair of Caleb Love 3s before a late bucket by Ruffin cut the Wildcats' lead to 33-31 at the break.

In the second half, the Buffs quickly made it clear that they weren’t going anywhere. Arizona threw the first punch out of the locker room, quickly extending its lead to seven on a pair of buckets by Dell’Orso, but Colorado responded with a 7-0 run of its own to tie the game at 40.

Dell’Orso broke the tie with another 3-pointer in transition to reset the momentum and put Arizona back in front. The Buffs continued to battle, but they would never see another lead. The Wildcats’ next three baskets all came on the fast break before Dell’Orso drilled another 3 to put Arizona up 55-46 with 8 minutes to go.

Ruffin tried to get the Buffs back in it with five quick points of his own, but a fastbreak basket by KJ Lewis followed by yet another Dell’Orso 3 gave Arizona a 65-51 lead with 6 minutes to play and put the game out of reach.

“Dell’Orso is 6-for-9 (on 3-pointers)?” Boyle questioned postgame. “He’s not supposed to get any up. He’s supposed to be run off the line, make him a driver. We’re not doing what we need to do in the game plan to win a game. We won’t win a game until we start doing what’s in the game plan.”

This loss extended one of Colorado’s most dreadful streaks. The Buffs have still never won a game in 14 tries at the McKale Center, which opened in 1973, with those struggles carrying over from the Pac-12 to now the Big 12. Even as it struggled with the zone in the half court, Arizona was able to get 19 points in transition to break the game open in the second half.

Hammond finished with 19 points for Colorado and Ruffin added 12, but 15 turnovers haunted the Buffs once again. Dell’Orso scored a game-high 20 for Arizona and knocked down six 3-pointers on nine attempts.

“We didn’t take care of the ball,” Boyle said. “That’s been a problem for the Buffs all year long. We want 11 or fewer turnovers. Especially in a building like this, if you turn it over, they are so elite in transition that they’re gonna score and they’re gonna get the crowd in the game. That’s what happened in the second half.”

Colorado will get its next chance to get in the win column in conference play on Tuesday night against Arizona State. The Buffs will be looking for revenge on the Sun Devils after Bobby Hurley’s group crushed them 81-61 in Tempe earlier this month.

Video provided courtesy of Troy Hutchison of GOAZCATS.com.