Friday night, Colorado was outgunned by USC in Los Angeles in a high-scoring shootout, marking the Buffs third loss in a row. Monday may as well have been a different sport.

Playing its fourth consecutive top-20 opponent, No. 13 Colorado couldn’t find any rhythm offensively, as it was shut down by No. 8 UCLA in a 53-45 rock fight. The Buffs have now lost four in a row, and their seeding in both the Pac-12 and NCAA Tournaments has taken a serious hit with just two regular season games left.

Just 11 days ago, Colorado (20-7, 10-6 Pac-12) was a No. 1 seed in the selection committee’s midseason top 16 reveal. Now, it has fallen onto the host bubble as a projected No. 4 seed, with a potential first NCAA Tournament weekend in Boulder now in jeopardy. Additionally, the Buffs now sit in a tie for fifth in the Pac-12 standings, and are in serious danger of missing out on a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

Monday's game was a slow grind right from the start, with the Buffs missing their first nine shots from the field and scoring just two points in the first 6:30. It was up to the Colorado defense to keep it in the game, and while UCLA shot a great percentage from the floor in the early going, the CU defense was able to force enough turnovers to remain within striking distance. At the end of the first, UCLA (22-5, 11-5) led 17-7 despite completely shutting down the Colorado attack.

Then, the Buffs' offense finally woke up to start the second. After a few traded stops, Jaylyn Sherrod made a tough fadeaway jumper, and Frida Formann followed it up with back-to-back 3-pointers in just nine seconds to cut the Bruins’ lead to two.

For the first time in the game, UCLA was forced to come up with an answer, and it did. Charisma Osborne knocked down a 3 to stop the bleeding, and the Buffs’ offense disappeared once again. CU fell into a 4-minute scoring drought, allowing the Bruins to extend their lead back to 10 and reassert control on the contest with a 29-19 lead at halftime.

Colorado started the third much like it did in the second, with a sense of urgency and much better pace, and it made yet another run. This time it was Quay Miller who was the spark, scoring nine quick points as a part of a 13-2 run out of the break to give Colorado its first lead of the evening, 32-31.

The Bruins immediately came up with another swift response to close the third. This time it was Londynn Jones splashing a 3 to halt the Colorado momentum, and UCLA was able to turn that into an 9-3 spurt that gave it a 40-35 lead with one quarter to play.

Colorado battled for the final 10 minutes, trying to find one more run to put it back in front, but the Bruins constantly kept the Buffs at bay. Two Aaronette Vonleh free throws brought them within three points with just over five minutes to go, but CU followed that up with another scoring drought that lasted more than four minutes and was finished off with a dagger 3-pointer by Osborne to put the game out of reach.

The Buffs’ offense was simply atrocious for most of the night. They had just one player in double figures (Sherrod with 10), shot below 29% from the field and turned the ball over 15 times. They didn’t make a field goal over the final 7:37, missing their final 10 attempts from the floor. In doing so, they fumbled a defensive performance in which they forced 24 UCLA turnovers and, despite getting outrebounded by 10, won the possession battle by finishing plus-8 in shot attempts.

While star center Lauren Betts (2 points, 9 rebounds) was quiet for UCLA, the Bruins’ guards repeatedly answered the bell. Kiki Rice led all scorers with 20 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Osborne celebrated her senior night with 14 points including some monster threes along the way. With the win, the Bruins moved into a tie for second place in the Pac-12, putting them in position to earn a first-round bye in Las Vegas.

The Buffs desperately need to build up some confidence before the Pac-12 Tournament as they head back home for the final weekend of the regular season. Fortunately for them, their run of ranked opponents will come to an end, as Washington and Washington State will come to town.

The Buffs knocked them both off in the Pacific Northwest earlier this season and will be looking for a pair of wins in Boulder. The Huskies will be first up, as they head to the CU Events Center on Thursday. Tipoff of that one will be at 7 p.m. MST.