In light of Colorado's 99-54 stomping of the Iona Gaels Sunday afternoon at the CU Events Center, below are some postgame thoughts, game analysis and individual player performance breakdowns following the non-conference finale to the Buffaloes' (11-2) 2019-20 season.
RELATED: Full photo collage from Colorado's victory over Iona
If I’m summing it up and being short, the way Colorado played today in its 99-54 commanding win over Iona was the way we all thought the Buffs would be capable of in non-conference play, and then some.
Seven players ended the game with double digit scoring today. Colorado's make rate was comfortably above 50%, everyone chipped in, played good defense and made contributions, large and small, count. CU was dominant near the glass, too, out-rebounding the Gaels 47-24.
Perhaps most importantly, the Buffaloes took another solid step in the right direction with respect to eliminating the debilitating turnover issues that had been persisting throughout the vast majority of the season. CU only had 10 against Dayton, and today, during the stretch of the game when things weren’t a total blowout, turnovers weren’t an issue.
Colorado finished with 15 for the record. The number looks worse than the impact turnovers had in the game.
All in all, this was exactly the kind of game that this team needed as a primer before hosting No. 6 Oregon on Jan. 2. From what I saw today, I have confidence that that game is going to be high-powered, high-intensity and fun to watch.
Finally, the Buffaloes got that blowout, all-shots-are-going-in kind of victory that had eluded them thus far into the 2019-20 campaign.
Colorado posted its best shooting percentage of the year and since Feb. of this year, when the Buffs shot 56% at Arizona in a 67-60 win.
These are some pretty impressive statistics.
McKinley Wright IV: 13 points, 10 assists
D’Shawn Schwartz: 14 points, nine rebounds
Evan Battey: 12 points, 12 rebounds
Tyler Bey: 11 points, five boards
Lucas Siewert: 12 points, five rebounds
Maddox Daniels: 10 points, three assists
Daylen Kountz: 10 points, four assists
Colorado hasn’t had such a spread out win like this in a long, long time.
Overall, there was a lot to be happy about in the aftermath of this one. All in all, Colorado shot 34-of-60 (57%) from the floor today and was even better from long range. CU tied a school record with 17 three-pointers and was 17-of-28 (61%) from deep.
Wright IV: Obviously when he has a season-high in assists it’s easy to talk about how fluidly he dished the ball out to teammates, but he truly was on another level today. This kind of performance was what I think many expected to happen semi regularly in 2019-20. He was an absolutely fantastic facilitator of points today. Stud performance from him today.
Bey: He continues to understand how he can positively impact a game even when getting double teamed. Tad Boyle talks about it often, but Bey most definitely is becoming a more willing and proficient passer. He’s coming to the understanding that he doesn’t always have to drive with his back to the net. His short to mid range shooting today was solid. A pair of turnovers he had is far from cause for concern.
Schwartz: After going cold for a decent stretch in the Kansas, UNI and CSU games (15 points scored in total), he’s been an absolute killer for Colorado the last two games. His heroics vs. Dayton require no elaboration but today, four more three-pointers drained, 4-of-6 from deep in total — he is giving Colorado quite the spark.
Battey: He’s staying out of foul trouble, getting to the free throw line, securing rebounds and scoring the ball. Not much more to ask of him. He’s playing smart, efficient and productive basketball.
Kountz: The four assists are what I’m most exciting and impressed about in regards to his overall performance. Kountz has faced a similar trial to Bey this season in other teams taking away lanes from him and working to neutralize his ability to slash and drive. But as Bey improves, so does Kountz. He’s showing good rapport with teammates in working to get open and under the net in transition and in general. One of seven Buffs today to score in the double digits; I liked what I saw from him.
Daniels: Season-high 10 points for him. I was happy to see him find his stride on the court today. Frankly, a sizeable portion of his time on the floor to date this year has been underwhelming. A lot of his shots have have missed and missed badly. For all intents and purposes, I think this was the first time all year Daniels had fluidly fit into the equation out there. While he certainly deserves a pat on the back, this kind of performance needs to be happening with far more frequency.
Gatling: He was less than impressive. He finished with seven points, but it probably goes without saying that out of the starters and in general, he had the least consequential minutes of anyone who was a regular on the court today. Boyle finally pulled the plug on starting Eli Parquet (who saw just four minutes) and inserted Gatling into the starting lineup.
The 2-guard remains the position giving CU the least regular contributions on offense, and Gatling out there instead of Parquet didn’t exactly appear to be a problem solver on that front.
At the end of the day, Colorado should head into its Jan. 2 Pac-12 opener against No. 6 Oregon with confidence.
