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PrintFour Colorado players had to watch the game on television from their homes in Boulder.
Juniors Chris Copeland, Martane Freeman and Julius Ashby and sophomore Marcus Hall were not allowed to travel with the team to Columbia on Tuesday.
The missing players had to be pleased with their teammates’ early effort. But, with only three players on its bench, Colorado ran out of gas.
Without three of their best players and a key reserve, the Buffaloes fell to Missouri 63-54 on Tuesday night at Mizzou Arena. A late Tiger run put the outcome beyond doubt, but the Buffaloes led into the second half.
“Sometimes when a team is a little wounded like this, they’re even more dangerous,” Missouri assistant coach Melvin Watkins said. “We tried to send that message in practice, that it wasn’t going to be easy.”
Colorado controlled the first half but could not contain a 15-4 Missouri run midway through the second half that cost the Buffaloes the game.
“We lost three serious offensive threats, and Martane can come in and play solid defense for us,” Colorado forward Andy Osborn said. “We just lost four guys who are really a big part of our team. When that happens, our rhythm gets off. That hurt us.”
Copeland, Freeman, Ashby and Hall were suspended for the Missouri game by coach Ricardo Patton. Patton said on Monday all four had violated the same team rule prior to Colorado’s game against Texas A&M on Saturday. He would not elaborate on what rule was broken, but the Rocky Mountain News reported Tuesday that the players broke curfew, partying until 3 a.m. the night before the Texas A&M game.
“Those guys we left behind had total disregard for their teammates and the program in general,” Patton said. “It’s unfortunate, but we hope they can learn from that mistake.”
Patton said the players will be reinstated when the Buffaloes play Kansas State on Saturday, missing one game.
“They’re still young adults,” Patton said. “Sometimes they’re going to make poor decisions. We’ve got to move on. It’s behind us. They’ve served their time, so we’ll go back and try to get ready for next time.”
The loss of Copeland, Freeman, Ashby and Hall should have made it an easy game for the Tigers, who have now won four in a row. But Missouri started flat, and Colorado came out determined. The Tigers shot 21.4 percent in the first 12 minutes. The Buffaloes attacked the basket, scoring 10 in the paint in the same span. Missouri trailed 24-18 at halftime.
“Everyone thought those guys being out would make it easy on us, but I think missing those guys actually had a positive effect on them,” Missouri center Kevin Young said. “It made them play harder. It made this a bigger game for them.”
Copeland is the Buffaloes’ second-leading scorer, averaging 12.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Hall is third in scoring, averaging 11.9. He also leads the team in assists. Ashby is Colorado’s leading rebounder, averaging 6.1. Freeman has come off the bench in 22 games for the Buffaloes.
Colorado freshman Glean Eddy stepped up to fill some of the void. Eddy had 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Buffaloes’ other talented freshman, Richard Roby, who hit the winner against Missouri on Jan. 26, scored nine points.
“Every guy on the floor competed,” Osborn said. “I’m proud to an extent, but it’s hard to be proud of a loss. We showed spirit. We showed fight, but fight only gets you so far. Spirit only gets you so far.”
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