Buffs Head To Washington For Pac-12 Showdown

THE SEASON: Colorado is 4-4 overall and 0-1 in the Pac-12 Conference after dropping its league opener with a heart-breaking 60-59 decision to Arizona State at the CU Events Center on Dec. 1.

The Buffaloes had a 15-point lead at halftime but a season-high 20 turnovers and cold shooting in the second half snapped Colorado's five-year run of winning its conference home opener. Colorado scored just 21 points in the second half, shooting 29 percent from the field and 56 percent from the foul line in the final 20 minutes.

The loss snapped a 30-game home winning streak for the Buffaloes when holding their opponent to 60 points or less dating back to a 56-54 setback to Utah on Jan. 8, 2016.

Colorado followed a win with a loss for the fourth time this season. The Buffaloes haven't put together back-to-back wins since the final game of the 2021-22 regular season (at Utah) and quarterfinal of the Pac-12 Tournament (Oregon) – a span of 10 contests.

Colorado is averaging 72.4 points per game, ranking fourth in the Pac-12. The Buffaloes are shooting 42 percent from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range. Colorado is allowing 68.3 points per game, ranking second-to-last in the Pac-12. Opponents are shooting just above 40 percent. Colorado is second in the Pac-12 in steals, recording nearly nine per contest.

Sophomore KJ Simpson leads Colorado at 16.6 points, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He paced the Buffaloes at the Myrtle Beach Invitational at 19.0 points with a team-best total of 19 rebounds (6.3 rpg).

Simpson logged career highs in points (30), field goals made (11) and steals (6) against Texas A&M. It was the first 30-point game for the Buffaloes since McKinley Wright IV had 30 against South Dakota State on Dec. 15, 2017. His six steals are the most by a Buff since Tyler Bey had six against UC Irvine, exactly three years ago on Nov. 18, 2019. The six steals set a Myrtle Beach Invitational single-game record.

On the Pac-12 charts Simpson is fifth in steals, sixth in scoring, ninth in defensive rebounds (4.8 drpg), 10th in assists and 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2).

Junior forward Tristan da Silva is averaging 11.9 points while shooting 49 percent from the field. Da Silva had a career-high eight rebounds and matched a personal-best two blocks, along with 10 points, against Arizona State.

Da Silva led Colorado against Yale with a season-high 20 points, the second 20-point game of his career. Da Silva averaged 11.7 points and shot an even 50 percent (14-28) at the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

Junior J'Vonne Hadley leads the Buffaloes and ranks third in Pac-12 in rebounding (7.8 rpg). Hadley tops CU in field goal shooting at 52.3 percent while averaging 9.7 points per game. He returned to the lineup against Yale after missing two games with a shoulder injury, coming off the bench to score 13 points. He has made 8 of 10 from the field since his return.

Hadley leads the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds at 3.5 per game.

Graduate senior Jalen Gabbidon is averaging 7.6 points while ranking second on the team in steals with 10. The Yale graduate has started the last four games. He had two points against his former team, and they were huge. Yale had the ball down three with five seconds left, but Gabbidon stole the ball, was fouled, and clinched the game at the line. Gabbidon is tied for 13th in the Pac-12 in steals at 1.3 per game.

Sophomore Lawson Lovering leads Colorado in blocks (nine) while ranking third in assists (13) and rebounding (4.3 rpg). Lovering recorded a career-high and matched a team season-best with three blocked shots against Yale. He had a block in each of the first seven games this season but it was his first time with multiple blocks in any one contest. On the Pac-12 charts, Lovering is 12th in offensive rebounds (2.0 orpg).

Lovering averaged 4.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists at the Myrtle Beach Invitational He dished out a career-best four assists against Texas A&M, one better than his previous-best three a day earlier against UMass. Lovering has made 6-of-10 from the field after making just 2-of-11 in his first three games.

Graduate senior Ethan Wright is averaging 6.1 points, hitting a team-best 50 percent from 3-point range (10-20). Wright recorded CU highs with 15 points, hitting 5-of-6 from 3-point range against Texas A&M.

After a 3-for-8 start from downtown, Wright has made 10-of-18 from long range over the last five games. He hit at least five 3-pointers for the fourth time in his career. Wright has two games with seven 3-pointers made, both for Princeton during the 2021-22 season. Wright is third in 3-point shooting on the league leaderboard.

Nique Clifford is averaging 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds while ranking second on the team in assists with 14.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES: Washington is 6-2 overall and 0-1 in the Pac-12. Similar to Colorado, the Huskies were edged by one point in their opener, falling 66-65 at Oregon State. Washington's defense has been strong, holding opponents to 64 points per game on 38.7 shooting. Only one opponent - Cal Baptist - has reached 70 points against Washington this season. The Huskies are third in the Pac-12 in scoring defense and 3-point defense (.259) and second in blocked shots (6.4 bpg). Offensively, Washington averages 69.8 points while shooting 44 percent from the field.

Senior forward Keion Brooks, Jr., leads Washington at 17.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, ranking in the top six in the Pac-12 in both categories. Freshman guard Keyon Menifield averages 9.9 points and has a team-best 12 3-point field goals, primarily off the bench. Junior center Franck Kepnang averages 9.0 points and 6.3 rebounds and ranks third in the Pac-12 at 1.9 blocks per game.

SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 34th meeting between Colorado and Washington with the Huskies holding an 19-14 advantage. The teams split their series last year with both winning at home. Washington has won 13 of 15 all-time meetings in Seattle, including the last six. Colorado's last win at Alaska Airlines arena was a 64-47 decision on Mar. 5, 2015.

NONCONFERENCE NUMBERS: Colorado is 114-37 (.755) in nonconference regular season games under head coach Tad Boyle including a 67-20 mark (.770) since the beginning of the 2014-15 season.

Colorado is 84-7 (.923) in nonconference home games under Boyle, a record which includes a 6-1 mark in postseason action.

BOYLE COUNTDOWN: Head coach Tad Boyle, in his 13th season has 258 wins at Colorado, three behind Sox Walseth for the most in program history. Walseth was 261-245 in 20 seasons (1956-76).

Boyle-led teams own nine of the 13 20-win seasons in team history, the top five single-season win totals and six of the top seven. With a record of 258-158 at CU, his 61.9 winning percentage is second all-time just behind Forrest "Frosty" Cox at 62.3 from 1936-50.

Boyle has 110 Pac-12 regular season wins, tying California's Ben Braun (1997-08) for 19th in conference history.

LEADERS OF THE PAC: Colorado is tied for the second-most wins (81) and tied for the fourth-best winning percentage (.669) among Pac-12 teams since February 2019. Colorado was 12-4 over the final two months of the 2018-19 season, culminating in a spot in the NIT Quarterfinals. The Buffaloes were 21-11 in 2019-20, well in line for an NCAA Tournament bid before the season was shut down on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Colorado was 23-9 in 2020-21, tying for the third best win total in team history and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Buffaloes were 21-12 in 2021-22, logging their fourth-straight 20-win season.

Pac-12 Overall Records Since Feb. 1, 2019 (through Dec. 1)
   W   L   Pct.
Arizona   80   32   .714
USC   82   36   .695
Oregon   81   37   .686
Colorado   81   40   .669
UCLA   79   39   .669
Arizona State   60   49   .550
Stanford   58   52   .527
Washington State   57   56   .504
Utah   52   55   .486
Washington   53   60   .469
Oregon State   50   63   .442
California   37   74   .333

GOLD STANDARD: Colorado had a rare hiccup against Arizona State while meeting the program's "Gold Standard" of holding an opponent to 40 percent or less from the field and having a plus-8 rebounding edge. The Buffaloes 60-59 to ASU despite holding the Sun Devils to 39.3 percent shooting and enjoying a plus-13 edge on the boards (47-34).

Colorado is now 82-6 in the Boyle era hitting those two numbers, 1-1 this season.

Against Tennessee, Colorado held Tennessee to 25.4 percent shooting while outrebounding the Vols by nine (47-38).

Tennessee's 25.4 percent shooting was the lowest by a CU opponent since Utah shot just 22.6 percent against the Buffaloes on Dec. 31, 2011 – the program's first Pac-12 game.

PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore guard KJ Simpson was named the Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his efforts during the league's opening week, the conference office announced on Nov. 14. Simpson averaged 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in three games last week. He shot 41 percent from the field (17-42) and 72 percent from the free throw line (13-18).

Simpson recorded his first career double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Tennessee on Nov. 13. Both figures were career highs for Simpson as was his seven field goals made. Coming off the bench, he had 15 points, seven rebounds and hit 7 of 9 free throws in the second half alone.

Simpson also led the Buffaloes in the Grambling State game, on Nov. 11, with 16 points and a season-high four assists. He scored 14 points on 50 percent shooting (5-10), with three assists and two steals in the opener against UC Riverside on Nov. 7.

The Player of the Week honor is the first for Simpson, and first for Colorado since McKinley Wright IV on March 1, 2021, his last of four that season. Simpson was a two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week in 2021-22.

AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Colorado is 2-0 against ranked teams in 2022-23, defeating No. 11 Tennessee, 78-66, on Nov. 13, and No. 24 Texas A&M, 103-75, on Nov. 18.

Colorado's win over No. 24 Texas A&M gives the Buffaloes two wins over ranked teams away from home for the first time since 2012-13.It marked the first time since 2016-17 that the Buffaloes have won their first two games of a season against ranked opponents.

Colorado's win over the No. 11/11 ranked Vols is its first against a ranked opponent away from Boulder since the Buffaloes beat No. 13/12 Dayton, in Chicago, on Dec. 21, 2019. It's the highest ranked team the Buffaloes have defeated away from Boulder since the 92-88 overtime win over No. 6 Missouri in the quarterfinals of the 1990 Big Eight Tournament in Kansas City.

Colorado's 25 wins over ranked opponents in the Tad Boyle era is by far the best in team history. In fact Boyle coached teams, with a record of 25-42, have accounted for 36 percent of wins over ranked opponents (69) since 1949-50.

EARLIEST TWO RANKED OPPONENTS IN 49 YEARS: With Colorado's matchup against No. 24 (AP) Texas A&M, the Buffaloes will face two ranked opponents within the first five games of the season for the first time since Dec. 3&5, 1973. Both of those contests happened in Boulder, with Colorado dropping a 91-76 decision to No. 15 Arizona in the second game of the season on Dec. 3, 1973 and then rebounding two days later with a 73-71 decision over No. 12 Long Beach State.

Colorado entered the Myrtle Beach Invitational coming off a 78-66 win over No. 11 (AP & Coaches) Tennessee in Nashville on Nov. 13.

One more recent season came close to that span. On Nov. 26-27, 1998, Colorado played No. 4 Kentucky (L, 52-64) and No. 10 Xavier (L, 64-74) in San Juan, P.R. in games No. 5 & 6 of that young season.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION VS A&M: Colorado's 103 points scored against Texas A&M set a Myrtle Beach Invitational single-game record. Overall for the Buffaloes, it's the most points, in regulation, since scoring 104 against Longwood on Dec. 19, 2010. CU had 112 points in a double-overtime win over South Dakota State on Dec. 15, 2017.

Colorado's 103 points are its most against a ranked opponent and the 28-point margin of victory is CU's highest against a ranked opponent. It's the largest margin of victory by any Pac-12 school over a ranked SEC opponent since the 1980-81 season.

Colorado's 16 3-point field goals tied for the third most in one game. It's the fourth time the Buffs have hit 16, last done against Arizona in the 2022 Pac-12 semifinals.

Colorado shot 57.6 percent from the field, its best mark since the Buffaloes hit 60.7 percent against Georgetown in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

RIGHT AT HOME: At the CU Events Center, the Buffaloes have won:
   - 2 of 3 in 2022-23 (2-1)
   - 19 of their last 26 (19-7)
   - 25 of their last 33 (25-8)
    - 38 of 49 (38-11)
   - 53 of 66 (53-13)
   - 65 of 81 (65-16)
   - 86 of 106 (86-20)
   - 96 of 117 (96-21)

In the Tad Boyle era, Colorado is 166-35 at home (.826). The Buffaloes are 479-186 (.721) all-time at the CUEC. The Buffaloes, 12-6 at the CUEC in 2021-22, have won at least 10 games at home each of the last 13 seasons.

SUCCESS ON THE ROAD: Colorado has a 35-29 record in games away from Boulder since February 2019; 18-21 on the road and 17-8 at neutral sites. Colorado was 9-6 away from home in 2021-22; 6-4 in true road games and 3-2 at neutral sites.

ROAD RARITY: Colorado opened the 2021-22 season at the friendly confines of the CU Events Center with a win over UC Riverside on Nov. 7, but then ventured on a 12-day, 5-game road trip.

The last time the Buffaloes endured a string where five of the first six games in a season were played away from home, was in 1955-56. Coming off its second NCAA Final Four, Colorado played eight of its first nine away from home.

The Buffaloes opened with wins at future conference foes Oregon State and Oregon then returned home for a rematch of the 1955 NCAA Third Place game where the Buffaloes were victorious again with a 60-57 win over Iowa. Colorado then had back-to-back road games at BYU and another at Colorado State before finishing off with three games at the Big Seven Christmas Tournament in Kansas City. The Buffaloes were 4-5 during that nine-game stretch.

Colorado does have a recent string of five-straight away from home. During the 2020-21 COVID-19 scheduling shuffles, the Buffaloes played neutral games in Las Vegas against Washington and Grand Canyon (Dec. 20 & 22) and then started the Pac-12 season at Arizona, USC and UCLA (Dec. 28-Jan. 2) going 3-2 in that span.

PAC-12/SWAC LEGACY SERIES: The Colorado-Grambling State game was part of the Pac-12 Conference/Southwest Athletic Conference Legacy Series, an educational and basketball scheduling partnership between the two leagues.

The 2022 edition features six men's and six women's Pac-12 programs beginning a home-and-home series with SWAC institutions. The series began with the Oregon men hosting Florida A&M on Nov. 7, an 80-45 victory for the Ducks.

Colorado was the first to be a road opponent as the Buffaloes visited Grambling State and marked Tigers have hosted a Power 5 opponent in their history. Grambling will make a return visit to Boulder in 2023-24.

The morning of the game, Colorado will toured the Eddie G. Robinson museum near the Grambling campus. The museum is a landmark dedicated to recognizing the contributions of the school's legendary football coach as a source of education and inspiration.

For more information visit: pac12.me/Legacy-Series.

OPENERS: Colorado improved to 85-35 (.708) in all-time season openers and has won its last seven. The Buffaloes are 11-2 under head coach Tad Boyle and 38-5 in overall season openers since 1980-81.

The Buffaloes are 96-24 (.800) all-time in home openers, have won their last 15 and 21 of their last 22. Boyle's teams are 13-0 in home openers.

BUFFS SIGN ELITE TRIO: Cody Williams, Courtney Anderson and Assane Diop have signed National Letters of Intent continue their education and play basketball at Colorado. Williams and Anderson signed on Nov. 9, the first day of the NCAA Early Signing Period. Diop signed on Nov. 15.

Williams, a 6-foot, 8-inch, 180-point small forward from Gilbert, Ariz., is a five-star recruit, ranked as the No. 21 overall prospect in the nation by 247Sports. Anderson, a 6-5, 180-pound guard from Vallejo, Calif., is ranked as the 31st best shooting guard in the nation by that same service. Diop, a 6-10, 200-pound do-it-all forward is a consensus Top 100 pick and the second-ranked recruit in the state of Colorado.

Heading into his senior year at Perry High School, Williams is the highest ranked, and first five-star, recruit in the Boyle era. He is the Buffaloes' first five-star prospect, and highest rated, since McDonald's All-American David Harrison was listed as the 10th best player in the nation by Rivals in 2001.

Williams, the younger brother of Jalen Williams, the 12th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft by Oklahoma City, is No. 14 in ESPN's Top 100. He played for the Vegas Elite in the EYBL this summer, averaging 15 points and four rebounds on that circuit.

Anderson was a San Francisco Chronicle All-Metro pick and All-Bay Area as a junior at Dublin High School. The All-East Bay Athletic League pick averaged 20.1 points and nearly five rebounds a game, helping the Gaels to an 8-1 league record and a spot in the North Coast Section Open Division tournament.

Anderson is rated as a three-star guard by Rivals and the 18th best player in the state of California by ESPN. He is the son of former NFL tight end, Courtney Sr.

A native of Senegal, Diop has lived in Colorado the last three years, moving to the United States to pursue basketball and educational opportunities. He is currently preparing for his senior season at Accelerated Prep, a private basketball program associated with Accelerated Schools of Denver. Diop is rated No. 56 overall in the ESPN Top100 and 10th best at his position. He is ranked No. 91 in the nation according to 247Sports Composite Rankings and the 12th-best post player in the nation. Diop is in the No. 110 position according to Rivals.

Diop helped Wesminster's Belleview Christian to the Colorado Class 1A State Championship as a sophomore in 2020-21. Diop spent his junior season at Denver Prep Academy, playing on The Grind Session, a national-travel basketball circuit, averaging eight points and nearly nine rebounds per game.

With Diop's signing, Colorado has the 15th best class in the nation according to 247Sports and the 19th best on Rivals' list.

PRESEASON AWARDS/POLLS: Junior forward Tristan da Silva was named to the 2022-23 men's basketball Preseason All-Pac-12 Conference Second Team, voted on by media members who cover the league on Oct. 24.

In addition, sophomore guard KJ Simpson earned honorable mention, receiving at least eight media member votes.

A 6-foot, 9-inch forward from Munich, Germany, da Silva is Colorado's leading returning scorer from a year ago at 9.4 points per game. He ranked second on the team in field goal shooting (.479) and free throw percentage (.797), third in assists (61) and fourth in scoring and rebounding (3.5 rpg). During conference games, da Silva ranked third in 3-point percentage (.477), sixth in free throw percentage (.822) and ninth in overall field goal shooting (.525) on the league leaderboard.

Da Silva was one of five players on the Preseason All-Pac-12 Second Team. There are 10 players on the first team.

Simpson, a 6-2 guard from West Hills, Calif., was an All-Pac-12 Freshman Team selection in 2021-22 after averaging 7.4 points per game and leading the Buffaloes in assists (86) and steals (26). His 86 assists tied for the eighth most in a season by a CU freshman.

The Buffaloes, coming off their fourth-straight 20-win season, were picked to finish sixth in the annual Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll with 207 points. UCLA was the favorite with 386 points and 26 of 33 first place votes. Arizona was second (352) and Oregon was third (336) with those teams recording three first place votes each. USC was fourth (300) and Stanford was fifth (239) along with one first place vote.

Arizona State was picked seventh (193), followed by Washington State (185), Washington (158), Utah (102), California (69) and Oregon State (47).

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Players Mentioned

Nique Clifford

Tristan da Silva

Jalen Gabbidon

J'Vonne Hadley

Lawson Lovering

KJ Simpson

Ethan Wright