Colorado Hosts Colorado State Thursday

TOY DRIVE: Colorado Athletics will be hosting a Toy Drive, presented by Anthem, prior to the men's basketball game vs. Colorado State. Fans are encouraged to bring an unwrapped, new toy that will benefit the organization A Precious Child and its Precious Gift program. CU student-athletes and staff will attend to collection bins which will be located at each entrance.

THE SEASON: Colorado is 4-5 overall returning to finish off nonconference play with four-straight home games. The Buffaloes began their Pac-12 Conference schedule last week, dropping consecutive games to Arizona State at home, 60-59 on Dec. 1, and at Washington, 73-63 on Dec. 4, to open 0-2 in league action for the first time in four years.

Colorado is averaging 71.3 points per game while shooting 42.5 percent from the field. The Buffaloes have been held under 70 points in the four games since their 103-point offensive explosion against Texas A&M. Colorado leads the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds at 12.4 per game and is fourth on the league charts in overall rebounding at 39.3 an outing and fifth in assists at 13.9 per game. Defensively, the Buffaloes have held their opponents to 68.8 points on 41.3 percent shooting. Colorado leads the Pac-12 in steals at 8.3 per game.

Sophomore KJ Simpson leads Colorado at 16.2 points, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He also tops the Buffaloes in field goals (52), 3-pointers (18) and free throws made (24).

Simpson paced the Buffaloes at the Myrtle Beach Invitational at 19.0 points per game with a team-best total of 19 rebounds (6.3 rpg). He 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 sixth in scoring, eighth in steals, ninth in assists, 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and 14th in defensive rebounds (4.4 drpg).

Junior forward Tristan da Silva is averaging 12.0 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field. He bumped his rebounding up to 6.0 per game in the two Pac-12 contests. 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 fourth in Pac-12 in rebounding (7.3 rpg). Hadley tops CU in field goal shooting at 55.6 percent while averaging 10.4 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 15 of 20 from the field since his return. Hadley led the Buffaloes at Washington with 15 points and a career-best seven field goals made.

Hadley leads the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds (3.3 orpg) while ranking 12th in steals (1.4) and field goal percentage.

Graduate senior Jalen Gabbidon is averaging 7.0 points while ranking second on the team in steals with 10. The Yale graduate 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.

Sophomore Lawson Lovering leads Colorado in blocks (nine) while ranking fourth in assists (13) and rebounding (4.1 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 13 in blocked shots and offensive rebounds (1.9 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 8-of-14 from the field after making just 2-of-11 in his first three games.

Graduate senior Ethan Wright is averaging 5.4 points, leading the Buffaloes and ranking sixth in the Pac-12 by shooting 43.5 percent from 3-point range (10-23). 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-21 from long range over the last six 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 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds while ranking third on the team in assists with 15.

ABOUT THE RAMS: Colorado State is 6-3 overall, dropping three of its last five after a 4-0 start. The Rams are coming off a 88-83 setback against Northern Colorado that snapped a nine-game home winning streak. Colorado State averages 76.1 points per game and ranks 20th in the nation in field goal shooting at 49.6 percent. The Rams are even better passing the ball, ranking fifth in NCAA Division I in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.76) and 19th in assists per game (17.6). Defensively, Colorado State allows 64.8 points on 40.3 percent from the field.

Senior guard Isaiah Stevens, who missed the team's first seven games with an injury, has returned to average 16.5 points on 50 percent shooting over the last two games. In all the Rams have four that average double-digit scoring. Senior guard John Tonje averages 15.0 points while leading CSU in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and 3-pointers made (17). Graduate forward Patrick Cartier averages 12.0 points and is coming off a 23-point game against UNC where he shot 10-of-15 from the field. Junior guard Isaiah Rivera averages 11.9 points while shooting 48 percent from 3-point range.

SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 130th meeting between Colorado and Colorado State with the Buffaloes holding a commanding 91-38 series lead. The 91 wins over CSU are the most by the Buffaloes against any one opponent. Colorado holds a 54-9 record in Boulder.

The series resumes for the first time in three years as the teams last met on Dec. 13, 2019, a 56-48 CU win in Fort Collins. It's the longest stretch between games in three decades when there was also a two-year break in the series during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons.

The current break was more a matter of circumstance. The teams were scheduled to meet in 2020-21, but covid issues ended up canceling that contest. The programs decided not to schedule a game last season due to both teams participating in the Paradise Jam, hoping they would meet there (which did not happen).

RIVALRY RARITY: With no home-grown seniors, it will be the first time since 1979 where Colorado enters the CSU game without having a player on its roster that had played in the Front Range rivalry game before. Prior to the Dec. 21, 1979 contest - a 96-82 CU win in Boulder - the teams hadn't met in 10 years; the first round of the 1969 NCAA Tournament.

The same distinction can't be said for Colorado State however. Current CSU seniors Isaiah Stevens and John Tonje played, as freshmen, in last meeting in Fort Collins in 2019. Stevens started and had a team-best 10 points. Tonje had a rebound and assist in nine minutes off the bench as Colorado claimed the 56-48 decision.

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 258-160 at CU, his 61.7 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.

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Players Mentioned

Nique Clifford

Tristan da Silva

Jalen Gabbidon

J'Vonne Hadley

Lawson Lovering

KJ Simpson

Ethan Wright