Colorado Faces No. 7/6 UCLA Saturday

THE SEASON: Colorado is 11-7 overall and 3-4 in the Pac-12 Conference after falling to USC 68-61 on Jan. 12. The Buffaloes saw a two-game winning streak come to an end, but overall have won seven of their last nine overall.

Colorado has won at least one game on each of its last eight multi-game Pac-12 road trips and will need a win against a Top 10 UCLA team to keep that streak alive. The Buffaloes have dropped three of four Pac-12 road contests this season.

On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Colorado is second in steals (8.1 spg), offensive rebounds (11.5 orpg) and rebounding margin (+5.9), third in scoring (74.1 ppg) and turnover margin (+0.4), fourth in defensive rebounds (27.5 drpg) and overall rebounds (39.0 rpg) and fifth in field goal shooting (.454), 3-point percentage (.324), 3-pointers made (6.7 3mpg), assists (14.1 apg) and scoring margin (+7.4).

Sophomore KJ Simpson leads Colorado at 17.8 points and 3.9 assists per game. He also tops the Buffaloes in field goals (107), 3-pointers (31) and free throws made (58).

Simpson had 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting at USC, leading the Buffaloes in scoring for the 10th time this season. He has scored in double figures in 16 of his 17 games in 2022-23. The lone scoring effort was six against Oregon State, but in that game he tied a career and team-season high with six assists and grabbed seven rebounds.

On the Pac-12 charts Simpson is second in scoring, seventh in assists, eighth in free throw shooting (.784), ninth in steals (1.4 spg) and 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4).

Junior forward Tristan da Silva is averaging 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 52.5 percent from the field, leading the team in thefts and ranking second in the other three categories.

Da Silva earned his first Pac-12 Player of the Week honor on Jan. 9, averaging 23.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 assists during the home sweep of the Oregon schools. He shot 66.7 percent from the field (18-27), including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, and 70 percent from the free throw line (7-10).

Da Silva scored a career-high 30 points in the win over Oregon, hitting 11 of 18 from the field, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. His field goals tied career-highs with 11 field goals as did his seven free throw attempts (5 of 7) and three steals. He had 17 points, on 7 of 10 shooting, five rebounds and a pair of steals against Oregon State.

On the Pac-12 charts, da Silva is seventh in steals (1.5 spg), ninth in scoring, 13th in overall shooting and 15th in defensive rebounds (4.1 drpg).

Junior J'Vonne Hadley leads the Buffaloes in rebounding (6.2 rpg) and field goal shooting (.556) while averaging 8.9 points per game. He dished out a career-best four assists at USC. Hadley registered career-highs with 17 points on eight field goals made at California. He is shooting 65 percent over the last four games (15-23).

On the Pac-12 charts, he is fifth in offensive boards (2.5 orpg), eighth in field goal percentage and 13th in overall rebounding.

Sophomore Lawson Lovering leads Colorado in blocks (19) while ranking third in rebounding (4.5 rpg). Lovering recorded his first double-double with a career-high 13 points and a team season-high 14 rebounds at USC. He had just eight points and seven rebounds in the previous three games combined. He has made 15 of 26 (.577) from the field in conference play.

Lovering is 11th in the Pac-12 in blocks at 1.1 per game.

Nique Clifford is averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds while ranking third on the team in assists with 32. Clifford had 12 points, four rebounds in the win over Oregon.

Julian Hammond III is averaging 6.4 points and is second on the team in assists with 35. Starting for the first time this season, Hammond responded with a career-high 16 points against Oregon.

Luke O'Brien is averaging 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. O'Brien averaged 10.0 rebounds over the Oregon home stand including a career and team season-high 11 against the Ducks.

O'Brien is averaging a team-best 5.7 rebounds during conference play, ranking 15th among all league players. He had a season-high 12 points at Stanford, hitting on all three of his 3-point attempts.

O'Brien is shooting 19 of 38 (.500) over the last seven games.

Javon Ruffin is averaging 5.6 points and has the team's best 3-point percentage (.388). He had 12 points at USC and tied personal-bests with five rebounds and three 3-pointers made. Ruffin is 10th in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage.

ABOUT THE BRUINS: No. 7 (AP) UCLA is 15-2 overall and leads the Pac-12 at 6-0. The Bruins are on a 12-game winning streak overall and are a perfect 10-0 at home this season. UCLA averages 77.2 points per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field. The Bruins are the top 3-point shooting team in the Pac-12 at 37.1 percent. Defensively, UCLA allows a league-low 60.1 points per game. The Bruins also top the Pac-12 in steals (8.5 spg) and turnover margin (+6.9).

Senior Jaime Jaquez, Jr., leads UCLA at 16.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 51 percent from the field. Jaylen Clark averages 14.0 points and leads the Pac-12 in steals at 2.6 per game. Tyger Campbell averages 13.5 points and is sixth in the Pac-12 in assists at 4.8 per game. David Singleton averages 10.4 points and shoots 47.4 percent from 3-point range.

SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 24th meeting between Colorado and UCLA with the Bruins holding a 16-7 advantage. UCLA swept the home and home last season and has won five of the last six overall. UCLA holds an 11-2 advantage in Los Angeles and has won the last three at Pauley Pavilion. Colorado's two wins in Los Angeles came in back-to-back seasons in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

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.

Players Mentioned

Nique Clifford

Tristan da Silva

J'Vonne Hadley

Julian Hammond III

Lawson Lovering

Luke O'Brien

Javon Ruffin

KJ Simpson

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