Colorado
6-2,0-0Pac-12
Pepperdine
4-6,0-0WCC
Buffs Roll Past Pepperdine
December 03, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Colorado built a big early lead Sunday and never let up as the Buffaloes rebounded from a loss to Colorado State to post a 91-66 win over Pepperdine at the CU Events Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs improved to 6-2 overall — 5-0 at home — while the Waves dropped to 4-6.
Colorado put four players in double figures, with Tristan da Silva leading the Buffs with 22 points on 5-for-5 shooting. CU freshman Cody Williams had his second straight 20-point performance, finishing with 21 on 9-for-13 shooting, KJ Simpson tallied 15 points and four assists and Julian Hammond III added 10 points and four assists.
CU never trailed, jumping out to a 17-9 lead less than four minutes in, then using an 11-0 run to push the cushion into double digits. A J'Vonne Hadley bucket at the 8:02 mark pushed Colorado's lead to 38-18 and the Waves never cut the deficit below 20 again.
The Buffs dominated the stat sheet, shooting 57 percent (31-for-54) from the floor, including 7-for-13 from long range. CU held the Waves to just under 38 percent from the floor (24-for-64) and the Buffs had a 41-29 edge on the boards.
Colorado also finished with a 48-22 edge in the paint and the Buffs finished with 22 assists.
Houston Mallette led Pepperdine with 15 points while the Waves' leading scorer, Michael Ajayi, had just 13 points on 4-for-18 shooting.
"I challenged a couple of our guys I met with after the Colorado State game," Boyle said. "We had a team a couple years ago that didn't lose back-to-back games until late January, maybe February … I think this team can be that kind of team in terms of their resolve and learning from the things that we don't do well and taking that into the next game. I thought we bounced back emotionally, we bounced back with the way we played and had some really efficient offensive performances tonight and some really good defensive performances."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado led from the outset, taking a 17-12 lead less than six minutes in after a pair of offensive rebounds and buckets from Williams.
CU then put the game away over the next seven minutes as Hammond sparked a 23-6 surge to give the Buffs a 22-point lead. Hammond had seven points and three assists in the run, including a beautiful alley-oop pass to Williams for a thunderous dunk. Williams also had seven points in the run and with 7:19 to play in the half, Colorado held a 40-18 lead.
In his last four games, Williams has shot 68 percent from the floor (28-for-41) while averaging almost 18 points per game.
"We wanted to come out and be the aggressor," said Williams. "Our defense kind of dictated the game. We came out aggressive on offense, moving the ball. Just coming out with that intensity, that energy to start the game off really gets us going fast."
The Buffs didn't let up in the final minutes of the half. CU pushed its cushion to 29 points over the ensuing five minutes as da Silva caught fire. The Colorado senior had nine points over a five-minute stretch and his 3-pointer with 2:14 on the clock gave the Buffs a 29-point edge, 49-20.
The Waves did manage to cut the deficit down to 24 by halftime, but Colorado still held a comfortable 52-28 edge at the break.
The Buffs had an outstanding first half on the offensive end, shooting almost 63 percent (20-for-32), including 5-for-7 from 3-point range.
They also had a solid showing on the defensive end, holding Pepperdine leading scorer Ajayi to just 5 points on 2-for-13 shooting.
Colorado continued to dominate in the second half. The Buffs opened the period with a 10-0 run with Williams scoring five in the burst, then built their cushion to 34 when a Williams bucket gave Colorado a 64-30 edge less than two minutes into the half.
"Cody continues to get better and better every game," Boyle said. "We want him to be aggressive and get downhill."
Pepperdine never mounted anything resembling a threat for the rest of the game as the Buffs kept their lead in the 20s for the remainder of the contest.
Now, the Buffs have a week to prepare for next Sunday's game against No. 8 Miami in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
"They're a top 10 program that went to the Final Four last year," Boyle said. "They have a great coach (Jim Larrañaga) who's been around a long time. Great players. It's going to be a challenge, probably the best team we've played up to this point. Even though Colorado State was pretty darn good, I think Miami's probably a little better than they are right now. But we'll see."
TURNING POINT: Colorado used an 11-0 run early in the first half to build a double-digit lead and the Waves never threatened again.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs continue to play well at home on both ends of the floor. Now they have to figure out a way to take that consistency on the road.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado shot 57 percent (31-for-54) from the floor, including 7-for-13 from long range … CU held the Waves to just under 38 percent from the floor (24-for-64) … The Buffs had a 41-29 edge on the boards and also finished with a 48-22 edge in the paint while recording 22 assists.
NEXT UP: The Buffs head to Brooklyn next Sunday for a noon matchup with the Miami Hurricanes (ESPN2) in the NABC Brooklyn Showcase at the Barclays Center. Miami, a Final Four team last April, was ranked No. 8 in the nation heading into this week's play but could see that ranking drop slightly after a loss at Kentucky.
