Buffaloes Set To Host California Thursday

THE SEASON: Colorado is 12-11 overall and 4-8 in the Pac-12 Conference after being swept on the road at the Oregon schools last week. The Buffaloes fell at Oregon, 75-69, on Jan. 26 and then at Oregon State, 60-52, on Jan. 28. Colorado has lost five of its last six games overall and is 1-7 on the road this season.

Colorado will finish the regular season with five of its last eight at the CU Events Center where the Buffaloes are 9-2 this season. Colorado is averaging 74.3 points at home, 9.0 points per game more than on the road (65.3 ppg). The Buffaloes have enjoyed a plus-12.4 scoring margin at home. Colorado is shooting 47.4 percent at home, compared to 40.4 percent in road games. The Buffaloes are holding opponents to 61.9 points on 40.8 percent from the field at home compared to 72.1 points and 45.7 percent in road contests.

On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Colorado is second in steals (8.1) and offensive rebounds (11.8 orpg), third in rebound margin (+4.7) and turnover margin (+0.5), fourth in overall rebounds (38.0 rpg) and defensive boards (26.3 drpg) and fifth in scoring (71.2 ppg), scoring margin (+4.6) and rebounding defense (33.4 rpg)

Sophomore KJ Simpson leads Colorado at 16.3 points and 3.7 assists per game. He also tops the Buffaloes in free throws made (76) and is tied for the top spot in 3-pointers made (33) and steals (31).

On the Pac-12 charts Simpson is fourth in scoring, sixth in free throw percentage, seventh in assists, eighth in steals and 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio. He is the only player in the Pac-12 to rank in the Top 10 in all five of those categories.

Junior forward Tristan da Silva is averaging 16.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 52.0 percent from the field. He has the most overall points for the Buffs at 368 (nine more than Simpson, but in one more game) and is tied for the team lead in 3-point field goals (33) and steals. Da Silva is second on the team in shooting and rebounds. He leads the Buffaloes in scoring during conference games at 16.4 points an outing.

Da Silva had 22 points and a career and team season-high 15 rebounds at Oregon State, recording his second career double-double. He also had personal-bests in 3-pointers made and attempted, hitting 4 of 8 from long range. Da Silva led Colorado at Oregon with 23 points, hitting 8 of 14 from the field and a perfect 3 of 3 from 3-point range.

Da Silva is averaging 24.0 points over the last three games. The games at Oregon and Oregon State accounted for his eighth and ninth 20-point efforts of his career and first two away from Boulder.

On the Pac-12 charts, da Silva is fifth in 3-point percentage (.407), seventh in scoring, ninth in steals, 11th in shooting, 14th in defensive rebounds (4.2 drpg) and 19th in overall rebounding.

Junior J'Vonne Hadley leads the Buffaloes in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and shooting (.525) and is third in steals (24) and scoring at 8.3 points per game. Hadley had 11 points on a perfect 5 of 5 from the field at Oregon
State.

On the Pac-12 charts, he is fourth in offensive boards (2.5 orpg), 10th in shooting and 13th in steals (1.2 spg) and overall rebounds.

Sophomore Lawson Lovering leads Colorado in blocks (20) while ranking fourth in rebounding (4.4 rpg). Lovering recorded his first double-double with a career-high 13 points and a team season-high 14 rebounds at USC. He has made 21 of 34 (.618) from the field in conference play.

Lovering is 12th in blocked shots (0.9 bpg) and 15th in offensive rebounds (1.9 orpg) in the Pac-12.

Nique Clifford is averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds while ranking third on the team in assists with 37. Clifford had a career high 17 points hitting 7 of 11 from the field at Oregon. He tied personal-bests with his seven field goals made and with three steals.

Julian Hammond III is averaging 6.3 points and is second on the team in assists with 43. He scored a personal-high 18 points against Washington, leading the Buffaloes in scoring for the first time in his career. Hammond was a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line, both career-highs, and the team's season-best for free throws made without a miss.

The 18-points against Washington was his fourth game scoring in double-figures this season, all coming in the last 11 games. Hammond had a team season-best 16-straight free throws made end with his first attempt against Washington State.

Luke O'Brien is averaging 4.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He leads Colorado in rebounding in Pac-12 play at 5.5 per game, which also ranks 16th on the league leaderboard. He had a career-high 11 in the home win over Oregon.

Javon Ruffin is averaging 5.8 points and is second on the team in 3-point percentage (.365) and third in 3-pointers made (19). He had 11 points and was a career-best 7 of 7 from the free throw line at UCLA. Combined with his 12-point effort at USC, he scored in double-figures for the fourth time and first time in consecutive outings.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS: California is 3-18 overall and 2-8 in the Pac-12 after dropping a 75-46 decision at Stanford on Jan. 28. The Bears have lost five straight overall and are 0-6 on the road this season. California is averaging 60.2 points per game while shooting 41.1 percent from the field, both figures ranking last in the Pac-12. Cal is fourth in the Pac-12 in free throw accuracy at 73.4 percent. The Bears allow opponents 68.7 points on 45.6 percent from the field.

Devin Askew leads California at 15.5 points an outing but missed eight of the last 12 games and has played only once (Jan. 22 vs. Oregon State) since the beginning of the New Year. Lars Thiemann averages 10.5 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51.5 percent. Joel Brown has dished out a team-best 61 assists while averaging 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 40th meeting between Colorado and California with the Buffaloes holding a 21-18 lead. California won the first meeting of the season, 80-76 in Berkeley on Dec. 31. Overall the Buffaloes have won eight of the last 11 meetings. Colorado is 13-2 all-time against California in Boulder and has won the last five at the CU Events Center.

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Players Mentioned

Nique Clifford

Tristan da Silva

J'Vonne Hadley

Julian Hammond III

Lawson Lovering

Luke O'Brien

Javon Ruffin

KJ Simpson