Buffs Begin Three-Game Road Swing At Utah Saturday

THE SEASON: Colorado is 14-11 overall and in seventh place in the Pac-12 Conference at 6-8 after gaining a sweep of the Bay Area schools at home last week. The Buffaloes cruised to a pair of double-digit wins, taking down California 59-46 on Feb. 2 and then Stanford, 84-62, on Feb. 5.

Colorado's 84 points against the Cardinal marked its most in a conference game this season and the most since scoring 86 against Southern Utah on Dec. 21. The Buffaloes opened the second half of that game on a 16-0 run, its longest run of the season. The Buffaloes improved to 82-5 in the Tad Boyle era (since 2010-11) when scoring at least 84 points. Colorado shot 52.7 percent against the Cardinal and a season-best 94.4 percent from the line (17-18).

The Buffaloes will look to flip the script on the road, having dropped their last five and are just 1-7 in true road games this season. Colorado is averaging 65.3 points per game on the road compared to 73.8 at home. The Buffaloes are shooting 40.4 percent on the road compared to 47.1 percent at home. Colorado has allowed 72.1 points on the road while the hosts are shooting 45.7 percent. At home, the Buffaloes have held opponents to 60.7 points on 40.7 percent shooting.

On the Pac-12 leaderboard, Colorado is second in steals (8.2), rebounding margin (+4.9) and offensive rebounds (11.7 orpg), third in scoring defense (65.6 ppg), turnover margin (+0.8) and rebounding (37.8 rpg), fourth in scoring (71.2 ppg), scoring margin (+5.6) and defensive rebounds (26.1 drpg) and fifth in field goal percentage (.442) and rebounding defense (32.9 rpg)

Colorado has allowed just 62.5 points during conference play, ranking third on the league charts. Colorado held California to 46 points, tying for the fourth-fewest by the Buffaloes against a conference opponent in the Pac-12 era. The Buffs have held five conference opponents to 46 or fewer in the Pac-12 era, three have come this season.
46 Points Or Fewer Allowed In Pac-12 Games
Date - Opponent, Result
12/31/2011 – vs. Utah, W 73-33
3/4/2017 – vs. California, W, 54-46
1/5/2023 – vs. Oregon, W 68-41
1/7/2023 – vs. Oregon State, W, 62-42
2/2/2023 – vs. California, W, 59-46

Junior forward Tristan da Silva leads Colorado at 16.5 points per game on 52.6 percent shooting from the field while averaging 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals an outing. He is the second-leading scorer in the Pac-12 since Jan. 1, averaging 20.4 points over that 10-game span.

Da Silva had 25 points in the win over Stanford, hitting the 20-point mark for the fifth-straight game; the first by a Buffalo since Josh Scott had five in a row from Dec. 2-19, 2015.

He 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 is averaging 23.4 points over the last five games. During that same span he has hit 58.7 percent from the field (44 for 75) and 60.9 percent from 3-point range (14 of 23). He has 10 games of 20-plus points this season, the most since Derrick White had 15 in 2016-17.

On the Pac-12 charts, da Silva is third in 3-point percentage (.429), fourth in scoring, ninth in steals, 10th in overall shooting and 14th in defensive rebounds (4.0 drpg). He tops the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting during conference games at 46.2 percent (24-52).

Sophomore KJ Simpson leads Colorado in assists (89) and steals (34) and is second in scoring at 16.3 points per game. He had 21 points against Stanford; his seventh 20-point effort of the season and first in nine games.

Against the Cardinal, Simpson hit all 11 free throw attempts, a career-high and the best by any Pac-12 player this season. It's the best performance by a Buffalo since McKinley Wright IV went 11 for 11 against Washington State on Jan. 27, 2021. He has made his last 14 attempts from the line spanning three games.

On the Pac-12 charts Simpson is sixth in free throw percentage (.817) and scoring, seventh in assists and 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.

Sophomore Lawson Lovering leads Colorado in blocks (22) while ranking third in rebounding (4.5 rpg). He had four points and led the Buffaloes with eight rebounds against Stanford. Lovering has made 25 of 42 (.595) from the field during conference play.

Lovering recorded his first double-double with a career-high 13 points and a team season-high 14 rebounds at USC. He is 12th in blocked shots (0.9 bpg) in the Pac-12.

Nique Clifford is averaging 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds while ranking second on the team in blocks (17), third in assists (38) and fourth in steals (21). He had eight point, hitting a pair of 3-pointers, against Stanford.

Graduate senior Jalen Gabbidon is averaging 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. He made his sixth start of the season, pitching in five points against Stanford. Fellow graduate senior Ethan Wright scored seven points against Stanford, his most in a Pac-12 game.

Julian Hammond III is averaging 6.1 points and is second on the team in assists with 48. 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.

Luke O'Brien is averaging 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He leads Colorado in rebounding in Pac-12 play at 5.6 per game, which also ranks 16th on the league leaderboard. He had a game-high seven rebounds against California and has led the Buffaloes in that category in three of the last five games. O'Brien had nine points on a perfect 3 of 3 from 3-point range against Stanford.5

Javon Ruffin is averaging 5.5 points and is third on the team in 3-point percentage (.345) and 3-pointers made (19). He returned to the lineup against California, after missing the previous four games with a knee injury.

ABOUT THE UTES: Utah is 16-9 overall and fourth in the Pac-12 at 9-5. The Utes have dropped two of their last three after splitting with the Bay Area schools last week. Utah averages 70.4 points per game, hitting 44.2 percent from the field. The Utes are the best field goal defense team in the Pac-12 allowing teams just 38 percent and boast the second-best scoring defense at just 61.8 points per game. Utah has the second-best rebounding offense in the league at 39.3 per game.

Senior center Branden Carlson leads Utah at 16.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game while hitting 53 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Lazar Stefanovic averages 10.6 points and leads the Utes in steals with 30. Junior guard Rollie Worster tops Utah in assists (130) while averaging 9.0 points per game.

SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 58th meeting between Colorado and Utah with the Buffaloes holding a 32-25 edge. The Buffaloes have won two-straight and five of the last seven. Utah holds a 17-10 lead in Salt Lake City, but the Buffaloes have won the last two.

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Players Mentioned

Nique Clifford

Tristan da Silva

Jalen Gabbidon

Julian Hammond III

Lawson Lovering

Luke O'Brien

Javon Ruffin

KJ Simpson

Ethan Wright