Buffaloes Look For Season Sweep Sunday Against Stanford

THE SEASON: Colorado is 13-11 overall and 5-8 in the Pac-12 Conference after its 59-46 home win over California on Feb. 2. The win snapped a two-game skid and gave the Buffaloes 10 home wins (10-2 in 2022-23) for the 14th consecutive season.

Colorado will finish the regular season with four of its last seven at the CU Events Center. Colorado is averaging 73.0 points at home, nearly eight 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 46.7 percent at home, compared to 40.4 percent in road games. The Buffaloes are holding opponents to 60.6 points on 40.6 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 (8.3) and offensive rebounds (11.8 orpg), third in rebound margin (+4.5) and turnover margin (+0.9), fourth in overall rebounds (37.8 rpg) and defensive boards (26.1 drpg) and fifth in scoring defense (65.8 ppg), rebound defense (33.3 rpg) and scoring margin (+4.9).

Colorado is second in the Pac-12 in scoring defense during conference play, allowing just 62.5 points per game. 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 16.2 points per game on 52.1 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 19.9 points over that nine-game span.

Da Silva had 20 points in the win over California, hitting the 20-point mark for the fourth-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 23.0 points over the last four games. During that same span he has hit 57.4 percent from the field (35 for 61) and 57.9 percent from 3-point range (11 of 19). The games at Oregon and Oregon State accounted for his first two 20-point efforts away from Boulder.

On the Pac-12 charts, da Silva is fourth in 3-point percentage (.414), fifth in scoring, ninth in steals, 11th in shooting and 14th in defensive rebounds (4.0 drpg).

Sophomore KJ Simpson leads Colorado in assists (85) and steals (34) and is second in scoring at 16.0 points per game. He had 10 points and led the Buffaloes with four assists and three steals in the win over California.

On the Pac-12 charts Simpson is fifth in free throw percentage (.796), sixth in 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.

Junior J'Vonne Hadley leads the Buffaloes in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and shooting (.525) and is third in steals (24) and scoring at 8.0 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 eighth in offensive boards (2.4 orpg), 10th in shooting and 15th in 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 23 of 38 (.605) from the field in conference play.

Lovering is tied for 12th in blocked shots (0.9 bpg) in the Pac-12.

Nique Clifford is averaging 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds while ranking second on the team in blocks (17), third in assists (37) and fourth in steals (21).

Julian Hammond III is averaging 6.3 points and is second on the team in assists with 45. 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.

Luke O'Brien is averaging 4.7 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 four games.

Javon Ruffin is averaging 5.7 points and is third on the team in 3-point percentage (.358) and 3-pointers made (19). He returned to the lineup against California, after missing the previous four games with a knee injury.

ABOUT THE CARDINAL: Stanford is 10-12 overall and 4-7 in the Pac-12. The Cardinal have won five straight, including a 78-72 decision at Utah on Feb. 2. Stanford averages 68.9 points while shooting 44.1 percent from the field. Defensively, the Cardinal allow 65.5 points on 43.5 shooting. Stanford sports the top rebounding defense in the Pac-12 (30.9 rpg) and is second in rebound margin (+4.5).

Senior forward Spencer Jones leads the Cardinal at 13.3 points and 1.1 blocks per game. Graduate senior Michael Jones averages 9.8 points and 2.0 assists per game. Sophomore forward Harrison Ingram tops Stanford in assists (73) while averaging 9.6 points and 5.4 rebounds. Sophomore forward Maxime Raynaud leads the Cardinal in rebounding (5.9 rpg) while averaging 8.0 points and shooting 53.8 percent from the field.

SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 30th meeting between Colorado and Stanford with the Buffaloes holding an 18-11 series edge. The Buffaloes have won five straight and 15 of the last 17 over the Cardinal. Colorado is 11-3 all-time against the Cardinal in Boulder and has won the last eight.

STEALING THE SHOW: Colorado tied a season-high with 13 steals in the home win over California, hitting that mark for the third time this year. It's the sixth time this season the Buffaloes have had 10 or more steals in a game. Colorado had only one game of double-digit steals in each of the previous two seasons (2021-22 & '20-21).

The Buffaloes rank second in the Pac-12 and 45th in the nation at 8.3 steals per game. Colorado has 200 steals on the season, its most since 2015-16 (254). The Buffaloes had 181 steals in 33 games last season (5.5 spg).

Buffaloes Look For Season Sweep Sunday Against Stanford

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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

Colorado University Athletics