Colorado
23-9,13-7Pac-12
Utah
19-14,9-11Pac-12
Buffs Top Utah To Advance To Pac-12 Semifinals
March 14, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
LAS VEGAS — Colorado's KJ Simpson and Eddie Lampkin Jr. each recorded double-doubles and the Buffaloes pulled away down the stretch Thursday to take a 72-58 win over Utah in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Arena.
Tad Boyle's third-seeded Buffs won their seventh straight to improve to 23-9 and collect a critical win in what many observers viewed as an "elimination game" in the battle to clinch at least an at-large NCAA Tournament berth.
Colorado will now face No. 2 seed Washington State in Friday's 8:30 p.m. (MT) semifinal at T-Mobile Arena.
Utah fell to 19-14.
Simpson finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while Lampkin totaled 17 points and 12 rebounds. Tristan da Silva chipped in 14 for the Buffaloes.
Hunter Erickson and Brendon Carlson led Utah with 13 points each.
Colorado led by three at the break, 33-30, after the Utes used a 15-0 run to erase a 14-point CU lead before the Buffs came back to regain the lead in the final minutes of the half.
The Buffs then took full control for the final 20 minutes, building their lead to double-digits less than eight minutes in. Utah briefly cut Colorado's lead back to five with just more than nine minutes to play but the Buffs used a 16-5 surge over the next five minutes to take a 68-52 lead and put the game away.
Colorado shot 28-for-63 from the floor, including an efficient 7-for-14 from long range. CU held the Utes to 33% shooting (21-for-64), including an 8-for-30 night from beyond the arc. Utah hit six 3-pointers in the first half but missed its first eight attempts in the second half and finished just 2-for-16 in the final 20 minutes.
CU also finished with just seven turnovers and had a 47-37 edge on the boards. The Buffs are now 91-6 in the Boyle era when hitting the "gold standard" of holding an opponent to 40% percent or less shooting and having at least a plus-8 rebound margin.
"I'm really proud of this group, especially to win a game when we certainly didn't play our best in the first half," Boyle said. "The credit goes to these players. They're a veteran group who understand how to win, understand what it takes to win, and they made adjustments at halftime. We held them to two 3s instead of 6 and that was the difference in the game. These guys deserve a lot of credit for what they've done this year and what we'll continue to do this year."
HOW IT HAPPENED: After leading by as much as 14 midway through the first half, the Buffs weathered a 15-0 Utah run to bounce back and take a 33-30 lead into the break.
The Buffs then made sure the Utes didn't have another run in their pocket in the second half.
Colorado built its lead to 10 when Simpson drained a long 3-pointer to give the Buffs a 48-38 edge. The Utes stayed within striking range, whittling the lead down to five, 52-47, with 9:31 to play, but CU never let the Utes get closer.
Simpson, who scored 11 points in the second half, swished another 3-pointer to push Colorado's lead back to eight, then hit one more trey after a Utah basket to give the Buffs a nine-point edge, 58-49, with seven minutes to play.
CU's defense, meanwhile, clamped down. Utah missed its first eight 3-point tries of the second half and the Buffs put together a decisive 16-5 run to put the game away. Da Silva hit back-to-back buckets to bump Colorado's cushion to 65-52 with 4:21 to play before J'Vonne Hadley produced a three-point play to give Colorado a 16-point lead, 68-52, with 3:48 remaining.
"We were just running them off the line (in the second half)," Simpson said. "I think communication was the biggest thing, understanding where people are, where shooters are, and running them off the line with a high hand and not letting them get attempts up as much."
Lampkin proved to be a force all night against the Utes' big front line. Utah's three big men combined for just 15 points on 6-for-16 shooting while Lampkin was an ultra-efficient 8-for-14 with three assists to go with his 17 points and 12 boards. When he left the game with a couple minutes to play, a sizable CU crowd chanted, "Eddie, Eddie."
"It felt good," Lampkin said. "Everyone screaming my name, it felt like a home game."
After building their big lead, the Buffs held the Utes at bay over the final minutes to collect the win and advance to Friday night's semifinal matchup against Washington State.
The Buffs split a pair with WSU this season.
"Washington State is a hell of a team," Boyle said. We beat them shorthanded in Boulder. They weren't at their best. They got us in Pullman. We weren't at our best. So I think it should be a hell of a game. They've got some good players. They're well-coached. It's not going to be easy, but nothing's easy in March, especially in the semifinals of a tournament like this."
The Buffs threatened to put the game away early, using a 17-2 run to take a 14-point lead less than eight minutes in. Lampkin scored six points in the surge, Simpson added five and a Cody Williams bucket gave Colorado a 21-7 lead with 12:34 still to play in the first half.
The Buffs maintained that cushion for the ensuing two minutes before the Utes finally got hot. Utah put together a 15-0 run that included three 3-pointers and with five minutes to play in the half, Colorado trailed 28-27.
Lampkin finally ended the run with a bucket inside off a Simpson feed and CU's defense found its footing over the final 4:44 of the half. Utah came up empty on seven of its final eight possessions of the half and the Buffs got buckets from Williams and da Silva in the last 2 minutes to take a 33-30 edge into the break.
DECISIVE MOMENT: After Utah closed CU's lead to five midway through the second half, the Buffs responded with a 16-5 run to take complete control and the Utes never threatened over the final minutes.
WHAT IT MEANS: The win should virtually guarantee the Buffs an NCAA Tournament berth.
KEY STATISTICS: Colorado shot 28-for-63 from the floor, including an efficient 7-for-14 from long range … The Utes shot 33% (21-for-64), including an 8-for-30 night from beyond the arc … Utah hit six 3-pointers in the first half but missed its first eight attempts in the second half and finished just 2-for-16 in the final 20 minutes … CU also finished with just seven turnovers and had a 47-37 edge on the boards
NEXT UP: The Buffs move on to the Pac-12 tourney semifinals with an 8:30 p.m. matchup Friday night against No. 2 seed Washington State, which defeated Stanford in Thursday's quarterfinal.
