Snapshot: Utah 73, CU Buffs MBB 62
Turning level: Utah took the lead for good with a 14-3 run early within the first half, then took management for the length with a 12-2 run early within the second half.
Buff of the sport: KJ Simpson completed simply 5-for-13 from the sphere, however he went 3-for-3 on free throws and completed with 14 factors, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and just one turnover in almost 32 minutes.
What’s subsequent?: CU’s street swing continues on Thursday at Arizona State (6 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Community).
SALT LAKE CITY — Colorado males’s basketball coach Tad Boyle started the season by lamenting his crew’s lack of toughness because the Buffaloes surfed via some wild ups and downs out of the gate in November.
Three months later, little has modified with the Buffaloes.
In a showdown between two of the highest defenses within the Pac-12 Convention on Saturday, Utah’s confirmed up whereas CU’s completely didn’t. The Buffs had been outhustled and out-toughed, whereas the Utes bottled up the beforehand red-hot Tristan da Silva to maintain the Buffs’ street woes intact, sending them dwelling with a 73-62 defeat on the Huntsman Heart that additional diminished CU’s possibilities at making a run at even an NIT bid.
The Buffs fell to 1-8 in true street video games.
“Coming into this recreation, we knew Utah was a great defensive crew. And I felt like we had made some strides defensively,” Boyle stated. “The unlucky factor for us this 12 months is we simply can’t maintain something defensively.
“Our guys struggle. They compete. We weren’t robust sufficient tonight defensively and we weren’t robust sufficient on the boards.”
Utah used a 14-3 run early within the first half to take the lead for good, finally constructing a 38-32 lead at halftime. CU transformed the primary bucket of the second half, however the Utes answered with a 12-2 run that gave the hosts a 14-point lead. The Utes maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the best way.
The Buffs had been outrebounded for simply the sixth time this season, with the Utes posting a 41-29 benefit. It was the second-largest rebounding deficit of the season for CU, which entered the sport ranked second in Pac-12 video games in rebounding margin.
“They had been higher at doubling within the submit than we had been. They had been harder than we had been as a result of they outrebounded us by 12,” Boyle stated. “They usually had been the higher defensive crew. They beat us at our personal recreation. They held us to lower than 40% discipline objective proportion and so they outrebounded us by 12. That’s precisely what we aspire to do to different groups. Utah was the harder crew.”
Utah had not shot higher than 39% in any of its earlier three video games however shot .517 within the first half, finally ending with a .491 mark. Branden Carlson scored 17 factors for the Utes. So did Marco Anthony, who recorded a season-high after coming into the sport mired in a scoring droop through which he had averaged simply six factors over the earlier eight video games.
After 5 consecutive 20-point video games, da Silva was held to 6 factors on a irritating 3-for-12 night time from the sphere. KJ Simpson went 5-for-13 however completed with a team-high 14 factors, including 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
However, as has been the case all season, the Buffs couldn’t generate factors when wanted. The Utes led simply 38-32 at halftime, and CU pressured turnovers on every of the Utah’s first two possessions of the second half. The Buffs got here up empty on every of their ensuing possessions, nonetheless, and shortly Utah reeled off the 12-2 run that put the hosts in management.
CU completed 4-for-18 on 3-pointers, together with 1-for-11 within the second half.
“They had been harder than we had been, particularly on the glass,” Simpson stated. “They’d second-chance alternatives. That’s one thing we’re fairly good at, however they had been simply the harder crew at boxing us out. It’s robust when our offense isn’t the place we wish it to be. After we’re having bother getting them off the glass and their hitting robust shot and hitting threes and we’re not scoring, it’s sort of laborious to recover from that hump.”
Utah 73, Colorado 62
Colorado (14-12, 6-9 Pac-12)
da Silva 3-12 0-0 6, Lovering 2-4 0-0 4, Simpson 5-13 3-3 14, Gabbidon 0-4 0-0 0, Clifford 3-7 0-0 7, O’Brien 4-8 1-2 10, Hammond III 2-5 6-6 11, Wright 2-4 0-0 4, Ruffin 2-5 2-2 6. Totals 23-62 12-13 62.
Utah (17-9, 10-5)
Be. Carlson 4-6 0-2 10, Br. Carlson 7-13 3-3 17, Anthony 6-13 4-6 17, Stefanovic 1-4 6-7 9, Worster 3-9 0-1 7, Exacte 2-3 0-0 5, Keita 4-7 0-0 8, Tarlac 0-0 0-0 0, Brenchley 0-0 0-0 0, Holt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 13-19 73.
Halftime — Utah 38-32. 3-point discipline targets — Colorado 4-18 (da Silva 0-2, Simpson 1-3, Gabbidon 0-1, Clifford 1-2, O’Brien 1-4, Hammond III 1-3, Wright 0-2, Ruffin 0-1); Utah 6-17 (Be. Carlson 2-4, Br. Carlson 0-3, Anthony 1-2, Stefanovic 1-4, Worster 1-3, Exacte 1-1). Rebounds — Colorado 29 (O’Brien 6); Utah 41 (Be. Carlson, Anthony 8). Assists — Colorado 12 (Simpson 5); Utah 17 (Worster 6). Whole fouls — Colorado 16, Utah 15. Fouled out — Worster. A — 6,133.