Colorado’s final regular season game Sunday night at the CU Events Center meant more than just one win or loss for a few reasons.
First, it was a game that Colorado desperately needed for its NCAA Tournament hopes, which it has fought tooth and nail to revive with this latest win streak. Second, it was senior night in Boulder, as the Buffs honored Tristan da Silva and Luke O’Brien pregame before potentially their final game in front of the home crowd.
“It’s kind of surreal,” O’Brien said. “I didn’t think it would ever come to this. I knew it was, but I felt like it went too fast for us, but we enjoyed it. (Tristan) is my best friend, we’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, so it’s kind of tough to sink in that it was our last game here.”
Colorado took care of business and sent their two four-year Buffs out in style, knocking off Stanford ,81-71, for their fourth straight win. CU improved to 20-9 with the victory, their 10th 20-win campaign under Tad Boyle in his 14 seasons as the bench boss in Boulder.
“Another good win, especially on a night where we honored two young men who are, to me, what college basketball is all about–what college athletics is all about,” Boyle said postgame. “They’ve persevered, they haven’t given up, they’ve gone through tough times each in their own way. To see them honored tonight, and given the love from our fans and their teammates warms your heart as a coach.”
After an emotional senior night ceremony before tipoff, the Buffs came out a little flat, especially on the defensive end. Stanford made nine of its first 12 shots, consistently generating open 3-pointers and lanes to the basket, and it was able to get leading scorer Maxime Raynaud going early down low with eight quick points.
On the offensive end, Stanford made it difficult for CU early on. The Cardinal threw the kitchen sink at the Buffs, starting the game off in a 1-3-1 zone to put pressure on the CU offense and throwing in a 2-3 zone out of timeouts. The Buffs were a little disorganized as they tried to feel out the Stanford zone, but were able to limit turnovers while KJ Simpson drained a pair of 3-pointers to help the Buffs keep pace.
“That was something we had to adjust to as the game went by,” Simpson said of Stanford’s unorthodox defense. “It was kind of an interesting defense. It was like a press almost and they would trap the first pass. But we were able to break it a couple of times, and we showed ourselves that we can beat that and take them out of that.”
At the halfway point of the first half, after Michael Jones sank three free throws to give Stanford a five-point lead, the Buffs flipped the switch. Eddie Lampkin and J’Vonne Hadley scored the next 10 points for the Buffs, putting them back in front. Hadley then played an integral part in a 13-2 Colorado run near the end of the half, stretching the lead and allowing the Buffs to take a 44-37 lead into the break.
In the second half, da Silva caught fire and took over in potentially his final game at the CU Events Center. The Buffs star, starting his 90th game in a Colorado uniform, couldn’t miss after halftime after a rough-shooting first half. Da Silva drained five 3s and seven shots overall, only missing one, en route to a 19-point second half. Simpson chipped in his share as well, and the two Colorado stars helped the Buffs pull away from Stanford. The lead ballooned to 20 before a few garbage time buckets cut the final margin down to 10.
“They’re a good team,” Simpson said. “They’ve got a good offense, good players. I feel like we found ourselves more as the game went by. Credit to this team for doing that. Glad to get the win for the seniors for sure.”
Da Silva’s final regular season game in Boulder was one of his best: 27 points, 11 rebounds and two steals on 11-for-18 shooting with five 3-pointers. The 27 points mark a season high for the senior forward, who is starting to play his best basketball at the right time for the Buffs.
Simpson finished yet another great game with 22 points and seven assists, strengthening his case for Pac-12 Player of the Year with just two games left in the regular season. The Buffs had a ton of success when they got out on the fast break, winning the battle of transition points 20 to 4.
Raynaud had a very good night statistically for the Cardinal, finishing with 26 points and 12 rebounds on 10-for-13 shooting. Simpson did a good job defending Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle to 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting.
The Buffs stayed on track to earn an NCAA Tournament bid with the win, but their margin for error remains razor thin. Boyle’s group will now head out on the road for its final two regular season games, likely needing a sweep to enter the Pac-12 Tournament on the right side of the projected cut line. First up is Oregon Thursday night in Eugene, which will be a Quad 1 opportunity for the Buffs. Tipoff of that one will be at 7 p.m. MST.
