In the Buffs' race for the NCAA Tournament, Saturday’s dominant 89-65 win over Utah came at an opportune time.

Colorado (18-9, 9-7 Pac-12) held the lead for 37 minutes Saturday night and didn’t take its foot off the gas, even when it was up 20 points or more. Four double-digit performances from KJ Simpson (28 points), J’Vonne Hadley (20 points) Eddie Lampkin (13 points) and Tristan da Silva (12 points) helped the Buffs steamroll their Rocky Mountain rival.

A star showing from Simpson and the Buffs offensive effort with 19 assists, and only four turnovers, left the Utes (16-11, 7-9) struggling to find a defensive answer. Head coach Tad Boyle was looking for the Buffs to improve their ball management after they racked up 21 turnovers in their previous game against USC.

His players listened and recorded the first four-turnover game for the Buffs since Jan. 30, 2010 against Iowa State.

"It's just a good win for February. Nineteen assists and four turnovers," Boyle said. "I told Mark Johnson on the radio of my begging, literally begging, this team to take care of the ball, and it finally happened."

Simpson came up just short of recording back-to-back 30-point games, but nonetheless, his resilience since his 4-point game against UCLA on Feb. 15 is something special.

"I can't say enough about KJ Simpson," Boyle said. "He's playing like an All-American."

Utah was able to create some quick runs, but Colorado was able to keep the Utes to at least a 10-point deficit throughout the game through a strong defensive performance. Utah’s most efficient shooter, Branden Carlson, averaging 16.9 points per game, was held to just six points on the Buffs’ floor.

Gabe Madsen (18 points) and Devion Smith (15 points) were the only Utes to post double figures as the Utes shot 44.3% from the field (27 of 61) with an additional lowly 17.4% from 3-point range (4 of 23).

Former Buff Lawson Lovering made his return to CU Events Center after transferring to Utah, and Buffs fans did not let up on the negative reinforcement throughout the game.

The Buffs avoided a detrimental loss after Cody Williams limped to the locker room favoring his ankle. After staying in the locker room for the majority of the first half, he returned and played 14 minutes in the second.

"We just got to get the swelling out, but the good thing is it's not real tender," Boyle said about Williams' ankle. "It's not real painful, but we just got to get the swelling out and he showed great toughness. I thought coming back in second half, he obviously wasn't 100 percent."

Colorado can’t afford any more hits to the rotation as Julian Hammond was inactive against Utah due to an injury he suffered during Friday’s practice. Hammond could be back next week, according to Boyle.

"I hope so, his knee is sore." Boyle said. "I talked to our trainer and he's in pain, but the swelling's not crazy."

As March looms, the Buffs' remaining regular season schedule appears mostly manageable with Cal, Stanford, Oregon and Oregon State on the slate to close it out.

The Ducks who currently sit third in the Pac-12 standings pose a challenge on the road. The Buffs are going to need to win in this final stretch in order to salvage their tournament hopes.

However for Boyle, he still has his sights on the short term.

"I think too much emphasis is put on the NCAA Tournament," Boyle said. "They start talking about it in November, and I know our guys are aware of it, I'm aware of it. I know we have NET rankings and all that stuff, but I still don't understand the NET. It's been favorable to us, but I think it's talked about too much."

As the tournament discussions persist in the media realm, Colorado will be back at home Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. MT to take on Cal.