Colorado trailed 37-27 at the end of the first half during Monday afternoon's contest at Utah, but outscored the Utes by 17 points in the final 20 minutes en route to a 65-58 road win at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, CU's first there since 2012.
For the Buffaloes (9-3, 3-2 Pac-12), the win did much to erase some ugly memories of their last trip to Salt Lake City, a 74-72 overtime loss in the final regular season of the 2019-2020 season.
That loss marked an 0-4 end to the regular season for the slumping Buffs, who would fall flat to Washington State shortly thereafter in Tad Boyle's first-ever first-round defeat in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Needless to say, it came as a relief for the Buffaloes to get their first win in Salt Lake in the better part of a decade, especially with the team playing far from its best for much of the game.
Colorado managed just a 35% make rate from the floor (the Buffs were shooting 27% at halftime) and missed countless easy baskets near the rim throughout the game.
Ultimately, Monday evening featured far from the first ugly game CU has played on the road at Utah. This time around, though, the Buffaloes found a way to win.
"That's the mental toughness that we're talking about," Boyle said. "How are you going to win games when you shoot 35% as a team? How are you going to win a game when you're not at your best? That's what this team hopefully learned tonight, because you're not always going to make shots."
Early on, Utah exposed more than a few soft spots in CU's defense to hit often uncontested baskets in the low post.
By the 14:37 mark of the first half the Buffs were down 12-4 and despite taking a 22-20 lead with 6:24 left before halftime, the Utes outscored them 17-5 for the remainder of the first half.
"Our ball screen defense was atrocious in the first half," Boyle said. "Secondly, know personnel. Know that Timmy Allen is going to drive the ball. You go under on ball screens — you've got to get through them to get under them —but you've got to get through them and square them up.
"It came down to toughness. You've got to play with unbelievable toughness to beat Utah and we didn't do that in the first half."
If there was a player of the game for Colorado it likely was D'Shawn Schwartz, who seemed to channel the frustration of going 1-of-7 from the floor with three points in the first half to shooting 5-of-8 with 12 in the second half.
Boyle routinely challenges his players to contribute when their shots aren't falling, and while Schwartz certainly leaves Salt Lake City wishing he'd converted on a sizable handful of botched layups, his double-double of 15 points and 15 boards was hugely impactful in CU's win.
"I'm really proud of him," Boyle said. "He did not play very well in the first half, he missed some bunnies, his head was down and he was frustrated but he really picked it up in the second half. To finish with 15 and 15 shows a testament to his mental toughness. It's great to see that out of one of your seniors."
It was Schwartz that sparked the Buffs in the second half, scoring Colorado's first six points of what eventually turned into a 15-0 run through the 14:11 mark.
Despite holding Utah scoreless for nearly the first six minutes of the final half, due to the Buffs' 10-point halftime deficit the explosive start to the final 20 minutes far from gave Colorado a comfortable position.
Utah came within one point with a bit under 11 minutes to go and did so again with just 3:32 left in the game.
With 2:09 to play, and Utah threatening once more, down just three points, Schwartz sank a jumper near the right elbow on a feed from Wright IV, putting CU up 59-54 and delivering the dagger to the Utes.
Jabari Walker had an equally impressive performance, posting a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards in just 16 minutes on the hardwood.
In the first half, he hit a jumper followed by a three-pointer out of transition — during which time he also grabbed two rebounds — that gave CU its first lead of the game, 14-12, at the 12:26 mark.
Fouls had limited Walker's minutes in the last few games but against Utah, he stayed disciplined and handed in a critical performance.
"He just plays with such energy," Boyle said. "15 points in 16 minutes — the kid makes plays and you can tell our players love him, McKinley loves playing with him, so I'm really proud of him, as well."
For all of the Buffaloes' mishaps and missed shots during the game, the Utes without doubt outdid them in the self-inflicted wounds department.
Utah's make rate dwindled from 54% in the first half to 33% in the second and to the dismay of fans, coaches and players alike, the team was 0-of-7 from the charity stripe for the entire second half.
For Utah's part, some late-game affliction has been tanking the team of late. The second half collapse today vs. Colorado was preceded by losses to No. 17 Oregon and USC, games which saw the Utes get outscored in the final 20 minutes by an average of 15 points.
As for Colorado, the win comes as a much-needed appetizer to an upcoming two-game home stand, beginning with California at noon on Thursday.
"We wanted to do whatever we had to do to come out with a W tonight," McKinley Wright IV said after the game. "Obviously, in the first half it wasn't looking pretty but we came together as a group and gave it everything we had."
Wright IV finished the game with nine points and four assists, the latter of which ties him with Jay Humphries (1980-1984) for the CU school record in career assists with 562.
In all likelihood, Wright IV will be the sole holder of the record by the time Thursday's game ends.
Colorado and California tipoff from the CU Events Center at 12 p.m. this Thursday, Jan. 14.
The Buffs have 15 remaining Pac-12 Conference games, nine of which will be played in Boulder.
Managing a road win doubtless is big, but handling business Thursday and Saturday against Stanford are the next items on the Buffaloes' agenda as Boyle aims for his first-ever top-four regular season finish in the league standings.
With UCLA off to a hot 5-0 start in conference play plus Oregon, Stanford and Southern California all above the Buffs in the standings, coaches and players understand there's not much margin for error.
"We led two slip early on the road but it's okay," Wright IV said. We learned from those, we watched film on those and now we put ourselves in position to get back towards the top of the league with two games and two teams we're capable of beating. We've just got to take it one game at a time."
