Although a Pac-12 Conference regular-season championship isn’t likely for Utah or Colorado, the teams have plenty to play for Saturday night in Boulder, Colo.
The Buffaloes (17-9, 8-7 Pac-12) are one game out of a top-four spot in the league standings, and the Utes (16-10, 7-8) are two games behind fourth-place UCLA (14-12, 9-6). The top four seeds receive first-round byes in the upcoming Pac-12 Tournament.
Utah and Colorado enter this game on the heels of exciting wins over UCLA and Southern California, respectively.
The Buffaloes rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit and sneaked past the Trojans in double overtime for a thrilling 92-89 victory on Feb. 17.
KJ Simpson scored 30, Tristan da Silva tallied 18 points and eight rebounds and Cody Williams contributed 14 points in the win.
It helped Colorado earn a split in Los Angeles after losing 64-60 at UCLA on Feb. 15. The Buffaloes had gone 1-4 in their previous five outings before beating USC. They forced overtime after Simpson connected with Luke O’Brien for a dunk with 3.7 seconds remaining.
“This team’s toughness, their competitiveness, their fight, it’s never something that I’ve questioned. It’s never gone away,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “We’ve come back from deficits like that before and we did it again tonight.”
Branden Carlson provided Utah with a memorable and much-needed win at UCLA on Sunday night. He grabbed an offensive rebound and scored at the buzzer to give the Utes a 70-69 victory over the Bruins.
Dylan Andrews had just put UCLA ahead by a point with a jumper with six seconds left, setting up the dramatic finish.
Carlson and Deivon Smith each scored 17 points for Utah, which swept UCLA this season, including a 90-44 blowout win Jan. 11 in Salt Lake City.
The latest win snapped Utah’s three-game losing skid and ended the Bruins’ six-game winning streak.
“We ran a play called ‘world’s greatest play,’ and our guys ran it to perfection. We just had such poise,” Utah coach Craig Smith said. “I’m really proud of our guys.”
–Field Level Media