Buffaloes Host Washington Sunday
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES: Colorado is 10-3 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-12 Conference after defeating Washington State, 83-78 on Jan. 6. The outcome gave the Buffaloes their 100th Pac-12 regular season win since joining the conference in 2011-12 (100-85, .541).
The Buffaloes were back in action for the first time in 19 days and played just their second game in 26 days. Colorado hadn't played since a 60-46 win over CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 18 at the CU Events Center. The Buffaloes saw their nonconference finale against No. 7 Kansas on Dec. 21 canceled and their scheduled Pac-12 games at Oregon (Dec. 30) and Oregon State (Jan. 1) postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Colorado program.
The Buffaloes were able to reschedule their game at Oregon for Jan. 3 but then that game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Ducks' program. Colorado will continue to work with both Oregon and Oregon State on possible make up dates.
Colorado's layoff was its longest without a game in the middle of a season since 2006-07, when a pair of late December home games were canceled due to weather, resulting in a 24-day layoff.
Colorado has won 33 of its last 45 games dating back to the beginning of the 2020-21 season. With the win over Eastern Washington, the Buffaloes bounced back from just their second two-game losing streak in the last two seasons, and now have won their last four and seven of nine overall.
The Buffaloes have fared well in tight contests. Nine of Colorado's 13 games have been within six points - or two possessions - with four minutes or less remaining in the game. The Buffaloes are 8-1 in those contests.
Colorado is averaging 71.0 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field. Colorado shot 51.8 percent against a Washington State defense that entered the game allowing just 38.1 percent. The percentage was Colorado's best in a Pac-12 game since the Buffs shot 55.8 percent against Oregon State on Feb. 20, 2021.
Colorado scored 83 points against Washington State after not having reached 70 in its previous five outings. The Buffaloes won their 28th straight game when scoring 83-plus points (last loss was at WSU in overtime on Jan. 21, 2017 in Pullman). CU's 46 second half points were its most in any half this season.
The Buffaloes had a season-best 17 assists against Washington State, topping their previous best of 16 which came in their last game, against CSU Bakersfield - nearly three weeks ago. In that CSU Bakersfield game, Colorado's 16 assists came on just 19 made baskets. The 84.2 percentage of assists to made field goals is the best in the Boyle era, besting the 82.1 percent against Jackson State on Nov. 16, 2013 when the Buffaloes had 23 assists on 28 buckets.
Defensively, the Buffaloes have allowed 66.2 points per game while opponents have shot 41 percent. Colorado allowed 78 to Washington State - its second most this season. Prior to the layoff, the Buffaloes defense had allowed just 52.3 points over the previous three games.
Colorado is 4-0 this year in one of the program's "gold standards" of holding opponents to 40 percent of less from the field and least a plus-8 rebound advantage. Colorado improved to 76-5 in those games after holding Milwaukee to 36.4 percent and winning the rebounding battle by nine (39-30).
Sophomore forward Jabari Walker leads the Buffaloes at 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He was the only Buffalo to score in double-figures the first 11 games of the season and has reached that mark in 12 of 13 contests.
Walker has a team-best six double-doubles, five of which have come in the last nine games. He had a string of four-straight double-doubles earlier in the preseason, highlighted by a season-high 22 points and 11 rebounds at UCLA. Walker's four-straight double-doubles are the longest such streak by a Buffalo since Tyler Bey had five in a row in the final five games of the 2018-19 Pac-12 schedule. During that four-game span, he averaged 14.3 points and 12.0 rebounds an outing.
On the Pac-12 charts, Walker is third in overall rebounds, fourth in defensive boards (5.9 drpg), 11th in offensive rebounds (2.2 orpg) and 13th in scoring.
Senior forward Evan Battey is averaging 13.2 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting a team-best 55.6 percent from the field. He had a game-high 20 points against Washington State, recording his fifth career 20-point game and second this season. He has made 15 of his last 20 from the field (.750), spanning three games.
Battey had a career-high 22 points, hitting all four 3-point attempts, in the conference opener against Stanford.
Battey was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team leading the Buffaloes at 15.3 points per game while shooting 53 percent from the field.
On the Pac-12 charts, Battey is fifth in overall shooting and 17th in scoring.
Sophomore guard Keeshawn Barthelemy leads Colorado in assists (36) and 3-point field goals made and attempted (16 of 45) while ranking third on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game. He had 17 points and dished out four assists against Washington State.
Barthelemy's 36 assists have come with just 20 turnovers (1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio). Over the last 11 games he has dished out 28 assists while turning it over just 11 times (2.5 a-t). He has just six turnovers with 21 assists over the last seven (3.5 a-t).
On the Pac-12 charts, Barthelemy ranks eighth in free throw percentage (.829). He has made his last 15 from the line and is a perfect 13-of-13 in conference play (8-8 vs Stanford; 5-5 vs. WSU).
Senior guard Elijah Parquet is averaging 7.7 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 49 percent overall. He celebrated his 100th game in a Colorado uniform with six points and a matching a personal-best four assists against Washington State.
A member of the Pac-12 Conference's All-Defensive Team in 2020-21, Parquet had 10 points hitting 4 of 6 from the field against CSU Bakersfield. He has made 18 of his last 31 from the field (.581).
Sophomore Tristan da Silva is averaging 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 42 percent. He is third on the team in assists with 23. Da Silva scored 10 points in the win over Washington State.
Nique Clifford is averaging 5.9 points and is second on the team in rebounding 4.6 per game. Clifford had 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the win over CSU Bakersfield. He was 4 of 6 from the field, setting a personal-best for field goals made. Clifford also matched career highs in 3-pointers made and assists with three.
K.J. Simpson is averaging 5.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game ranking second on the team in assists with 31 off the bench. Simpson dished out four assists against CSU Bakersfield, matching a career-high, and leading the Buffaloes in that category for the sixth time this season.
Julian Hammond III set career-highs with five rebounds, four assists and four steals against Washington State. His four steals ties the team season high held by Luke O'Brien (Maine). He had just one assist (vs. Eastern Washington) and one steal (vs. Maine) in his first eight collegiate games.
Tad Boyle will be looking for his 300th win as a collegiate head coach. Boyle, in his 16th season overall, has a career record of 299-212 (.585); which includes four seasons at Northern Colorado (2006-10).
ABOUT THE HUSKIES: Washington is 6-6 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12. The Huskies are coming off a 74-68 win at Utah on Jan. 6. Washington averages 70.8 points while shooting 39.7 percent from the floor. Defensively, Washington is giving up a Pac-12-worst 72.9 points while teams are shooting 44 percent. The Huskies are one of the best turnover teams in the nation. Washington leads the Pac-12 and ranks seventh in NCAA Division I in turnover margin at plus-6.5 per game. The Huskies force 18.3 turnovers per game, ranking 14th in the nation.
Terrell Brown, Jr., leads the Pac-12 and ranks eighth in the nation in scoring at 21.4 points per game. On the defensive end, Brown tops the conference and ranks 11th nationally in steals at 2.4 per game. Forward Emmitt Matthews, Jr., is second on the team in scoring at 11.1 per game and tops the Huskies in 3-pointers made with 16. Daejon Davis averages 8.7 points and is second on the team in both steals (26) and assists (28). Nate Roberts leads Washington in rebounding at 6.2 per game while averaging 3.4 points per contest.
SERIES RECORDS: This will be the 32nd meeting between Colorado and Washington with the Huskies holding an 18-13 advantage. Colorado has won the last two of the last three. The teams did not meet in Boulder in 2020-21. The Buffaloes won a 92-69 neutral site game in Las Vegas on Dec. 20, 2020, that didn't count in the league standings. Washington won the only official Pac-12 contest between the schools, an 84-80 decision in Seattle on Jan. 20, 2021. Colorado is 9-4 all-time vs. Washington in Boulder.
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Colorado is 0-2 against ranked teams in 2021-22 after dropping a 69-54 decision to No. 13/15 Tennessee on Dec. 4. Colorado was 3-3 against ranked teams in 2020-21; its most games against ranked opponents in three seasons.
Colorado's 22 wins over ranked opponents in the Tad Boyle era is by far the best in team history. In fact Boyle coached teams, with a record of 22-38, have accounted for 33 percent of wins over ranked opponents (66) since 1949-50.
BATTEY MILESTONES: Senior forward Evan Battey, Colorado's active leader in scoring and rebounding, scored a career-high 22 points against Stanford to become the 38th member of the 1,000 point club.
He is the fourth member of the 2017 signing class to reach that milestone. McKinley Wright IV (2017-21) leads that group at sixth overall at 1,857. Tyler Bey (2017-20) is 29th at 1,113 while D'Shawn Schwartz (2017-21) is tied for 36th at 1,026.
Colorado Career Scoring:
Rk. Player Years Points
30. Jim Davis 1961-64 1,110
31. Larry Vaculik 1974-78 1,084
32. Austin Dufualt 2008-12 1,076
33. Evan Battey 2018- 1,071
Battey is 27th in career rebounds at 569; 72 away from entering Colorado's career Top 20.
Colorado Career Rebounding:
Rk. Player Years Rebounds
20. McKinley Wright IV 2017-21 644
Donnie Boyce 1991-95 644
22. Brian Johnson 1977-81 628
23. Randy Downs 1982-86 622
24. Wilky Gilmore 1959-62 591
25. Alex Stivrins 1983-85 583
26. Scott Wilke 1984-88 576
27. Evan Battey 2018- 572
LEADERS OF THE PAC: Colorado has the most wins (66) and has the third-best winning percentage (.710) among Pac-12 teams since February 2019. Colorado was 12-4 over the final two months of the 2018-19 season, culminating in a spot in the NIT Quarterfinals. The Buffaloes were 21-11 in 2019-20, well in line for an NCAA Tournament bid before the season was shut down on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Colorado was 23-9 in 2020-21, tying for the third best win total in team history and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Pac-12 Overall Records Since Feb. 1, 2019 (through Jan. 7, 2022)
W L Pct.
Oregon 65 25 .722
USC 64 25 .719
Colorado 66 27 .710
Arizona 53 28 .654
UCLA 55 30 .647
Stanford 47 35 .573
Arizona State 44 39 .530
Oregon State 46 41 .529
Utah 43 40 .518
Washington State 41 43 .488
Washington 36 49 .424
California 34 52 .395
RIGHT AT HOME: At the CU Events Center, the Buffaloes have won:
- 4 in a row
- 13 of their last 14 (13-1)
- 19 of their last 21 (19-2)
- 32 of 37 (32-5)
- 47 of 54 (47-7)
- 59 of 69 (59-10)
- 80 of 94 (80-14)
- 90 of 105 (90-15)
In the Tad Boyle era, Colorado is 160-29 at home (.847). The Buffaloes are 473-180 (.724) all-time at the CUEC. The Buffaloes, 8-1 at the CUEC in 2021-22, have won at least 10 games at home each of the last 12 seasons.