After laughing Utah out of the Coors Events Center on
Saturday, Tad Boyle’s Colorado Buffaloes looked forward to a challenge, coming
in the form of a talented Washington Huskies team.
Instead, the Huskies met a similar fate as the unfortunate
Utes, falling 87-69 at the hands of the Buffs on Thursday night.
“I thought that was a really good win for our program,” said
Boyle. “I’ve got such respect for (Washington coach) Lorenzo Romar and the
University of Washington and what that program has done over the last ten
years.”
Despite the final score, the Buffs didn’t begin the game
well. Washington scored the game’s first seven points before Carlon Brown
knocked the lid off the basket almost four minutes into the contest.
The Husky lead continued to inflate, reaching nine with
14:30 to go in the first half. The Buffs then responded with 35-16 run to
finish the half with a ten point advantage.
CU came out of the locker room hot, hitting over 52 percent
from the field in the second half, putting away the Huskies for good.
Brown led the way for the Buffs on the court and on the
highlight reel, scoring 18 points and earning the number two play on SportsCenter’s top ten plays with an
old-fashioned three-point play.
Spencer Dinwiddie continued his success with 13 points and
five assists. Senior forward Austin Dufault factored into the scoring mix with
12 points. Askia Booker and Nate Tomlinson round out the list of Buffs with
double-digit scoring efforts, with 12 and 11, respectively.
The win makes Colorado the lone leader in the Pac-12, with
previously undefeated California and Stanford loosing on Thursday night. The
Buffs will have to finish near or at the top in the Pac-12 to figure into the
NCAA Tournament discussion come March.
Up next for CU is Washington State, who is coming off a loss
to Utah, a team the Buffs topped by forty.
