LAS VEGAS – The Colorado Buffaloes kicked off the men’s Pac-12 tournament Wednesday morning with an upset against the Washington Huskies. Colorado was seeded ninth and Washington was seeded eighth, both teams with a 16-15 overall record and a 8-12 record within the Pac-12. 

CU had already lost twice this season in their matchups against the Huskies, both within single digits. However, the Buffs entered the tournament without one of their key players, KJ Simpson. This forced head coach Tad Boyle to rearrange his starting line up going into the game. 

The Buffs took an early 11-4 lead, forcing Washington to take an early timeout only a few minutes into the first half. An opening three pointer from Tristan da Silva set the tempo with great ball movement as they found open looks to score. Washington struggled to make shots as CU was able to control the pace of the game as they extended their lead to 12. 

“They had a couple guys that weren’t here tonight. So I thought we played with great resolve down the stretch, great toughness,” head coach Tad Boyle said during the postgame interview. 

Colorado held a comfortable lead at the end of the first half over the Huskies, 28-20. Going into the second half, Washington was able to close the gap as they went on a 10 point run. 

“We knew they were probably going to make a run at some point. We just didn’t want it to be right out of the chute at halftime,” Boyle said. 

After Lawson Lovering committed a technical foul, the Huskies were able to bring the Buffs lead down to three points at 40-37. Following a Washington timeout, the Huskies were able to take their first lead of the game with under 10 minutes left. 

The rest of the game was neck and neck, as both teams went scoreless for two minutes. The defensive chess match continued forcing turnovers and single shot possessions on both ends. CU maintained a three point lead with under four minutes left in the second half, thanks to great intensity by Juilan Hammond III, da Silva, and Luke O’Brien. 

“Julian was terrific down the stretch. Tristan did a great job when he got the ball in the high post against their zone,” Boyle said. “Then late when they went man, we knew we had to kind of grind ’em out and get ’em in ball screens, and Julian made some really good reads, and we made some plays when we had to make plays. That’s how you win games in March.”

Washington was able to score quickly after a timeout, tying the score at 66 with under two minutes left, before O’Brien was able to reclaim the lead with a pivotal three-pointer. After a quick jumper from Hammond and a pair of free throws by da Silva, the Buffaloes won 73-68. 

“The biggest thing for me is this tournament starts now. This was kind of the warm-up game, so to speak, and now we’re faced with playing UCLA, who is one of the top teams in the country,” Hammond said. 

The Buffs will be facing off against the number No. 1 seed UCLA on Thursday at noon. CU has fallen short to the Bruins both times this season. However, during their last meeting at the CU Events Center the Bruins won by the skin of their teeth with a score of 60-56.

“We’ve battled them. We’ve come up short, just like we had battled Washington and come up short.” Hammond said. “But UCLA’s a different animal. They’re the best team in our league. So we gotta get rest, hydrate, get these guys off their feet, and be ready.”

Check out more multimedia coverage from Aidan Young-Sgoutas and Sydney Politzer in Vegas on the Sko Buffs Sports YouTube channel.