Hot-shooting Utah Valley ends frustrating Buffs season in second round of NIT

BOULDER – Julian Hammond III received the inbound, dribbled out the clock, and the buzzer sounded on Tad Boyle’s thirteenth season coaching the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team. The Buffaloes were defeated and eliminated by the Utah Valley Wolverines in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Sunday night, by a score of 81-69.

The Buffs were unable to string together stops against the Utah Valley offense for the entire night, which was led by senior guard Trey Woodbury, who was unstoppable. He put up 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists on 11-for-15 shooting from the field, all without attempting a single free throw. 

Woodbury scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half, driving through the lane with ease and forcing the Buffs defense to pack the paint for much of the game, allowing him to shoot 3-for-4 from long distance as well. He also drew double-teams in the second half as the Wolverines began to control the game, opening up passing lanes for open shooters.

“The reality is that they had Trey Woodbury and we didn’t,” said Buffs head coach Tad Boyle. “We had no answer for him.”

The Buffs struggled to guard Utah Valley at the three-point line all night long, as the Wolverines shot an impressive 53% from three for the game and 56% from the field (61% in the second half). There were points where it seemed like it was impossible for the Wolverines to miss, as they made one well-contested basket after another to frustrate any defensive strategy the Buffs would employ. 

Adding to the Buffs’ frustration, the Wolverines did not shoot a free throw until there were less than two minutes to play, when the Buffs were forced to foul. The Buffs did a splendid job of not fouling Utah Valley players, but the shots kept falling. Guard Justin Harmon added 18 points and seven rebounds, along with 13 points for guard Le’Tre Darthard and 12 for big man Aziz Bandaogo. 

Utah Valley were the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) co-regular season champs and semifinalists in the respective conference tournament, so this team may have been a relative unknown to most in Boulder, but they are no slouch. They will have a chance to beat a third consecutive established program, Cincinnati, on Wednesday after defeating New Mexico in the opening round and CU on Sunday.

“To me, that’s an NCAA tournament-caliber team we just played,” said Boyle.

On the Buffs’ side, center Lawson Lovering had his best game to date in a CU uniform, racking up a career-high 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field, along with seven rebounds, two steals, and a block. He played solid defensively, unlike most of his teammates. Forward Luke O’Brien added three blocks and a steal of his own, but struggled to guard on the perimeter.

“The only guy I can say on our team who has a defensive mindset is Lawson Lovering,” Boyle claimed. “That ain’t enough.”

Senior guard Ethan Wright was another bright spot for the Buffs offensively, getting the start over Julian Hammond III, who was benched after showing up late to both a film session and a practice in the days leading up to the game, per Boyle. In his place, Wright added 17 points, four rebounds, and two steals in his final game in a Colorado uniform. The Ivy League transfer was on fire from deep in the first half, making three in the opening period and four total for the night. His performances, not just in this game but for all of his lone season at CU, earned high marks from Boyle.

“We let Ethan Wright down,” said Boyle. “He didn’t let us down.” 

Forward Tristan da Silva had an unfortunate off night, scoring 12 points for the game, but just two on 1-for-5 shooting from the field in the first half. He also had four costly turnovers and looked somewhat passive on the offensive end for the majority of the game, despite a better second half.

Da Silva now looks ahead to possibly enter the 2023 NBA Draft or at least to “test the waters” professionally, though no decision has been made for the German power forward. Point guard KJ Simpson, who has been out for the past several weeks with mono, is also weighing his options on whether to return for a junior season or to enter the NBA Draft as well.

The game was a track meet from the opening tip, as there were no stoppages in play for the first eight minutes of game time. The Buffs rode an 11 point half from Lovering and the three-point shooting of Wright heading into halftime, at which the game was tied at 38. The Buffs ran just a seven-man rotation for the night, as there were many stoppages in play and media timeouts in the second half, minimizing the effects of fatigue. 

The Buffs and Wolverines ran together most of the night, as there were eight lead changes and 12 ties in the game. However, the Buffs could simply not adjust to the high-octane offense of the Wolverines, and their own offense went cold in the final stretch of the game, allowing Utah Valley to pull away with the win and advance into the quarterfinals of the NIT. For the Buffs, their 2022-23 season comes to a close with a record of 18-17. 

This season could be seen as a positive step under the Tad Boyle regime, as they advanced one round further in the NIT than they did in the 21-22 season, in which St. Bonaventure took down the Buffs in the first round. However, this improvement does not excuse the Buffs from what can be viewed as a rather underwhelming season overall, in which they finished eighth in the Pac-12, struggled mightily on the road, and were second round exits in both the Pac-12 and NIT tournaments.

Despite a lackluster campaign, the future is looking bright for the Buffaloes. Cody Williams will join the team next season, the highest-ranked recruit in the history of CU. The uniquely talented small forward projects to be a top five pick in the 2024 NBA Draft if he chooses to go the one-and-done route at CU. 

Questions will loom over the offseason about the futures of da Silva and Simpson, the transfer portal status of Lawson Lovering, the departures of seniors Ethan Wright and Jalen Gabbidon, and even the future and fit of Tad Boyle as the Buffs head coach. But for now, all the CU men’s basketball team can do is turn the page to the next. 

“We’ve got a lot to look forward to in this program,” said Boyle. “We’ve got to continue to make strides.”