The Colorado Buffaloes stand together after the game against Grambling State University on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. (Sage Phelps-Fast/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Boulder men’s basketball team is now 5-2 on the 2023-24 season, following an 83-88 loss to the No. 13 Colorado State Rams on Wednesday night. After a tremendous start to the season, the Buffs have cooled off a bit, but still have high goals of reaching the NCAA March Madness tournament at the end of the year.
“Disappointing,” CU Head Coach Tad Boyle said after the game. “Our offense was good enough in the second half but not in the first half because they were the aggressors. Colorado State is good but that was really disappointing because that was a winnable game. It was a great college basketball atmosphere and we didn’t do our part.”
In the game against CSU, the Buffs didn’t look like their normal selves, making only 10 shots and giving up seven turnovers, by the end of the first half down 26-41. In the second, however, CU looked renewed and played the top-ranked Rams very close, making 10 of their first 12 shots in the half. Though they played much better and forced a closer game later in the half, CU wasn’t able to make the comeback and fell short, their first basketball loss to CSU since 2017.
“We weren’t our best tonight and we needed our best,” Coach Boyle said. “We didn’t have to play perfect but we needed to be at our best and we weren’t at our best offensively or defensively.”
K.J. Simpson was the star of the game for the Buffaloes as the junior finished with a season-high 30 points on 9/13 shooting, as well as three rebounds and four assists. Freshman Cody Williams also had his best game in a Colorado uniform this year, collecting 21 points on only four missed shots, all in the second half which desperately helped CU claw back into the game. Senior Tristan da Silva didn’t have his best game as the Rams held him to only 11 points, but he grabbed eight rebounds and played all but four minutes in the game.
Junior guard KJ Simpson shoots a free throw during the game against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
After perhaps the best start possible to the 2023-24 season with great shooting and the ability to move the ball, CU has hit a small bump in the road. They started off the season with three easy wins against Towson, Grambling State, and Milwaukee, with an average margin of victory of 25.6 points per game.
The Buffs then went down to Daytona Beach for the Sunshine Slam, where they had a tight 64-59 victory over Richmond, to put them in the final game of that tournament. In the final, CU matched up against Florida State, who knocked out the Buffs in their last March Madness appearance in 2021. Colorado ended up falling in overtime by only just six points in a game that they shot 34% from the field, for their first loss of the season. After the Sunshine Slam tournament, the Buffaloes quickly bounced back with a 17-point victory over Iona, with five Buffs scoring double-digit points in an all-around great performance.
“I give credit to FSU with the way they played us,” Simpson said. “But I feel like a lot of it in that game was things on our end. I feel like we were just in our own head. We can handle pressure, we’re built for that…I mean, we go against each other every day with that type of atmosphere.”
Colorado was 5-1 going into the game against the No. 13 CSU Rams, playing a style of basketball that emphasizes finding the open man and controlling the rebounding battle. However once the game started the Rams found a quick advantage, making nine first-half three-pointers and holding CU to only 38% shooting in that time. CSU was able to play tight defense while finding their open shooters, flipping the script on the Buffs, and putting themselves in control early.
Though the Buffaloes scored 57 points on 69% shooting in the second half, it wasn’t enough as the Rams continued their level of play all night. Colorado was able to get the lead all the way down to only four points, but their continuous turnovers and lack of a strong defense became their downfall, with the Buffs leaving Ft. Collins with their second loss of the season.
Senior forward Tristan da Silva goes up for a layup during the game against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
“They were the aggressor in the first half,” Boyle said. “There was no question about it. Colorado State punched us in the mouth. We looked around like we weren’t expecting it for some reason. We knew it was going to be a hostile environment. It was.”
Over the course of the seven games so far played in the 2023-24 college basketball season, Simpson is the current statistical leader for the Buffaloes. Simpson is averaging 20 points per game on 52.4% shooting (41.4% 3pt), 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He had been the lifeline for the Buffs team this year, able to make smart passes and take big shots as the on-court leader for Boulder.
da Silva has had a slow start to the college basketball season compared to many people’s expectations, averaging 14.6 points per game, five rebounds per game, and 2.1 assists per game. Like Simpson, da Silva is also making more than half of his shots (52.9% FG) but has yet to match his play last year as one of the best players in the Pac-12 conference. Da Silva struggled against CSU making only 3/11 shots, but with two previous games this year shooting above 80% in the game, he looks to still be finding a steady groove as the season goes on.
“It’s great to be around excellence,” Simpson said about da Silva after their win against Iona. “I’ve seen him put into work, I’ve seen him put in all the long hours he’s put in the film…and it just goes to show how hard he’s been working and how much he deserves it.”
Cody Williams played his best game for the Buffaloes against the Rams, with all of his 21 points and three rebounds coming in the second half, seemingly sparking the Buffs’ comeback by himself. So far this season, Williams is averaging 12.8 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, and 2 assists per game, shooting a total of 60.4% and 50% on three-pointers. As Williams still looks to get his feet under him in the realm of college basketball, his performance against CSU looks to be a preview of what is to come.
Besides their three most notable players, Colorado has seen great play from supporting players like Julian Hammond, J’Vonne Hadley, and Eddie Lampkin Jr. In his role as the backup point guard, Julian Hammond is averaging 9.9 ppg on 55% shooting as well as 2.3 assists per game, leading the tempo of the team when K.J. Simpson is off the floor. After transferring last year and a string of injuries, Hadley is also producing for the Buffs, averaging 9.7 ppg on 58% shooting, as well as six rebounds and 2 assists per game.
Newcomer and transfer from TCU, Lampkin has also been a great addition for the Buffaloes to gain size in the paint, with the 6’11” center averaging 7.3 points and rebounds per game in an average of 23 minutes per game. Lampkin has given CU an added defensive and rebounding presence, for a team that has lacked those attributes in previous years, coming as a last line of defense against opposing teams.
Senior center Eddie Lampkin Jr. celebrates Julian Hammond III scoring during the game against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (Clementine Miller/CU Independent)
The Buffaloes have looked amazing in their first five wins of the season and can see areas to improve on in their two losses. After a 5-2 start, Colorado looks to continue their high level of play as the season progresses and conference play draws closer. The Buffaloes are currently ranked 3rd in the Pac-12 conference behind only Arizona and Washington State.
“But at the end of the day, every road game is going to be like that,” Simpson said after the CSU game. “We were too caught up in the crowd, and when they went on runs it got loud in there. We’re not getting calls on the road. We can’t dwell on stuff like that. That’s not how we’re going to win.”
Despite their loss to rival CSU on Wednesday night, the Colorado men’s basketball season continues on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 6 pm MST they host the (4-5) Pepperdine Waves, also live on the Pac-12 Network. That game will be followed by perhaps the Buffs’ biggest test of the season against last year’s runner-up and currently ranked No. 8 (5-1) Miami Hurricanes. That game will be for the NABC Brooklyn Showcase and will take place at the Barclays Center at 12pm MST on Sunday, Dec. 10, and live on ESPN2.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Eli Gregorski at eli.gregorski@colorado.edu
