STANFORD, Calif. — Colorado began a critical road stretch, at a critical point in the season, with a resounding statement.
Putting together a complete effort on both ends of the floor, the Buffaloes picked up a key road win on Thursday evening, dominating host Stanford in a 69-51 Pac-12 Conference victory.
It was the first of four consecutive road games for the Buffs, whose Bay Area trip concludes Saturday night at Cal. It was CU’s first win at Stanford since 2017 and it was the Buffs’ fourth road win in league play this season, matching their most in a season since joining the Pac-12.
While it was a balanced attack offensively — six different CU players scored at least eight points — it was, fittingly, senior point guard McKinley Wright IV who set the tone. Wright very nearly recorded what would have been just the fourth triple-double in program history, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.
Chauncey Billups is the only CU player to record a triple-double in points, assists, and rebounds. David Harrison also posted two triple-doubles in his career, though his featured double-figure totals in blocked shots.
“McKinley Wright, he wasn’t going to let us lose tonight,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “Fourteen, nine and nine. Kin was special.”
CU led 34-23 at halftime and extended the lead to 14 points on a 3-pointer by Eli Parquet to start the second half.
Stanford eventually trimmed that 14-point lead down to six, but the Buffs responded with a game-clinching run, reeling off a 14-2 burst to take an 18-point lead with 7 minutes remaining.
The Buffs nearly shot at least 50 percent for the third consecutive game, finishing with a .491 mark, while holding Stanford to a .396 shooting percentage. CU enjoyed its best game on the glass in weeks, outrebounding Stanford 32-23.
CU’s big men battled foul trouble, with the less-than-100 percent Evan Battey committing his first two fouls within the first 3 minutes, 19 seconds, while 7-footer Dallas Walton ended the first half with two fouls. After Battey’s second foul, he limped gingerly to the bench favoring the ankle he injured late in last week’s win against Arizona. But Battey played a key role as the Buffs broke it open in the second half, scoring all eight of his points and grabbing five of his six rebounds after halftime.
With Battey sidelined most of the first half, Walton enjoyed a strong opening frame, scoring all five of his points and grabbing all five of his rebounds before halftime.
“Really good team victory,” Boyle said. “Wasn’t expecting to win like this, but we’ll take it. Our guys were dialed-in. The best defensive execution of a game plan that we’ve had all year. Coach (Bill) Grier put the scout together and did a great job, and our guys executed it to a tee.”
That defensive game plan held Stanford to a season-low scoring total, and although Cardinal star Oscar da Silva scored 22 points and drew 10 fouls, the rest of Stanford’s team shot just .355. Stanford also struggled from the 3-point line, going 3-for-15.
“We talked about it on the way down here,” Wright said. “There’s something we want to do on this road trip, and we knew we couldn’t do it without winning the first one. I feel like that Utah (loss) last week, I kind of rushed some stuff and didn’t take control of the game and let that one slip. I was hard on myself about that one. I wanted to do whatever I can tonight to make sure we won this game.”
Fast break
What went right: The Buffs shot .491 overall, went 8-for-19 on 3-pointers, and outrebounded Stanford 32-23. CU also held the Cardinal to a .396 mark from the floor.
What went wrong: Stanford was able to draw fouls (10-for-11 on free throws) and Oscar da Silva scored 22 points, but the Buffs held the rest of the Cardinal team in check.
Star of the game: McKinley Wright IV. The senior point guard flirted with the fourth triple-double in team history, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.
Whatap next: The Buffs will seek a road sweep of the Bay Area schools on Saturday at Cal (8 p.m. MT, ESPNU).
Colorado 69, Stanford 51
COLORADO (16-5, 10-4 Pac-12 )
Battey 3-7 0-0 6, Walton 2-3 0-0 5, Parquet 3-4 2-2 10, Wright 7-17 0-0 14, Schwartz 3-7 2-2 9, Horne 5-9 0-0 11, Daniels 2-3 0-0 6, T.da Silva 3-5 1-2 8, Barthelemy 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-57 5-6 69.
STANFORD (12-8, 8-6)
Delaire 2-8 2-2 6, Jones 2-3 2-2 8, Kisunas 0-0 0-0 0, O.da Silva 8-17 6-7 22, O’Connell 1-5 0-0 2, Williams 3-8 0-0 7, Wills 2-4 0-0 4, Keefe 0-0 0-0 0, Murrell 1-3 0-0 2, Taitz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-48 10-11 51.
Halftime – Colorado 34-23. 3-Point Goals – Colorado 8-20 (Daniels 2-3, Parquet 2-3, Walton 1-1, T.da Silva 1-2, Horne 1-3, Schwartz 1-4, Barthelemy 0-1, Wright 0-3), Stanford 3-15 (Jones 2-3, Williams 1-5, Delaire 0-1, O’Connell 0-1, Murrell 0-2, O.da Silva 0-3). Rebounds – Colorado 32 (Wright 9), Stanford 23 (O.da Silva 6). Assists – Colorado 14 (Wright 9), Stanford 8 (O’Connell 3). Total Fouls – Colorado 14, Stanford 9.
