Fast break
Why the Buffs won: CU shot .500, outrebounded WSU 30-28, and went 22-for-26 at the free throw line.
Three stars:
1. CU’s KJ Simpson: Scored a career-high 34 points, going 10-for-18 from the floor and 13-for-14 at the free throw line.
2. CU’s J’Vonne Hadley: Turned in another efficient game, hitting a pair of 3-pointers before finishing with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.
3. WSU’s Andrej Jakimovski: Kept the Cougars in the game by going 4-for-6 on 3-pointers with 19 points.
Up next: The Buffs hit the road to take on the top team in the Pac-12 on Thursday at No. 4 Arizona, which lost at Stanford on Sunday afternoon.
Hoops fans need to book time at the CU Events Center this winter.
Not only does Colorado boast a pair of teams capable of making noise in March, but the Buffaloes also feature a pair of electric floor generals who are among the top point guards in the nation.
On Saturday, CU’s Jaylyn Sherrod stole the show in a top-12 battle, leading the eighth-ranked CU women’s team past No. 12 Utah with a career-high 34 points.
On Sunday, KJ Simpson followed suit.
The junior guard once again put the shorthanded Buffs on his shoulders, pouring in his own career-high total of 34 points to lead CU to a 74-67 victory against Washington State at the CU Events Center.
CU once again played without Tristan da Silva, who missed his second consecutive game due to a sprained ankle, and freshman standout Cody Williams, who missed his fifth straight game due to a left wrist injury. Yet much like Friday’s win against Washington, the Buffs were able to hold off WSU down the stretch, with Simpson scoring six points during a late 9-0 burst that put the game away.
With the victory, the Buffs have put together their first 2-0 start within league play since the 2014-15 season. For Simpson, it was his second 30-point game of the season and the fourth of his career.
“I went to the girls’ game (Saturday), so I was just taking some notes from her. Thatap how I was able to score the ball today,” Simpson said. “We’re definitely close. Ever since I came here as a freshman she’s been a great friend. She’s a GOAT for sure. She’s a dawg. Her mentality, her passion, her drive is something that I really value and I appreciate. Not just on the basketball court, but as a person. She’s a great person as well.”
Washington State’s only lead occurred after the first basket of the game, and although the Buffs held a 10-point lead at halftime, the Cougars refused to go away quietly.
Yet every time WSU cut the Buffs’ advantage to two points, it was Simpson who answered. The Cougars eventually cut the Buffs’ lead to 65-64 one on a pair of free throws by Myles Rice with 3 minutes, 22 seconds remaining, but a driving bucket from Simpson began a 9-0 run by the Buffs that sealed the win, as well as the opening home sweep in Pac-12 play.
Simpson finished 10-for-18 from the field and 13-for-14 at the free throw line.
“His shooting percentage and his efficiency as a point guard relative to his first two years here is…part of it is the mental maturity and the coach-ability and coming in and watching film and understanding how to play the game,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “And a big part of it is shot selection. His shot selection is so much better. He’s not taking a lot of bad ones. And when he gets downhill, he’s a problem.”
CU shot an even 50%, reaching that mark for the ninth time in 13 games. WSU’s Andrej Jakimovski played a big role in keeping the Cougars in the game, going 4-for-6 on 3-pointers with a team-high 19 points, but the rest of WSU’s rotation finished just 1-for-9 from the arc. Cougars leading scorer Isaac Jones went a perfect 7-for-7 with 16 points but Rice, WSU’s second-leading scorer who entered the game averaging 14.8 points, was held to eight points on a 3-for-8 effort from the floor.
“Another hard-fought league win. That was not easy for us,” Boyle said. “A quality win against a quality team. I think they’re going to win some games in our league. Our guys did a good job on the off-day digesting the game plan mentally. Our guys did a really good job in a short turnaround.”
CU Buffs men’s basketball 74, Washington State 67
WASHINGTON STATE (9-4, 0-2)
Jones 7-7 2-2 16, Jakimovski 7-14 1-2 19, Chinyelu 2-2 0-0 4, Rice 3-8 2-2 8, Houinsou 1-7 0-0 2, Wells 1-4 0-0 2, Mullins 0-2 0-0 0, Cluff 7-12 1-2 16, Watts 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-58 6-8 67.
COLORADO (11-2, 2-0)
Lampkin 3-4 4-5 10, O’Brien 1-4 1-2 3, Hadley 4-7 2-2 12, Simpson 10-18 13-14 34, Hammond III 4-7 0-0 9, Carrington 1-2 2-3 4, Ruffin 1-4 0-0 2, Dip 0-0 0-0 0, Hurlburt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-48 22-26 74.
Halftime — Colorado 39-29. 3-point field goals — Washington State 5-15 (Jakimovski 4-6, Rice 0-2, Houinsou 0-3, Mullins 0-1, Cluff 1-1, Watts 0-2); Colorado 4-9 (O’Brien 0-1, Hadley 2-2, Simpson 1-3, Hammond III 1-1, Ruffin 0-1, Hurlburt 0-1). Rebounds — Washington State 28 (Jones 8); Colorado 30 (Lampkin 6, Hammond III 6). Assists — Washington Sate 12 (Houinsou 4); Colorado 12 (Hadley 3). Turnovers — Washington State 13 (Chinyelu 3, Rice 3); Colorado 14 (Lampkin 4; Simpson 4). Total fouls — Washington State 21; Colorado 13. Fouled out — Rice. A — 6,952.
