In the final game of the Pac-12 Tournament's opening round quadruple-header, the No. 6 Colorado Buffaloes hung on down the stretch to beat No. 11 Utah 53-41 on Wednesday night.
Despite the 12-point win, Colorado did everything in its power to give away the game throughout the second half, and can't be particularly pleased with its performance. The Buffaloes reached the 35-point barrier with 15:22 left to play in the contest, and almost inexplicably, proceeded to remain there until the clock read 6:44. With a small deficit and the door wide open for a comeback, Utah was unable to curb its ball control problems (18 turnovers as a team) in order to take full advantage.
Colorado sophomore forward Andre Roberson, who was recently named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, led all players with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Big man Jason Washburn's 11 points paved the way for Utah, on a night when the Utes turned in an utterly abysmal shooting performance from both the foul line (9-of-18, 50%) and the field (14-of-40, 35%).
The Buffaloes now move on to play No. 3 Oregon tomorrow evening for a chance to reach the Pac-12 quarterfinals on Friday.
Stay tuned to SB Nation Denver for updates. For more coverage on the Colorado Buffaloes, check out The Ralphie Report. And for more news and notes from around the college hoops world, head over to SB Nation NCAA Basketball.