Twelve years after winning their first and only Pac-12 men’s basketball title in 2012, the Colorado Buffaloes will play in the historic conference’s final championship game.
Head coach Tad Boyle’s third-seeded Buffs punched their ticket to the Pac-12 Tournament title game by beating second-seeded Washington State in the semifinals late Friday night, 58-52. Colorado, now riding an impressive eight-game winning streak, is set to battle No. 4 seed Oregon on Saturday (7 p.m. MT on Fox) for the Pac-12 title.
Against the Cougars, Colorado’s defense stepped up late, holding WSU to only two points in the game’s final three minutes. KJ Simpson led the Buffs with 12 points, Tristan da Silva had 13 and J’Vonne Hadley gutted out 12.
If the Buffs weren’t already an NCAA Tournament lock after beating Utah in the Pac-12 quarterfinals, they should be now. Although beating the Ducks and securing an automatic bid would be the preferred route.
Check out some of the best pictures from Colorado’s Pac-12 Tournament semifinal win over Washington State: