Lawson Lovering ends sophomore season on high note with career night

Colorado’s 7-foot sophomore had a career night in the Buffs’ loss to Utah Valley

The Colorado men’s basketball team might just have a new offensive weapon heading into next season. Lawson Lovering, the 7-foot sophomore out of Cheyenne, Wyoming had a coming-out party against the Utah Valley Wolverines in the second round of the NIT on Sunday.

Expectations have been high for Lovering since he first joined the Buffs last season. He was a four-star prospect coming out of Cheyenne Central High School and a top-100 player in the country according to ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals. In Sunday’s season-ending loss to Utah Valley, Lovering showed a glimpse of that potential as he led the Buffaloes with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting while also adding seven rebounds, two steals and a block.

After the game, I asked head coach Tad Boyle about Lovering’s performance:

“He played against one of the best shot blockers in the country (Aziz Bandaogo) and I thought Lawson did a great job,” Boyle said. “Lawson’s got great size and he’s working on his low-post game. I’ve said it all year long, he’s a work in progress offensively. He’s really good for us defensively, an elite level defender. But tonight you saw the culmination of the hard work he’s put in before practice, after practice and he played within himself and was a bright spot tonight.”

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Colorado men’s basketball NIT recap: Buffs’ season concludes with loss to Utah Valley

Colorado’s season came to a close with a second-round loss to Utah Valley

To look at the positives, Colorado gained some valuable postseason experience playing in the NIT and Lawson Lovering enters the offseason with a good deal of confidence in his offensive game.

But a career-high 21-point night from Lovering still wasn’t enough to earn the Buffs a spot in the NIT quarterfinals. Utah Valley hit 56% of its field goals and left the CU Events Center with an 81-69 second-round win to end Colorado’s season.

The Wolverines began the second half on a 7-0 run to go up 45-38 and while the Buffs were able to tie things up twice later, Colorado never fully rebounded from the loss of momentum. Utah Valley’s Trey Woodbury was a thorn in the Buffaloes’ side, too, scoring 25 on 11-of-15 from the field.

Playing in his final college game, Ethn Wright capped his Buffs career with 17 points, including 12 from deep.

Tristan da Silva, who said afterward that he’ll at least test the NBA draft waters this summer, scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

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Previewing Colorado’s second-round NIT matchup vs. Utah Valley

Lawson Lovering’s defensive play will be key for the #cubuffs vs. Utah Valley, our @Matt_Wagner24 writes

Colorado escaped with a one-point win over Seton Hall in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night, largely behind 18 points from Ethan Wright.

Now, the Buffs men’s basketball team heads into a matchup against a dangerous Utah Valley squad on Sunday looking to move forward in the postseason.

A key Wolverine the Buffs will have to look out for is guard Justin Harmon. He had a career-high 32 points in their win at New Mexico last week, and he has proven to be a go-to scorer for the WAC regular season champions.

Aside from Harmon, 7-footer Aziz Bandaogo could cause matchup problems for Colorado. Bandaogo averages a double-double, putting up 11.4 points and 10.2 rebounds a game this season, and Lawson Lovering will have to have one of his more impressive games on the defensive end to slow down Bandaogo.

Utah Valley isn’t a deep team, though, as it doesn’t get much offensive production from its bench.

As for Colorado, it’s unlikely that KJ Simpson will be available as he continues to deal with an illness. If Simpson can’t play, the Buffs will have to keep getting consistent production out of Julian Hammond III. Hammond has done well in Simpson’s stead, scoring a career-high 21 in a Pac-12 Tournament win over Washington and putting up 10 points and five assists with only one turnover in the Buffs’ first-round NIT win over Seton Hall.

Tristan da Silva has to have a good game for the Buffs. He was mostly inefficient against Seton Hall, although he’s certainly shown that he’s capable of being a consistent piece.

Rather crucial for the Buffs, though, is the play of Lovering. I’ve already talked about how key he’ll be likely matched up against Bandaogo, and while Lovering has been a good presence defensively for Colorado, he must stay out of foul trouble. If Lovering can do that and continue to be a solid defender, that will go a long way for the Buffs against Utah Valley.

Tipoff at the CU Events Center on Sunday is set for 7:30 p.m. MT on ESPNU.

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Colorado men’s basketball NIT recap: Buffs advance with win over Seton Hall

The #cubuffs did just enough to keep their season alive in the NIT

Colorado did just enough to extend its season at least one more game by defeating Seton Hall in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday.

After falling behind 47-42 midway through the second-half, another loss in an NIT opener seemed immenent, but the Buffaloes rallied and were able to get a defensive stop in the game’s waning seconds to hold off the Pirates, 65-64, in Boulder.

Once again, the Buffs found their touch from 3-point territory, nailing 10-of-18, including three from Tristan da Silva and four from Ethan Wright, who finished with a season-high 18 points.

Colorado’s bench outscored the Pirates 23-8 and Luke O’Brien pulled down a career-high 14 boards. Julian Hammond III was also strong once again in KJ Simpson’s absence with 10 points, five assists and just one turnover.

“We don’t want to stop,” Wright sakd. “For me and Jalen (Gabbidon), this could have been our last game and I think we played like it. All the guys are the same way. They want to be playing and that’s kind of the mindset we have. We’re just really lucky to be playing in March so we’re going to take that seriously.”

In the second round on either Saturday or Sunday, the Buffs will face the winner of Wednesday’s game between New Mexico and Utah Valley. Another game at the CU Events Center would come only if Utah Valley beats the Lobos.

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2023 NIT First Round: New Mexico vs. Utah Valley-First Look At The Wolverines

2023 NIT First Round: New Mexico vs. Utah Valley-First Look At The Wolverines Who are the Wolverines? Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire The Lobos are set to host Utah Valley in the first round of the NIT. The New Mexico Lobos enjoyed a very …

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2023 NIT First Round: New Mexico vs. Utah Valley-First Look At The Wolverines

Who are the Wolverines?

Contact/Follow @HardwoodTalk & @MWCwire

The Lobos are set to host Utah Valley in the first round of the NIT.

The New Mexico Lobos enjoyed a very successful year two of the Pitino era this past season in Albuquerque. With a reinvigorated community, showing up in force and a quality product on the floor the Lobos thrived.

Although, it may have seemed like all was right again in Albuquerque heading into conference play. New Mexico wasn’t immune to the strength and challenging nature of the Mountain West this season.

After boasting several big wins over the conference’s best, a February decline forced the Lobos into first day action in the Mountain West Tournament. And an quarterfinal exit against a Utah State squad that would fall to San Diego State in the finals. So, to the NIT New Mexico goes. To host the Utah Valley Wolverines on Wednesday.

Who are the Wolverines

Coach

Utah Valley is coached by head coach Mark Madsen. The 4th year lead man was a nine year NBA veteran, winning two championships as a member of the Kobe Bryant & Shaquille O’Neal led Los Angeles Lakers.

His stop in Orem is his first stint in collegiate coaching, aside from being an assistant at Stanford. Prior to that, Madsen was the head coach of the Los Angeles D-Fenders. The Los Angeles Laker’s D-League affiliate at the time.

Madsen has lead the Wolverines to two regular season WAC Championships. Amassing a record of 67-50 (57.3%) in the process. Not to mention the 2022-2023 WAC Coach of the Year award.

Star Players

Jr. G-Le’tre Darthard (6-4, 180)

Stats: 14.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.5 APG & 1.2 SPG

Sr. G-Trey Woodbury (6-4, 200)

Stats: 13.5 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.0 SPG & 40% 3FG

So. C-Aziz Bandaogo (7-0, 230)

Stats: 11.5 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 1.2 APG & 3.0 BPG

How did they get here

The Wolverines lost their WAC Player of the Year big man Fardaws Aimaq to the transfer portal last offseason. But managed to retain plenty of the rest of their production. Also finding a candidate to replace the 6-11 rebounding machine in the paint. Akron transfer Aziz Bandaogo, who managed to average a double-double to go along with 3.0 BPG, leading the WAC.

Locked and reload for the 2022-2023 season, Utah Valley managed to secure some quality road wins over in-state rival BYU (in back to back years) along with a win over Oregon in Eugene.

Priming the Wolverines for another rigorous WAC slate going forward. Where Utah Valley managed to secure the regular season crown unanimously after defeating their biggest threat Sam Houston in their only meeting on December 29th. All of this in combination with an early exit from the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas last week led a very dangerous Wolverines squad to the NIT. For their second appearance in the postseason tournament in school history.

Biggest Wins:

@-BYU 75-60

@-Oregon 77-72

At home-Sam Houston 80-64

NET: 74th

KenPom: 79th

RPI: 61st

Larry Muniz covers college basketball as a writer for Mountain West Wire and WAC Hoops Digest. Also as a co-host of the college basketball podcast “Hoops Talk W/Jay & Larry”. He is also a USWBA Member.

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CU Buffs men’s basketball to host Seton Hall in NIT first round

Colorado men’s basketball’s season will continue in the NIT

Following an up-and-down regular season for Colorado, the Buffaloes will host Seton Hall on Tuesday at 9 p.m. MT to open the 2023 NIT, as announced on Sunday night.

Colorado, given a No. 3 seed, enters the NIT with a 17-16 overall record, including an 8-12 mark in Pac-12 play.

Colorado had a five-game winning streak in December and beat then-No. 11 Tennessee in Nashville in nonconference play but also had losses to the likes of Grambling State and UMass during the regular season.

That said, the Buffs have talent with the likes of All-Pac-12 members Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson, the latter of whom may be returning after missing the Pac-12 Tournament due to an illness.

The Buffs played well in the Pac-12 Tournament minus Simpson, as they defeated Washington in the first round behind a stellar performance from Julian Hammond III and had a good first-half showing against a strong UCLA team before ultimately falling.

If the Buffs play up to their potential, they could do well for themselves in this postseason tournament and have solid momentum to build on heading into the 2023-24 season.

For those unable to make it to the CU Events Center for the game, it will be televised on ESPN2.

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