Tag: colorado buffaloes basketball

Colorado gets past Richmond to set up Sunshine Slam title game against Florida State

After beating Richmond, Colorado is now set to face Florida State in the Sunshine Slam title game on Tuesday afternoon

Preseason tournament games are never easy to predict and few likely expected Richmond to give Colorado as much trouble as it did on Monday night.

Fortunately for the No. 18 Buffs, they pulled away late in a 64-59 win over the Spiders at the Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 4-0 Colorado men’s basketball team is now set to face Florida State, which beat UNLV in its semifinal game, in the beach bracket championship game on Tuesday at 2 p.m. MT (CBS Sports).

The Buffs and Seminoles last faced each other in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, a second-round game that was won by Florida State.

Colorado got off to a quick start defensively against Richmond but soon fell victim to the excellent shooting of Jordan King, who led the Spiders with 23 points.

However, CU’s offensive duo of Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson proved stronger as the two upperclassmen scored 15 and 23 points, respectively. J’Vonne Hadley was the Buffs’ defensive star, racking up four steals and a block.

On the night, Richmond still outshot Colorado from the field, 45% to 43%.

Head coach Tad Boyle’s Buffs are now one win away from their first preseason tournament title since winning the 2019 MGM Main Event in Las Vegas.

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Social media reacts to Cody Williams’ early breakout game vs. Milwaukee

Highlighted by a huge one-handed dunk, Cody Williams balled out against Milwaukee

Cody Williams has arrived, folks.

In only his second collegiate game, the highly touted Colorado men’s basketball freshman proved why many consider him to be a first-round NBA draft pick.

Williams’ first half on Tuesday evening against Milwaukee featured an early one-handed breakaway dunk, 13 total points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. He made it all look easy, too.

After missing Friday’s game against Grambling State with an injury, the young forward finished Tuesday’s 106-79 win with 17 points, five boards and four assists.

Colorado, which earned a No. 25 ranking in Monday’s AP poll, is now 3-0 on the season.

Here’s how social media reacted to the first big performance of Williams’ CU career:

Cody Williams to return for Colorado’s Tuesday home game against Milwaukee

Cody Williams is expected to return for tonight’s game against Milwaukee

After wins over Towson and Grambling State to start the season, the Colorado men’s basketball team is 2-0 and ranked No. 25 in the latest Associated Press poll.

The Buffs got just four points from star freshman Cody Williams in the opener against Towson before he missed Friday’s Grambling State game due to a lower leg injury.

But, all signs point to Williams being good to go for Tuesday’s game against Milwaukee, as Pat Rooney of BuffZone reported that Williams will play.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports also confirmed the news on Tuesday morning, so this is a huge step in the right direction for the Buffs.

Williams is expected to be a massive part of head coach Tad Boyle’s rotation for a loaded Buffs team with NCAA Tournament aspirations, and he even has the makings of a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

Tipoff between the Buffs and Panthers is set for 7 p.m. MT on the Pac-12 Network. The game is part of the Sunshine Slam Tournament.

Five storylines to follow ahead of Colorado’s Week 12 matchup at Washington State

These five storylines are worth following heading into Colorado’s Friday night game against Washington State

This has been a complex season for Deion Sanders, the Colorado football program and the Buffs faithful. The season started with such hope and promise. But lately, heartbreak and despair have taken over.

With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, Colorado must win out to earn bowl eligibility. It won’t be easy for Coach Prime and company as both of their final two games are on the road.

Up first is a Friday night game against the Washington State Cougars at Martin Stadium in Pullman.

As we await kickoff, here are some of the top storylines to follow leading up to another must-win game for the Buffs:

Five takeaways from Colorado’s season-opening win over Towson

We saw a lot of good from Colorado in its first win of the season

We saw a lot of good from the Colorado men’s basketball team in its season opener Monday evening. The Buffs weren’t perfect in every area, but they’ll take a 75-57 win over Towson.

TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr., five-star freshman Cody Williams and others made their Colorado debuts while returnees Tristan da Silva, J’Vonne Hadley and KJ Simpson all led the way offensively.

After the game, head coach Tad Boyle praised his team’s defensive effort, which held Towson to 35% shooting from the field. Colorado, meanwhile, shot an impressive 52% despite missing a few layups.

Here are five takeaways from Colorado’s opening night win over Towson:

Tad Boyle quietly owns one of college basketball’s top 2024 recruiting classes

Tad Boyle’s 2024 recruiting class has quietly become one of college basketball’s top-ranked groups

Ever so quietly, Colorado men’s basketball head coach Tad Boyle has put together one of the nation’s top 2024 recruiting classes.

Following the commitment of four-star shooting guard Felix Kossaras on Tuesday, the Buffs’ four-deep class now ranks No. 9 overall, according to 247Sports. In-state combo guard Andrew Crawford, Slovakian forward Sebastian Rancik and Texas center Doryan Onwuchekwa represent Colorado’s other three pledges.

Kossaras, Boyle’s latest and likely final 2024 addition, is a taller guard at 6-foot-5 (some list him as 6-foot-6) who hails from Fort Erie International in Ontario, Canada. His other college offers include Ole Miss, Temple, Missouri, Santa Clara and Wichita State.

The 247Sports Composite ranks Kossaras as the No. 101 overall prospect in his class and the No. 19 shooting guard.

With KJ Simpson, Tristan da Silva and Cody Williams highlighting this season’s squad, Boyle has the Buffs set up for long-term success as well.

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Pair of Colorado basketball stars named to list of top Pac-12 NBA draft prospects

Two of Colorado’s top players were named to a list of the Pac-12’s top 2024 NBA draft prospects

The 2023-24 college basketball season is just around the corner and that means preseason watch lists and future NBA draft projections are beginning to be produced and shared.

According to one analyst, the Colorado Buffaloes have a pair of top 2024 NBA draft prospects on their roster. In a recent article released by Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports, Cody Williams and Tristan da Silva are two of the Pac-12’s best 2024 draft prospects.

Williams, a five-star true freshman from Arizona, has one of the biggest upsides out of anyone in the 2023 recruiting class. The 6-foot-8 forward will likely be one of the top rookie college players in the country this season.

Da Silva is a veteran forward who, even with the talented Williams on the roster, will likely be the Buffs’ most consistent and best player this season. Here’s some of what Finkelstein wrote on da Silva:

Scouts will be watching the progression of his athleticism and impact on the defensive end of the floor in order to project how those two areas could potentially translate to the NBA level.

The duo of Williams and da Silva, along with star point guard KJ Simpson and other, will make Colorado a legitimate threat to win the Pac-12 this season.

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Luke O’Brien earns huge praise from college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein

College basketball analyst Jon Rothstein gave some huge praise to Luke O’Brien

With the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball season beginning soon, all eyes are on five-star freshman Cody Williams and returnees KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva. However, Luke O’Brien is another big name to watch this winter.

CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein recently named 21 “glue guys” to monitor this season and O’Brien was on the list. Here’s what Rothstein wrote about O’Brien:

The casual college basketball fan may know about the Buffaloes’ tandem of KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva, but only the real junkies are aware of O’Brien. That will change if the Buffaloes compete for a Pac-12 regular season title this season. A 6-8 guard, O’Brien has a tremendous nose for the ball and regularly creates extra possessions, tallying five games last season with 10 or more rebounds. If Colorado lives up to its preseason hype, O’Brien will emerge as one of the top utility players in the sport.

O’Brien averaged 6.2 points per game with 5.6 rebounds last season while playing just under 24 minutes per game, but those numbers could go up across the board this season,

As Rothstein notes, there is a lot of hype around the Buffs this season with the return of da Silva and Simpson. Plus, Williams has been pegged as an early first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

But, O’Brien should also be a huge contributor to head coach Tad Boyle’s team this year.

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Colorado men’s basketball 2023-24 player profile: Cody Williams

Get to know Cody Williams ahead of his first (and possibly only) season with the #cubuffs

Hopes are running high for the Colorado men’s basketball team this season after a rare down year for the Buffs in 2022-23. The optimism is due to the returning talent and the arrival of star freshman Cody Williams.

As one of the top recruits in the country and a potential top-five pick in next year’s NBA draft, Williams represents the highest-rated recruit to ever sign with Colorado. Adding a recruit of Williams’ caliber has Buffaloes fans envisioning the Chauncey Billups years and a deep run into March Madness.

Ahead of what could be his only year in Boulder, here’s what you should know about Williams:

Tristan da Silva reportedly drew interest from Duke this offseason

Tristan da Silva was reportedly offered a good deal of money to transfer to Duke this offseason

The Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team has a lot of hype surrounding it right now, especially with true freshman Cody Williams coming in as a projected first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

But, one big boost is the return of forward Tristan da Silva, who decided to run it back for one more year with the Buffs after testing the NBA draft waters.

Da Silva was the second-highest scorer on the team last year with 15.8 points per game, just 0.1 PPG behind guard KJ Simpson for the top spot. As it turns out, da Silva drew interest from a few top college programs this offseason, Duke even offered him a lot of money to join the Blue Devils, per Eric Christensen of CBS 4 Denver:

This is somewhat surprising because da Silva didn’t officially enter the portal, but that’s where we’re at in today’s age of college basketball. Nonetheless, the good news is that da Silva declined an offer from one of the sport’s most prestigious programs in order to run it back with Colorado head coach Tad Boyle.

With the season around the corner, he is a cornerstone of this loaded Buffs team.

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