No. 8 Arizona cuts Colorado's home win streak 99-79

Buffs fall for the first time at CU Event Center this season

Jason Jones/BuffsBeat

Colorado couldn't handle Arizona with a 99-79 loss at CU Event Center on Saturday night. The Buffaloes (16-8, 7-6 Pac-12) saw their 13-game home win streak come to an end. They were also handed a season sweep by the Wildcats (19-5, 10-3 Pac-12), who led by double-digits most of the second half.   

KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva had 20 apiece for Colorado. An off-night for Cody Williams who couldn't find any consistency on the floor. He finished with eight points on 3-of-7 shooting. J'Vonne Hadley added 13 as the only other Buffs player in double figures. 

Caleb Love led five Wildcats in double figures with 19 points. Arizona shot 36-for-68 (52.9%) from the field, including ten three-pointers. Oumar Ballo finished with his tenth career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Colorado tried to crave away at Arizona's first half lead, trailing 47-40 at halftime. But they couldn't catch up when it mattered and never got the Wildcats' lead down to single digits. The Buffs had several errors and miscues on the night, committed 16 turnovers that were converted into 23 points.  

"They played well, they shot well, they made plays offensively and they were solid defensively," Tad Boyle said about Arizona. "But our guys battled, they competed, they fought. I have no issues with our team in terms of our effort, in terms of our grit, in terms of our toughness. It's just we didn't play well enough tonight to beat a really, really good Arizona team."

The Wildcats ended the Buffs five-game win streak at home in the series. They came into the game winless in Boulder since 2015. Arizona’s 99 points are the most by a CU opponent this season and the most against the Buffaloes since 2017.

NEXT UP: 

Colorado will make their final trip to Southern California as members of the Pac-12. A two-game swing at UCLA on Thursday before heading to USC on Saturday. A key set of matchups with NCAA tournament implications.