Boulder, Colo. • Julian Hammond III and Tristan da Silva each scored 15 points and Nique Clifford had his first-career double-double and Colorado ended the Pac-12 regular season beating Utah 69-60 on Saturday.
Clifford scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and Ethan Wright scored 10 for Colorado which ended a three-game skid; all against ranked opponents at the time they played.
Rollie Worster scored 15 points, Branden Carlsen scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Lazar Stefanovic scored 12 for Utah.
Colorado guard Jalen Gabbidon, right, drives to the rim as Utah center Branden Carlson defends in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, March 4, 2023, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado played without second-leading scorer KJ Simpson (15.9 points) who coach Tad Boyle announced will miss the conference tournament due to mononucleosis.
Colorado (16-15, 8-12) heads to the conference tournament in Las Vegas as the ninth seed and will face No. 8 Washington on Wednesday.
Utah (17-14, 10-10) — which has dropped five straight — will be the seventh seed and will face Stanford on Wednesday.
The Buffaloes used a 9-0 run in just under three minutes to take a 15-7 lead and they led the rest of the game.