CU Buffs
Colorado beats Oregon State 73-57
Colorado took care of business in Corvallis, collecting a 73-57 win to end the regular season. Tad Boyle's team collected a record 22nd victory to make it six straight and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
The Buffs (22-9, 13-ƙPac-12) had all five starters in double-figures with Eddie Lampkin Jr. leading the way. The TCU transfer finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. KJ Simpson and J'Vonne Hadley each added 15 points, Tristan da Silva chipped in 12, and Luke O'Brien had 10.
The win also marked CU's first six-game winning streak to end a regular season since the 1954-55 season and the first six-game conference winning streak since 1996-97, acc³³7³³ording to CU athletics.
The Beavers (13-18, 5-15 Pac-12) wanted to take some momentum heading into the Pac-12 Tournament, but couldn't find a way to pull ahead of the Buffs. Dexter Akanno led OSU with 15 points.
Colorado took a 41-27 lead going into halftime and clamped down in the second half. They pushed the lead up to as much as 22 points and coasted in the final eight minutes.
The Buffs shot 47.5% from the floor (29-for-61) and held the Beavers to under 40% (21-for-56). Not bad considering CU was once again without Cody Williams (ankle) and Julian Hammond (knee).
What does this mean for the Buffs? For starters, it was a great ending to end the season and puts them closer to getting off the bubble. They have confidence and belong in the field of 64 teams.
Colorado will be the No. 3 seed in the Pac-12 tournament and begin play next Thursday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a 9:30 p.m. (MT) game against the winner of Wednesday's match up between the No. 6 and No. 11 seeds.
