3 takeaways from Colorado's 70-62 win over Cal

BOULDER — The streak continues.

The Colorado Buffaloes took down the California Bears 70-62 on Thursday at the Haas Pavilion. The win is Colorado’s fourth in a row and improves its record to 17-9 overall and 9-7 in conference play. The Buffs currently sit in sixth place in the Pac-12, half a game behind Washington and 1.5 games behind Oregon and UCLA. All three of those teams are on the court, as of this writing.

The Buffs struggled in the first half, at one point trailing by 11 points, but the Buffs came back in the second half and led by double digits for most of the game’s final 10 minutes.

Here’s what we learned on Thursday:

K.J. Simpson makes his mark

Colorado’s backup point guard played one of the best games of his career on Thursday.

K.J. Simpson put up a career-best 19 points against Cal on 5-of-9 shooting. It was the fourth time in his career that he scored more than 10 points. He also contributed two rebounds and two assists while only turning the ball over once.

Simpson’s previous career-high of 17 points came against UCLA a few weeks ago. On Thursday, we saw the same explosiveness from the freshman that made his big night possible. He was aggressive driving to the rack, opening up shots for himself and his teammates. He knocked down jumpshots when they came to him, too.

.@KSimpsonJr to put the Buffs on top‼️

12-10 🦬 | 1H 13:02

📺 Pac-12 Network
📲 https://t.co/gOWHeMQoX8 pic.twitter.com/BT6ORm0vRc

— Colorado Men's Basketball (@CUBuffsMBB) February 18, 2022

4 in a row 🔥#BUFFSWIN pic.twitter.com/q1NCBe2Rfu

— Colorado Men's Basketball (@CUBuffsMBB) February 18, 2022

Simpson hasn’t played poorly in recent weeks, but he hasn’t done much that’s notable either. He made one 3-pointer in his last five outings and the turnover numbers have crept up at points.

Thursday was a statement game for Simpson, and he has a few weeks left to set the tone for his future in Boulder.

Jabari Walker stays hot on the glass

It’s easy to overlook Jabari Walker’s recent contributions. He’s putting up big numbers, but those numbers have become the expectation over the course of the season.

On Thursday, Walker tied his career best with 15 rebounds, which he set last time out against Oregon State. He also scored 19 points and added a block and a steal. The double-double was Walker’s 14th of the season. Nobody else in the Pac-12 has more than seven.

NO QUIT 💥

@jabari521

📺 Pac-12 Network
📲 https://t.co/gOWHeMQoX8 pic.twitter.com/TLcmBjUUE3

— Colorado Men's Basketball (@CUBuffsMBB) February 18, 2022

Again, these performances have become the standard. In the three previous games, Walker shot 50% or better from the field. In the two previous games, Walker scored at least 20 points, too.

Walker’s dominance could open doors for the Buffs in the final weeks of the season, but it also means that he is unlikely to return for a junior season. His stock is building.

Enjoy Jabari while you can.

Evan Battey returns to form

Colorado’s senior forward put up big numbers on Thursday.

Evan Battey scored 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting with six rebounds, three assists and a block. But those numbers are a little out of character for Battey at this point in the season.

Before Thursday, Battey had scored in double digits twice in the previous seven games. He’d notched more than five rebounds once in the previous eight games. This isn’t meant to rag on the face of the program, the point is that Battey’s on-court contributions had been fairly minimal in the past month.

But Battey was crucial in Colorado’s comeback. He scored 7 points in six minutes in the second half when the game was up in the air. His 3-point shooting ability was on display again, as he knocked down both of his attempts.

Battey has carved out a role on this team, but he can also put up some big numbers, as was on display at Cal.