3 takeaways from Colorado's 81-76 win over Utah

BOULDER — The Buffs got another one.

The Colorado Buffaloes beat the Utah Utes 81-76 Saturday night at the CU Events Center. The win improves Colorado’s record to 7-7 in Pac-12 play and 15-9 overall. The Buffs are currently tied with Stanford for seventh place. Colorado has now won back-to-back games after losing five of six.

Here’s what we learned:

Jabari Walker leads the final push

Colorado trailed by as much as 11 points in the second half and the Buffs trailed with less than five minutes to go.

A stretch of hot shooting—which included 3-pointers from Keeshawn Barthelemy, Jabari Walker and Nique Clifford—helped CU to regain the lead late, but it was Walker who solidified the win.

Walker went on a personal 7-0 run from the 4:13 mark to the 1:33 mark, giving CU a six-point lead. He also scored a pair of free throws at 4:29 and another pair at 1:10. His 11 points in the final five minutes of the game matched Utah’s 11 points in that same stretch.

AND ONE 💪🏼

The Buffs are up 73-67 with 1:32 left in the game! pic.twitter.com/rj6CrkFZ3p

— DNVR Buffs (@DNVR_Buffs) February 13, 2022

🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/OMTi2rKNDe

— DNVR Buffs (@DNVR_Buffs) February 13, 2022

Walker showed off his multifaceted game by scoring 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, while shooting 9-for-9 from the free throw line. He grabbed 13 boards in his third consecutive double-double. It was his 12th double-double of the season, extending his lead in the Pac-12. He also added two steals.

CU has no answer for Branden Carlson

The story of the first half was Branden Carlson.

Utah’s center came into the game with a career high of 21 points, and he matched that career high before halftime. He made nine of his 12 shot attempts.

In the second half, the Buffs held Carlson to four points but the damage was done. Utah ultimately won the points in the paint 42-30.

Colorado threw plenty of different defenders at Carlson but couldn’t find an answer. With Lawson Lovering sidelined for the rest of the season, the Buffs didn’t have anybody taller than 6-foot-9 to challenge the 7-footer. Carlson got to his spot at will and almost always converted.

While there’s no guarantee that Lovering could have slowed down Carlson, he was one more piece that head coach Tad Boyle could have turned to. Colorado’s lack of length is likely to become a story again in the season’s final month.

Evan Battey goes to work

Saturday night won’t go on Evan Battey’s highlight reel but he did much of the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

When the Buffs couldn’t find an answer for Carlson, Battey was able to step up and provide some physical resistance when nobody else seems capable. He wasn’t perfect, but he was easily the best that CU had and he did enough for CU to stop the bleeding in the paint.

On the other end of the court, Battey was a steady contributor. He contributed 10 of his 16 points in the first half, when CU was struggling to keep pace with the Utes.

The Buffs needed somebody to take shots when they couldn’t get open looks, and feeding Battey in the post was the go-to. He only converted six of his 14 shots, but the Buffs needed volume and he provided it.