3 takeaways from Colorado's 87-76 win over New Mexico

BOULDER — Colorado is 2-0.

The Buffaloes knocked off New Mexico by a score of 87-76 on Saturday. The Buffs created a six-point lead by halftime and never trailed in the second half of the game.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Buffs stay hot from deep

Colorado’s 3-point shooting has been the most promising part of the Buffs’ 2-0 start.

On Tuesday, Colorado knocked in 9-of-19 shots from deep. On Saturday, they made 7-of-17. That’s a total of 44%, the best in the Pac-12 so far.

Senior big man Evan Battey is 3-for-3 on the season, including two on Saturday. Sophomore guard Keeshawn Barthelemy is 6-of-7.

It’s still early and putting too much weight into small sample size stats is a dangerous game, but it’s tough not to be encouraged about what the Buffs have done from deep so far this season.

Colorado held a six-point lead at halftime, thanks in part to the seven 3-pointers on 12 attempts. This is a young team that is still trying to eliminate its flaws, but sharpshooting from deep will always help to mask the problems.

Jabari Walker asserts his dominance

We didn’t see Jabari Walker at his best on Saturday, but we did see him get pretty close to it.

Walker scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, giving him the third double-double of his career and first of the season. He shot 40% from the field and added a block and a steal.

The bulk of Walker’s scoring came from the free throw line, where he converted nine of his 12 attempts. He drew five fouls in the first half of the game alone.

The big change for Walker was his aggression. He was forceful on the boards and he committed to getting to the basket offensively. The results speak for themselves.

The one downside for Walker was his work from deep. He missed all four of his 3-point attempts, after making over 50% of them a season ago.

It was a step in the right direction, but there’s still more on the table as the season progresses.

Keeshawn can’t take care of the ball

In Keeshawn Barthelemy’s first game of the season, and his first as Colorado’s starting point guard, he put up 19 points on 11 shots and dished out five assists compared to just two turnovers.

CU looked set at the most important position on the floor.

On Saturday, Barthelemy struggled early. He turned the ball over three times in the first four minutes of the game. By the end of the game, he’d turned the ball over seven times. The rest of the team combined for 11 more.

But Barthelemy was still fairly effective.

He scored 20 points on 10 shots. He dished out three assists and pulled in a pair of steals.

It wasn’t a banner night for Barthelemy, but his shooting efficiency was enough to salvage the night. How much time can you really spend picking apart the game’s leading scorer when he finish 50% from the field?