3 takeaways from Colorado's 78-64 win over Washington

BOULDER — A perfect weekend!

The Colorado Buffaloes knocked off the Washington Huskies in Boulder by a score of 78-64. It’s Colorado’s 11th win in 14 games this season and its conference record improves to 3-1, making CU one of four teams with a winning conference record in the Pac-12.

The win was head coach Tad Boyle’s 300th at Colorado.

The win comes just a few days after taking down the Washington State Huskies, and next up is a trip to Arizona to take on the No. 8 Wildcats on Thursday and Arizona State on Saturday.

Here’s what we learned on Sunday:

Tristan breaks out

The star of the show on Sunday was obvious: Tristan da Silva.

The sophomore came into the game with a career-high of 15 points in a game against Southern Illinois in August. He blew that mark out of the water on Sunday, surpassing it just 90 seconds into the second half.

Da Silva made 9 of his 15 attempts, good for 22 points. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.

Da Silva starter, as usual, as a small forward, but his big night began a few minutes into the game when he moved to the post next to Lawson Lovering. He used his slick footwork and touch around the paint in a way that’s tough to do when when you’re playing on the wing.

Then, Lovering left the game and da Silva played as a small-ball center. He knocked in a three. He drove to the rack. Later on he ran a perfect give-and-go with Evan Battey on the wing and got to the rack for an easy bucket. A fake pass Euro lay-in was probably the best move of the day.

Da Silva’s talent has been obvious, but he hasn’t put together a 40-minute performance together that looked anything like Sunday’s. It was a huge step for a young player with a bright future.

The Buffs clean the glass

Colorado put together a very clean game on Saturday.

Sure, they turned the ball over 12 times in the first half—in part because of a Husky zone defense that the Buffs were slow to figure out—but they bounced back with only one in the second half. They defended well, they scored consistently, they slowly built a lead over the course of 40 minutes.

But the one area that stands out the most is the rebounding.

Colorado grabbed 47 boards on Sunday and Washington only pulled in 27. Those 20 extra possessions added up.

Jabari Walker led the way with 13 rebounds, to go along with an efficient 11 points and a block.

Nique Clifford contributed eight rebounds in another stat-sheet-stuffing performance. He also had eight points, three assists, two blocks and a steal.

Eight different players registered multiple rebounds.

If Colorado can keep that effort up on the glass, it’ll be just fine.

Hammond continues to shine

With K.J. Simpson sidelined because of a head injury sustained Thursday, Julian Hammond III received plenty of playing time.

The freshman guard is part of what Tad Boyle calls a “three-headed monster” at the point guard position, but so far this season he’s clearly been the No. 3 in the rotation. Sophomore Keeshawn Barthelemy has started every game and freshman K.J. Simpson has been the first—and sometimes only—point guard off the bench.

On Sunday, though, Hammond was entrusted with managing the bench unit and he performed admirably. Even though he didn’t register an assist, he was a steady hand at the wheel and he contributed 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Plus, he only turned the ball over once in 12 minutes.

On Thursday, Hammond played 14 minutes. He never turned the ball over, grabbed five boards and dished out four assists. Most notably, he earned four steals.

Hammond seems to have grown during Colorado’s extended pause because of a COVID-19 outbreak. Don’t be surprised if he’s found his way into the rotation, even when Simpson returns.