RECAP

The Colorado Buffaloes stormed into Auburn Arena on Tuesday afternoon and came away with a massive 91-84 road win.

For the second game in a row, George King was the star for the Buffaloes, this time pouring in an eye-popping 27 points with an, also team leading, seven rebounds to go with it. King, to this point, has been worthy of every bit of the preseason hype… and then some.

This time, he had a co-star, though, and that was the difference for the Buffaloes. Usual suspect Josh Scott went out there and flashed every bit of his game starting the game 8-for-8 from the field, cashing in everything from inside and out. The Buffs big man finished with 24 points to go with nine rebounds and three blocks.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for King, Scott and the Buffs, though, and that might be the most encouraging sign of the game, after taking a 17-10 lead at the 13:02 mark of the first half, Colorado allowed Auburn to go on a 30 to 11 run over the next eight minutes leaving them facing a 12-point deficit with five minutes left in the half.

Instead of folding like many feared and sending it in for the rest of the period, the Buffs went on a run of their own, putting down a 14 to 6 run of their own to head into the break trailing by just four, 46-42.

The teams went back and forth for the first six minutes of the half, the Tigers barely clinging to their lead, but a technical foul on Horace Spencer, negating the momentum of a huge tip-slam would prove to be the turning point. Instead of a three point lead for the Tigers, the two free throws from the technical and two more on the possession gave the Buffs a 59-58 lead, with just over 13 minutes to go. The Tigers would see the lead 9 seconds later, but that would be the last time, from the 12:51 mark on, Colorado would only extend their lead.

The Seven point victory leaves the Buffs at 1-1 on the season and gives them an impressive road-split to start things off.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

George King:

The recipient of more hype than any other Colorado player this offseason, Geroge King was simply sensational for the Buffaloes, putting in 27 on 9-of-14 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from distance. He’s averaged 20.5 points in these first two games, if he can stay anywhere near there this season and continue to get his shots within the offense, the Buffs are going to be in very good shape.

PLAY OF THE GAME

With just over seven minutes remaining, the Tigers had cut the Buffs lead to single-digits and were looking to gain momentum. Enter the King to shut that down, the red-shirt sophomore pump-faked his man into the air from just inside the arc, drew the foul, and threw in a circus shot to keep the momentum in the Buffs favor.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

Tad Boyle just told Mark Johnson on 760 AM: "I am not sure I have been as proud of a group since I have been at Colorado."

— Adam Munsterteiger (@adamcm777) November 17, 2015

BY THE NUMBERS

51 – The combined total of George King and Josh Scott’s points, 56 percent of the Buffs production

90 – For the second straight year, the Buffs put 90+ points on the Auburn Tigers in the tipoff marathon.

LASTING IMPACT

The hype surrounding this team has gone through the roof, a strong showing in Sioux Falls against Iowa State parlayed with this big win  has CU fans talking tourney already. At the least, it should help attendance during the upcoming five-game homestand. In terms of RPI, this may have been the Buffs best chance for a quality road win in the non-conference schedule, the win was essential to their RPI.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Buffs welcome in the Portland Pilots in the season opener on Friday.