BOULDER — Dallas Walton was sandwiched near the center of a second court storming in less than 48 hours on the hardwood at the Coors Events Center, and when the mob finally relented, the Colorado Buffaloes’ 7-foot freshman from Arvada West was the last player remaining on the court.
Walton finished a television interview and proceeded toward the arena’s north tunnel. He galloped with a giant stride and threw his long arms up and down — all while CU fans surrounding the exit showered him with a standing ovation.
Soak it all in, big fella. Because the future of Buffaloes basketball starts now.
Boxscore: Colorado 80, Arizona 77
“I can’t describe in words how fired up I was,” Walton said.
CU defeated No. 14 Arizona 80-77 on Saturday, capping arguably the most impressive, and unexpected, two-game regular-
season stretch in the history of Buffs men’s basketball. CU handed No. 4 Arizona State a 90-81 overtime loss Thursday night.
It’s the first time CU (10-6, 2-2 Pac-12) has beaten ranked teams back to back since 2011, the only time against top-15 opponents, and it happened one week after the Buffs were blown out in consecutive road games against Oregon State and Oregon.
“At some point when you’re on a slide, your players have to say they’re sick and tired of this, and let’s turn it,” said CU coach Tad Boyle, who also celebrated his 55th birthday Saturday. “That’s what I think they have done.”
Unlike Thursday, when CU fell into an 11-0 hole against Arizona State, the Buffs shot out of a cannon against the Wildcats en route to a 45-29 halftime lead.
Walton — matched up against arguably the nation’s top player, Arizona freshman forward Deandre Ayton — was the catalyst. Walton scored 11 of his 15 points before the break and finished the game with perfect 7-of-7 shooting from the field.
Walton and CU’s other big men held Ayton to just five points in the first half with mostly zone defense.
“Even though there are projections of top-five draft picks and potential pros, it does not matter,” Walton said. “We attack everybody the same way, no matter who we’re playing.”
Arizona (12-4, 2-1) cut its deficit to a single digit early in the second half, with a large contingent of red-clad fans among 8,519 in attendance filling the Coors Events Center with “U-of-A” chants. A surge also aided by 15 CU turnovers after the break. With an effort similar against the Sun Devils, though, CU fought off a late charge with an extra push from senior guard Dominique Collier, who tallied 12 second-half points.
Ayton finished with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting. But when he converted a jump shot with less than two minutes left that cut CU’s lead to seven points, the Buffs didn’t panic. Freshman guard McKinley Wright IV and Collier combined to hit six consecutive free throws down the stretch to end Arizona’s nine-game winning streak.
“It’s crazy,” said Wright, who tallied a team-high 16 points and 10 assists. “Nobody expected us to win this except the guys in that locker room and our fans.”
Low outside expectations for CU to begin the season were
fueled by a youth-filled roster. But the five freshmen who play regularly — Walton, Wright, D’Shawn Schwartz, Tyler Bey and Lazar Nikolic — have become more battle-tested by the day. Over this two-game win streak, they combined for 77 points and 190 minutes played.
Youth be damned.
“The statement is, if we play the way we are capable of playing, we can play with anybody in this league,” Boyle said. “We still have to prove that on the road. That’s the next challenge for this team.”
That quest begins with Wednesday night’s game at Southern California.
“We’re just trying to prove people wrong,” Wright said.
Upset-minded
A look at CU’s wins against ranked opponents through the last five seasons:
2017-18
- CU 80, No. 14 Arizona 77
- CU 90, No. 4 Arizona State 81 (OT)
2016-17
- CU 74, No. 10 Oregon 65
- CU 68, No. 13 Xavier 66
2015-16
- CU 75, No. 9 Arizona 72
2014-15
- None
2013-14
- CU 75, No. 6 Kansas 72
- CU 100, No. 10 Oregon 91
