The Colorado Buffaloes came into the NCAA Tournament as an underdog and they just keep winning. This time, they punched their ticket to the round of 32 after a thrilling 102-100 win over Florida in an upset. Junior guard KJ Simpson hit the game winner and following the game, head coach Tad Boyle had a great reaction as per Jake Shapiro of DenverSports.com.
“These guys and the way they battled, I thought both teams battled, hats off to Florida, they played well,” Boyle said. “But to show the poise and composure that we did down the stretch when they made the run back at us, it was a tough game. I thought to myself at halftime, if we don't start guarding better. . .we got to score 100 to win tonight. We needed 102, actually we needed 101. . .just enough at the end, great execution, great play by KJ, every one of our players who played made plays, bench was great, just a hell of a game in March what else can I say?”
Colorado overcame an uneven regular season to make a remarkable run during the Pac-12 Tournament. They knocked off Washington State in the semifinals and played tough in the championship game before falling to Oregon.
The Buffaloes came into the NCAA Tournament needing to reach the first round by means of a First Four play-in game. They defeated Boise State to set up the clash with Florida. It's not much of a surprise that KJ Simpson came up with the biggest play in the form of a game-winner. The junior guard has shot his way into being a potential first round NBA Draft pick.
This season, Simpson was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team after turning in his best season in a Buffaloes jersey In his second season as one of Colorado's starting guard, he averaged a career-best 19.6 points per game, 5.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.7 steals with splits of 47.4 percent shooting from the field, 44.6 percent shooting from the three point line and 87.6 percent shooting from the free throw line.
Simpson led the Buffaloes against Florida with a team-high 23 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal. Eddy Lampkin Jr. added 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.
This is Tad Boyle's 13th season as Colorado head coach. He's only had two overall losing seasons in those 13 years and has led the Buffaloes to six NCAA Tournament appearances. He also has four NIT appearances and CBI appearance. The farthest the Buffaloes have ever gone though under Boyle in the NCAA Tournament is the round of 32. They'll have to knock off No. 2 Marquette if they want to advance further.
In addition to Simpson, the Buffaloes have another potential NBA Draft pick in Cody Williams, the younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder star Jaylen Williams. Neither player has announced any news about their future, but Simpson is projected to be a first round pick while Williams has played himself into being a possible top five pick.
Simpson is the latest iteration in a line of strong guards that Colorado has had in recent years and sent to the NBA. Spencer Dinwiddie, Derrick White and McKinley Wright IV all played at Colorado.
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