Buffaloes Sneak Past Boise State to Secure First Round March Madness Matchup with Seven Seed Gators

The 10-seed Colorado Buffaloes (25-10) men’s basketball team defeated the 10-seed Boise State Broncos (22-11) 60-53 in the First Four March Madness matchup on Wednesday night.

The Buffaloes will take on the seven-seed Florida Gators (24-11) on March 22 in the Round of 64.

https://twitter.com/CUBuffsMBB/status/1770658002686652554

Defense Down the Stretch

With four and a half minutes remaining in the game, Boise State’s Chibuzo Agbo hit a jumper to put the Broncos up by four points. That would be the last basket for Boise State for over four minutes. The Colorado defense forced the Broncos to miss their next six shots.

The Buffaloes were able to take a seven-point lead in the final minute thanks to clutch free throw shooting and an incredible tip shot from Eddie Lampkin as the shot clock expired. Boise State was able to score four points in the final 30 seconds, but four made free throws from Colorado guard KJ Simpson iced the game.

https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1770655694418563414

Buffalo Trio

Basketball is a team sport, but three players for the Buffaloes accounted for most of the team’s production. Tristan da Silva, Eddie Lampkin and KJ Simpson scored 52 of Colorado’s 60 points. They collected 20 of the team’s 31 rebounds and accounted for eight of the team’s 12 assists.

The Buffaloes relied almost entirely on the starting five, as their bench players only accumulated 22 minutes played and one point scored.

https://twitter.com/CUBuffsMBB/status/1770644868563341338

Up Next

Colorado is set to take on the Gators on Friday, March 22 at 4:30 p.m. The red-hot Buffaloes have won nine of their last 10 games and came up just short in the Pac-12 Championship Game against Oregon.

Florida is also coming off of a loss in a conference championship. The Gators were blown out by Auburn in the SEC Tournament Final on Sunday. They will be without starting center Micah Handlogten after he suffered a season-ending leg injury against Auburn.

The Gators and Buffaloes are each looking for their first win in the Round of 64 since 2021.

https://twitter.com/GatorsMBK/status/1770644546201743576