The Colorado Buffaloes played hard. And at times they played pretty darn well.
But the 2nd-ranked Arizona Wildcats were too much for the Buffs. Arizona gets the 82-72 win in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
CU jumped in front 16-8 in the first nearly five minutes of the game.
The Wildcats came back on the strength of a 22-8 run and grabbed a 30-24 lead with just under eight minutes left in the first half.
A free throw by Buffs guard K.J. Simpson cut the Wildcats lead to 44-38 with 49 second left in the half and CU then got the ball back.
But Simpson had his pass stolen by Arizona's Azuolas Tubelis, who made a layup and drew a foul on Simpson. Tubelis' free throw pushed the Wildcats lead to 47-38 at halftime.
Colorado used a 12-2 run in the second half to pull within 51-50. CU kept the game competitive and was down 66-62 with 7:51 to go.
Arizona then pulled away with a 12-3 run and the lead was 13 points with 1:12 remaining.
Colorado forward Jabari Walker had 19 points and five rebounds. Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 12 points and Evan Battey added 10.
The Buffs are now 21-11 while Arizona moves to 30-3.
MORE ON THE BUFFS LOSS HERE
The Buffs will now wait to see if they make the NCAA Tournament field, which will be revealed on Sunday, March 13.
Postgame comments from CU associate head coach Mike Rohn.
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