Buffs end up short, suffer rout at hands of Arizona

Da Silva, Williams sit out again, Hammond injured in a blowout loss at No. 10 Wildcats

TUCSON, ARIZ. >> The Colorado men’s basketball team has enjoyed a solid start to the 202324 season despite playing a majority of its games shorthanded.

Going into the toughest road game of the season on Thursday night, that didn’t change.

The Buffaloes once again played without senior standout Tristan da Silva and talented freshman Cody Williams, both of whom once again were sidelined due to injury as CU visited No. 10 Arizona.

Whether they would’ve helped or not as events unfolded might be debatable, as the Wildcats quickly ran away from CU to hand the Buffs a 97-50 defeat.

The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Buffs and continued their run of futility at the Mckale Center, where CU fell to 0-13 all-time. It also was the Buffs’ 19th consecutive loss against ranked foes in true road games.

Da Silva, CU’S second-leading scorer (15.7) and third-leading rebounder (5.4), missed his third consecutive game due to an ankle injury he suffered at practice last week.

Williams, who has averaged 14.0 points in seven games, missed his sixth consecutive game due to a left wrist injury. The Buffs also lost guard Julian Hammond III during the game, as he got up slowly after a hard fall late in the first half and did not return after the break.

Things got away from the Buffs in a hurry, as Arizona reeled off 13 consecutive points during a dominant 18-2 run in the first half that put the Wildcats in control. CU shot just .364, its second-lowest mark of the season, while UA shot .563, the highest mark by a Buffs’ opponent this season.

Colorado leading scorer KJ Simpson endured a frustrating game, finishing 5-for-17 with a career-high eight turnovers and a season-low 10 points. Javon Ruffin, playing his third game after returning from offseason knee surgery, led the Buffs with 11 points.

Williams and da Silva are on the three-game road trip, and their status likely will remain day-to-day going into Saturday’s date at Arizona State (6 p.m. MT, ESPNU).