Senior forward Tristan da Silva makes a slam dunk during the game against Utah at the CU Events Center on Friday, February 23, 2024. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
The Colorado Buffaloes Men’s Basketball team went into the 2024 Maui Invitational brave-faced, looking to play spoiler in a field of ranked teams. They finished sixth out of eight, highlighted by a major upset over the back-to-back defending champions, the University of Connecticut.
Starting point guard Jullian Hammond III was a scoring machine all tournament long, averaging 17 points over the three games, including a 20-burger against Iowa State.
The Invitational began on Nov. 25 with a matchup between Memphis and No. 2 UConn, where the Tigers shocked the reigning champs with a two-point win in overtime. Following the thriller, it was time for the Buffaloes to take the court against Michigan State. Both teams came in undefeated with the Spartans favored to win. They took care of business defeating Colorado 72-56.
The Buffs fell behind in the first half and never caught up, shooting 16% from three and 33% from the field in the first twenty. Starting center Elijah Malone led the positive second-half effort, with 10 of his 14 points that half. Michigan State struggled from the perimeter all game long, shooting 2-21 overall and still ending with a 16-point win.
The Spartans would go on to lose to Memphis in the next round, as the Buffs quickly found themselves in the loser bracket with a heavy opponent on deck, the back-to-back defending champion UConn Huskies. They were coming off an emotional loss in overtime and walked into the gym as 14.5-point favorites.
UConn won the first half, as the Buffs hung around down by eight. Six rebounds from forward Andrej Jakimovski kept Colorado in the contest, but it was the second half where we saw the best twenty minutes of the Buffs season.
They shot the lights out with 62% from the field and 5-9 from three. In the final minute of the game, the Buffs took their first lead and never looked back. A missed shot by UConn and a tap-out rebound gave CU one of the biggest upsets in program history.
Jakimovski finished with a double-double, while Hammond III and Malone both bottomed 16 points. The Buffs won every side of the box score, shooting better overall and outrebounding one of the best teams in the nation. The win put Colorado in the 5th place game, set to play a great Iowa State team the very next day.
No. 5 Iowa State lost a thriller to No. 4 Auburn in the first round, then beat Dayton by five to get to their game with the Buffs. The Cyclones dominated from the tip against CU and took an eleven-point lead into halftime.
They’d go on to nearly hit the triple digits in their 99-71 win. Iowa State’s starting five all had a tremendous day, led by forward Milan Momcilovic scoring 24. Guard Keshon Gilbert had 15 of his own, and the other three with 10.
This was home to Julian Hammond III’s 20-point masterpiece and Jakimovski’s 18. CU had a pretty solid night shooting, with 41% from the field and 42% from the arch.
The biggest problem from the seven games the Buffs have played this season is the turnovers. They averaged 13.6 this tournament with 18 against Iowa State. That brings their season total to now around 15 per game, which has no needed direction but down.
The 1-2 finish in the Maui Invitational brings their season record to 5-2, getting a better taste of what is yet to come for Big 12 basketball. They went through their first four games at the CU Events Center without a true challenge, and although Michigan State and Iowa State got the best of them, that win against UConn shows that the Buffs can beat anyone.
The team gets to enjoy Thanksgiving before hosting the Pacific Tigers at the CU Events Center on Monday. They will host four more games before conference play begins in a rematch against Iowa State on Dec. 30, broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.
Contact CU Independent football writer Baylan Wysuph at Baylan.Wysuph@colorado.edu
