Junior big man Oumar Ballo scored 18 points and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds as No. 8 Arizona overcame a slow start to comfortably dispatch Colorado 78-68 on Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.
The Wildcats (24-4, 13-4 Pac-12) turned around a 12-point deficit in the first half to lead by 12 at the break, and Colorado (15-13, 7-10) failed to muster much of a threat after that, trailing by as many as 17 in the second half.
Ballo recorded his 10th double-double of the season and led four Arizona scorers in double figures. He helped picked up the slack for fellow post player Azuolas Tubelis, who battled foul trouble for the third consecutive game. The Pac-12 leader in scoring and rebounding finished with 13 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes.
Tristan da Silva led Colorado with 18 points, although he sat for the final 11:33 of the first half after picking up two fouls, which helped Arizona take control. Javon Ruffin added 13 points. KJ Simpson scored 12 but shot only 3 of 13 from the field.
Cedric Henderson Jr. scored 15 for the Wildcats, and Pelle Larsson contributed 11.
The Buffaloes scored the first five points of the second half to climb within 46-39, but they missed their next eight shots as Arizona established a double-digit lead it would maintain for the rest of the game.
Colorado has not won in Tucson since joining the Pac-12 for the 2011-12 season.
Arizona committed four turnovers in the first two minutes of the game as Colorado surged to an 18-6 lead that would be short-lived. The Wildcats tied the game with a 12-0 run, capped by Larsson’s driving layup with 12:10 to go.
Colorado was up 20-18 when da Silva, who had scored nine points to that point, picked up his second foul. Arizona eventually took advantage, even though Tubelis also sat for about the final 11 minutes of the half. The Wildcats, with more offensive options, finished on a 15-5 run to take a 46-34 lead into the break.
–Field Level Media
