LOS ANGELES — Andre Roberson had 20 points and 11 rebounds — his third double-double this season against Utah — and Colorado pulled away in the second half to win 53-41 in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament on Wednesday night.
Carlon Brown added 15 points and Spencer Dinwiddie 10 for the sixth-seeded Buffaloes (20-11), who notched consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time, having won a school-record 24 games last year in the Big 12. Coach Tad Boyle picked up his 100th career win.
Colorado advanced to a quarterfinal game Thursday against No. 3 seed Oregon at Staples Center. The Ducks (22-8) had a first-round bye.
Jason Washburn led the 11th-seeded Utes (6-25) with 11 points, their only player in double figures. They finished 0-13 away from home in their first season in the Pac-12, including 0-4 at neutral sites under first-year coach Larry Krystkowiak. He presided over the school’s first season of 20 or more losses.
The Buffs began the game by missing 10 of their first 11 shots during a 10-minute scoreless stretch. They recovered to start the second half, scoring 10 in a row to go up 35-25. Dinwiddie had four points in a row, and Roberson added four.
After Krystkowiak was called for a technical, the Utes scored the next eight straight to close to 35-33. Even during Utah’s run, both teams went more than four minutes without scoring, one of a few droughts during the game.
The Utes played the second half with Anthony Odunsi, Kareem Storey and Chris Hine in foul trouble, and Storey and Odunsi ended up fouling out. But they again got within two points on a pair of free throws by Washburn with 6:12 remaining.
From there, Colorado outscored the Utes 16-4 to end the game. Roberson’s rebounds gave him 347 for the season, breaking the 58-year-old school record.
The Buffs dominated the paint, 22-12, and scored 19 points off Utah’s 18 turnovers.
Colorado scored the game’s first four points, then went scoreless for the next 10 minutes as Utah took an 11-4 lead.
The Buffs got back into the game as Roberson and Brown combined to score 12 consecutive points for a 20-16 lead. The teams traded baskets the rest of the half, with Dijon Farr hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer that left the Utes trailing 25-23 at the break.
It was the lowest-scoring of the teams’ three meetings, all won by the Buffs, who beat Utah by 40 points in their first game.
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