INDIANAPOLIS – The national media ignored the star point guard playing in Boulder all season. When all of America finally saw him play, KJ Simpson did more than put the nation on notice.
With the No. 10 Colorado Buffaloes (26-10, 13-7 Pac-12) knotted at 100 with the No. 7 Florida Gators (24-12, 11-7 SEC) and 6.1 seconds left to decide who would advance to the round of 32, Simpson made the play that helped his team’s season stay alive. After catching the ball on the right side of the floor, Simpson punched a dribble into the hardwood and fired a baseline jump shot over Florida’s Zyon Pullin in hopes of walking away victorious. With the shot touching every bit of the orange cylinder before dropping through the net, a familiar “Ohhh!” left the legendary Kevin Harlan’s mouth.
“That’s a shot I shoot a bunch of times,” Simpson said after the game. “Credit to my teammates. Cody (Williams) threw me a great pass that was able to guide me and lead me in that direction. Just stepping up and hitting a shot.”
The All-Pac-12 first team junior finished with a team-high 23 points (7-of-12 FG, 1-of-4 3PT, 8-of-9 FT) along with five rebounds, five assists, and a steal in the narrow 102-100 win. While Simpson was the one who placed the cherry on top of a sweet afternoon affair, the first 39 minutes and 53.9 seconds functioned as the perfect build-up for the magical moment.
“Well, can’t ask for much more out of a game in March than the one you just saw,” Boyle said. “These guys and the way they battled – I thought both teams battled. Hats off to Florida. They played well.”
For a brief second, the makings of the contest seemed unlikely with the Gators building an early 24-14 lead early in the first half on the shoulders of Walter Clayton Jr. and Tyrese Samuel. However, the Buffs responded, going on a 10-2 run across the next few minutes with Samuel dealing with foul issues.
Colorado closely trailed heading into the final four minutes of the first half after the run, the Gators’ first half 3-point shooting and rebounding keeping them at a distance. But as the momentum built for the Buffs, a smooth Eddie Lampkin Jr. spin move gave his team a 39-38 lead.
Florida, not discouraged, quickly took back the lead. But they were now in one of the hardest battles of March thus far. The teams traded leads four times in the final two minutes and 30 seconds of the half, Simpson’s first jumper before the buzzer tying the game at 45 heading into the break.
Heading into the second half, it was more of the same. In the back half, the Buffs were the ones to separate early on. Jumpstarted by Simpson free throws, Lampkin scored a layup, Luke O’Brien (12 points, five rebounds, four assists) added four points, and Tristan da Silva (17 points, four rebounds, five assists) nailed his third triple of the contest as the Buffs went on a 13-4 run and building their largest lead up to that point, 65-58 with just over 12 minutes to play.
The teams continued to battle across the next five minutes, but Colorado added a bit more insurance. After a Lampkin and-one during the stretch, warranting the CU big man to “rock the baby,” Florida head coach Todd Golden picked up a critical technical foul in a game that was decided by two points.
Lampkin finished with 21 points (8-of-14 FG, 5-of-5 FT), six rebounds, five assists, and a steal.
“It feels good,” Lampkin said about his big game. “I was blessed to find somewhere I could call home real quick. I told Coach and KJ – me and KJ been having a relationship for the last two years, and I was telling him, ‘I'd love to play with you one day.’ At the beginning of the season, I just told him that, and then when I got in the portal I hit up Coach, and he was like, ‘I'd love to have you.’ Now look where we're at.”
Up 92-79 with five minutes to play, the Buffs just needed to get to the finish line, deciding to take their time in the high-speed race. But with Colorado slowing up, Florida kicked it into high gear with Clayton, their leading scorer on the year, at the head of the charge. The junior only had 15 points then, but scored 18 of his team’s final 21 points.
Clayton got to the rim and drew whistles despite having four fouls himself as Colorado surrendered their 13-point edge. After a CU turnover allowed Clayton to make it a two-point game with 22 seconds to play, the Gators intentionally fouled Cody Williams, who split the two shots from the charity stripe and kept it a one-possession ball game.
The ball was quickly inbounded to the scorching hot Florida point guard, who dribbled the length of the floor before pulling up for his fourth and biggest triple of the game, knotting both teams at triple digits with 6.1 seconds to play.
Boyle then called timeout, and a signature moment ensued.
“Just enough at the end, great execution, great play by KJ,” Boyle said. “Every one of our players that played made plays. Bench was great. Just a hell of a game in March. What else can you say?”
While Simpson and the Buffs celebrated, Clayton, who scored a game-high 33 points (10-of-17 FG, 4-of-10 3PT, 9-of-10 FT), showed the sad side of March as he pulled his white Gator jersey over his head in despair after missing the potential game-winning full-court heave.
“They run good action for him,” Boyle said about Clayton. “He’s got a quick release. He’s got great balance in his shot. He’s one of those guys that’s better in person than when you watch him on film. He’s a good player.”
The Buffs, who made 63% of their 54 shots and 28 of their 33 free throws (85%), held the Gators to 51% shooting from the field (35-of-68) and limited them to 11 fewer free throws. Colorado also won the limited rebound battle 29-28 and dished out five more assists but suffered the side effects of having four more turnovers than Florida.
10 total players, five on each team, finished in double digits in scoring while nine (five Buffs, four Gators) dished out four or more assists.
Next, the 10th-seeded Buffs will take on the second-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles (25-9, 14-6 Big East) in the round of 32. The time for tipoff and where to watch the game are yet to be determined.
“I'm just so blessed to be in this position,” Lampkin said. “We've got to keep winning. We ain't satisfied yet.”
Cover photo by @CUBuffsMBB/X
Comments