Slipper Fits: Simpson scores buzzer-beater for Buffs tourney win

INDIANAPOLIS—KJ Simpson hit the biggest shot in Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball history, a buzzer-beater to top the Florida Gators 102-100 in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 on Friday.

The shot finished a seven-ten upset in favor of the Buffs, who were on the ropes in the second half after looking like they’d walk to victory. The program known for defense and rebounding ended up in a high-scoring slugfest the likes of which haven’t been seen in the dance in 20 years. So Colorado’s 13-point lead with four minutes and change to play was kind of meager. Florida fought all the way back to tie the contest at 100 on a walk-up three by Walter Clayton Jr with six seconds left. That’s when Tad Boyle called a timeout to draw up a play to get a bucket.

The last shot wasn’t necessarily supposed to go to Boyle’s top-scoring senior who he felt was snubbed from All-American honors. But March has this funny way with fate.

“We always go through preparation, time and score situations like that in practice,” Simpson said. “It was just another one of those times where we had to execute. Obviously, it was a play that was set up. There was multiple actions out of it.”

Simpson’s fellow senior Tristan da Silva who was running toward inbounder Cody Williams confirmed to Denver Sports that it was just for anyone.

“The last time-out, like KJ said, we go through those plays. We don’t always need them, but you have to have them in your bag when you’re ready,” Boyle said. “And that was a play where we tried to get him an iso drive with six seconds to go with Eddie (Lampkin) at the rim to clean things up, and then Tristan and J’Vonne (Hadley) got two-man action up top. So if that’s not there, there’s a next option. Then have Cody take it out that made that read. Because KJ wasn’t originally open and then he came back to him.”

Here’s how KJ saw it.

“I just happened to break free and was just looking to drive, create something, whatever was the best play, and noticed the defender got a little bit off balance, and that’s a shot I shoot a bunch of times,” Simpson said. “Credit to my teammates, and Cody threw me a great pass that was able to guide me and lead me in that direction, and just stepping up and hitting a shot.”

And here’s what it looked like on TV.

A LAST SECOND WINNER!

No. 10 @CUBuffsMBB UPSETS No. 7 @GatorsMBK 🚨 pic.twitter.com/L3FiGvLqcy

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 22, 2024

Simpson’s last shot notched him a team-high 23 points and a spot on Boyle’s decorated list of Mt. Rushmore guards, who the other three others next to him are is for you to decide. More importantly, it took the Buffaloes to the round of 32 for just the fourth time in school history and the third time under Boyle.

Simpson led the firepower but Lampkin added 21, da Silva 17  and in total five players were in double figures. Colorado didn’t win the rebounding battle the way they normally do, nor did they drown the Gators with defense. It was a rare offensive outpouring from the black and gold, and the  first tournament game in 20 years where both teams scored over 100 in regulation.

“This group figured out different ways to win games, this time it was outscoring the opponent.” da Silva said. “We would like to not be in situations like that because we pride ourselves on defensive rebounding. As I say, we just figured out different ways. We’ve got really talented guys on this team, and once again, we got the ultimate trust in each other.”

While it wasn’t Boyle’s recipe, it was the one for a Cinderella. And maybe that’s the role Colorado can play this March as they find new ways to win. Make 28-of-33 free throws, nail six-of-ten threes and just never stop fighting.

“You can’t lose sight of the fact that you just have to keep concentrating on getting better and better and better,” Boyle said. “We kept talking about, guys, we’ve got to keep getting better, and to these guys’ credit that’s what they did. I’ve known in practice that we’ve had a very competitive group all year. I’ve seen it every single day. These guys are what I call everyday guys. They come to the gym to try to get better.”

“Looking back, that UCLA game is where we lost a really tough game was a heartbreaker. These guys were down. They felt like their backs were against the wall, and they came out fighting two nights later against USC and won a double-overtime game on the road against a really talented team. That gave us some confidence, gave us a little spark, and we’ve just been on a roll ever since.”

The Buffs are winners of 10 of their last 11, and they’re still dancing. They’ll try on their slipper for size again come Sunday when they face Marquette with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line, a place CU hasn’t been since 1969.