Washington was without their top player, Markelle Fultz (knee), and Colorado was again without two of its key starters, Wesley Gordon and Xavier Johnson (suspension, undisclosed team violation), but nothing will dampen CU’s 81-66 victory at Coors Event Center on Thursday – not even a reported altercation between the Huskies’ Malik Dime and the CU student section.
According to multiple reports, Dime, who was also out with injury (finger), got in a physical altercation with a pair of hecklers just after the halftime buzzer and had to be restrained by coaches. Fultz, who scored 37 points in an OT win over Colorado in January and could be the top pick in the NBA Draft, was held out after missing practices this week.
George King did the heavy lifting for Colorado to earn the Buffs their fourth Pac-12 victory this year and fourth victory in five games. King scored 21 and had 12 rebounds in the win. All five CU starters scored in double-figures, while the Buffs shot 50.8 percent from the field.
Gordon and Johnson are expected back in the lineup for Sunday’s game against Washington State. The Buffaloes (14-11, 4-8) are one of four Pac-12 teams at 4-8 in the conference, a group that includes the Cougars.