Kylan Boswell's 14 points, flashy pass key No. 10 Arizona's 97-50 steamrolling of Colorado
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Kylan Boswell saw Pelle Larsson streaking ahead of a defender, swung the ball out with his left hand and put a bit of English on the pass.
The ball bounced twice, seemingly headed out of bounds, but popped up on the second bounce and hit Larsson perfectly in stride for a breakaway layup.
A fact that makes the pass even more amazing: Boswell is right-handed.
Boswell scored 14 points and his incredible assist was a highlight in a night full of them as No. 10 Arizona steamrolled short-handed Colorado 97-50 on Thursday.
“He does amazing things like that all the time,” said Larsson, who had 18 points. “I just run and he'll find me.”
Coming off a lackadaisical loss to Stanford, the Wildcats (11-3, 2-1 Pac-12) jumped on Colorado early, building a 20-point lead midway through the first half.
Arizona dominated at both ends, shutting down the Buffaloes while pouring in shots about two hours after actor Adam Sandler played a pickup game on its home court.
Arizona shot 56% and hit 11 3-pointers in its largest margin of victory since 1997. The Wildcats improved to 13-0 against Colorado at McKale Center and are 14-0 under coach Tommy Lloyd following a loss, winning by an average of more than 20 points.
“Look at some of shots we made tonight, banking in 3s and things like that,” Lloyd said. “That happens. We were on the other side of that three days ago and we flipped that.”
Colorado (11-3, 2-1) rode a six-game winning streak into the desert, but was without two of its top three scorers.
Freshman guard Cody Williams missed his sixth straight game with a wrist injury and forward Tristan da Silva missed his third straight after rolling his ankle in practice last week.
The Buffaloes took an early punch from Arizona and had no response in their worst loss since 1998.
“We just couldn't turn off their water once they got it started,” said Javon Ruffin, who led Colorado with 11 points.
Lloyd said the Wildcats looked numb while giving up 16 3-pointers and 100 points to Stanford on Sunday.
The numbness appeared to wear off through three days of practice.
The Wildcats swarmed the Buffaloes defensively, contesting shots at the rim and jumping into passing lanes. That led to a better offensive flow, setting up easy baskets in transition.
Boswell got the Wildcats started with three 3s in the first six minutes after going 4 for 17 from the arc the previous four games. Arizona went on an early 15-3 run to go up 17 and hit 20 of 39 shots in the first half to lead 50-23.
Colorado couldn't make much of anything.
The Buffaloes shot 10 of 31 in the first half, exacerbating their woes by missing several open shots at the rim.
“We had some good looks early that didn't go in and I think the guys let it affect them at the other end,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. “Our transition defense was not nearly as good as it needs to be and it has to be in this building or things will get away from you pretty quick.”
REBOUNDS AND TURNOVERS
Arizona's dominance went well beyond the score and shooting.
The Wildcats had a 45-25 advantage in rebounds, scoring 14 points off 14 offensive boards. Arizona also scored 25 points off Colorado's 18 turnovers — 10 off steals.
THE TAKEAWAY
Colorado: The Buffaloes had little chance playing without two of their best players against an angry team coming off a loss.
Arizona: The Wildcats quickly put the ugliness of the Stanford loss behind them with a dominating performance.
UP NEXT
Colorado plays at Arizona State on Saturday.
Arizona hosts Utah on Saturday.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
