Who | Utah Tech (5-6, 2-0 WAC) at Colorado (8-2, 0-0 Pac-12)
When | Thursday, Dec. 21 – 5 p.m.
Where | CU Events Center – Boulder, Colo.
Broadcast | Pac-12 Network / 99.5 The Fan Sports Network
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UniteTheFamily / #IntoTheStorm
 
Scouting the Buffaloes
Colorado has gotten off to a great start in the 2023-24 season, posting an 8-2 record through the first 10 games. With wins over schools such as Miami, Iona and Richmond, the Buffaloes responded to a road loss at Colorado State on Nov. 29 by rattling off victories in each of the team's last three games, knocking off Pepperdine, Miami (Florida) and Northern Colorado.
 
A Second Team All Pac-12 selection last season, KJ Simpson leads CU with 19.6 points per game, shooting 57.8% from the field, 45.9% from deep and 91.8% at the line. Tristan da Silva (15.8), Cody Williams (14.0) and Julian Hammond III (10.0) are all in double-figures for a potent Buffalo offense that is averaging 85.0 points per game this season.
 
Last Game
Utah Tech is coming off a tough loss to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Saturday, falling 79-62 at Burns Arena. David Elliott finished with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes off the bench while Noa Gonsalves scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting. Kade Madsen scored two points in his collegiate debut as all available Trailblazers checked into the game and played at least two minutes.
 
Bench Points
Utah Tech's reserves played a big role against North Dakota, especially on the offensive end. With five players in double-digit minutes and nine total appearing, the Trailblazer bench finished with 44 points. The last time UT's bench chipped in 40 or more points was on Dec. 1, 2021, when 44 bench points were scored against Bethesda in a home win; Noa Gonsalves, then a freshman, chipped in seven of those 44 points.
 
Protect the Rim
The Trailblazers blocked a season-high nine shots against UND on Saturday, setting a new record for the team's Division-I era; the last time this program had nine or more blocks in a game came on Feb. 22, 2019, when Division-II Dixie State blocked 10 in a win over Regis.
 
Now averaging 4.55 per game, Utah Tech ranks second in the WAC for blocked shots, just behind Grand Canyon (5.3) and ahead of a two-way tie between UTRGV and Utah Valley (4.0).
 
Best in the WAC
The record-setting defensive effort came on the backs of two Trailblazer big men, as Hamed Olayinka and Tanner Christensen blocked four shots apiece.
 
Olayinka, who has finished with four or more blocks in three of his last four appearances, now leads the conference in that stat, averaging 1.9 per game; Christensen's 1.55 per game ranks fifth.
 
Return to Action
After missing six games due to injury, David Elliott made his return to action last week. He played 12 minutes against CSUN and helped ignite a late comeback effort that resulted in tying the game with less than four minutes remaining, before leading Utah Tech with 11 points against North Dakota.
 
The Los Angeles, Calif., native started his Utah Tech career off with a bang, scoring 24 points on opening night and enters Thursday's game as the team's second-leading scorer at 11.6 points per game.
 
Extended Action
Tennessee Rainwater played a career-high 16 minutes against North Dakota on Saturday, finishing with seven points (3-6 FG), three rebounds and one steal. His scoring output was a personal best while the three boards tied his season-high. In his first season as a Trailblazer, Rainwater has played in eight games, playing 7.0 minutes while shooting 42.9% from the field.
 
Fellow freshman Angelo Kambala also set a new personal best for minutes played against the Fighting Hawks, spending 11 minutes on the court; he finished with four points and one assist in his fourth appearance of the season.
 
In the Rotation
Caleb Stearman's strong junior season continued against UND, as the 6-7 forward from Las Vegas, Nev., scored seven points for the second-straight game. After finishing a perfect 3-3 from the field against CSUN, he shot 3-4 from the field and 1-1 at the line against North Dakota, also contributing two rebounds and one steal across 10 minutes of action.
 
Stearman has played in all but one game this season, averaging 7.1 minutes per appearance while shooting 78.6% from the field and 88.9% at the free throw line.

Give Me That
Stone Hutchings played four minutes against the Fighting Hawks but made the most of that time, especially on the defensive end; the West Jordan, Utah, native finished with a team-leading three steals and flushed home a two-handed dunk late in the game, also adding an assist.
 
Hutchings has played nine minutes across two appearances this season.
 
What's Next
The Trailblazers will take an extended break for the holidays, with nine games until the next game; Utah Tech will tipoff its next game at 3 p.m. on Dec. 30, hosting Florida International at Burns Arena.
 
The matchup against FIU will signify the end of non-conference play, as it's off to Seattle U to begin a string of 18 consecutive games against teams in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).