Simpson leads Colorado to 78-66 upset of No. 11 Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — KJ Simpson had 23 points and 10 rebounds, both career highs for the sophomore, to lead Colorado to an 78-66 upset victory over No. 11 Tennessee on Sunday.

Tristan de Silva added 14 points for the Buffaloes, who shot 43.5% from the field, compared with the Volunteers’ 25.4%.

“Today was about Colorado, and (Simpson) was terrific,” Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle said. “KJ I thought really took the game in his own hands down the stretch there and really controlled the tempo. The 23 points, he’ll have other nights like that for sure, but the 10 rebounds were fantastic.”

Josiah-Jordan James and Tyreke Key led Tennessee with 15 points apiece.

“We definitely didn’t come into this game with the right mindset,” James said. “This is a good lesson for us. It’s a long basketball season. Of course I’m disappointed and upset that we lost, but I’m also excited just to see how this team responds.”

The Vols (1-1) could not overcome a poor shooting performance to rally in the second half after giving up the lead for good with 18:12 to play. The Buffaloes (2-1) led by as many as 14 down the stretch as part of a dominant second half in which they outscored Tennessee 46-32.

“They deserved to win,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said. “They, I thought, controlled the game pretty much from start to finish.”

Simpson had 15 second-half points.

“We just wanted to focus on coming out the second half with even more energy than we did in the first,” he said. “We just wanted to really dial in and focus on coming out even better than we did in the first.”

Tennessee held a 34-32 lead at halftime after shooting just 23.1% from the field. Colorado trailed by as many as eight points before halftime.

Key paced the Vols in the first half with 12 points, with all but three points coming from the free-throw line.