SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah didn't let a week off between games go to waste. The Utes used their extra practice time to put additional emphasis on having active hands and active feet on defense. All of that increased focus paid off big time against Colorado.

The Utes beat the Buffaloes 78-69 on Sunday night after smothering Colorado's offense for a large portion of the game. Utah crashed the boards, grabbed steals, and stampeded the Buffaloes for one transition basket after another.

"We just came out and played hard," sophomore forward Donnie Tillman said. "We want dunks. We want to do all this nice stuff. We just got to make it happen. That's the main thing it boiled down to."