Derrick White scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half, Xavier Johnson added 19 and Colorado rallied from a shaky first half to beat Washington State 73-63 Wednesday night in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Colorado (19-13) got off to a miserable start at both ends as Washington State raced out to a 19-point lead. The seventh-seeded Buffaloes whittled into the lead by halftime and overtook the Cougars in the second behind White, who made 8 of 15 shots.
Colorado hit 15 of 28 shots in the second half to complete the comeback, earning a spot in Thursday's quarterfinals against No. 2 Arizona.
Washington State (13-18), the tournament's No. 10 seed, lost all its mojo after a stellar first half to end the season in disappointment. Charles Callison and Ike Iroegbu scored 16 points each, and Josh Hawkinson had 12 points and 12 rebounds.