Colorado will conclude its nonconference men’s basketball schedule with a home game against Northern Colorado on Sunday, December 28, at the CU Events Center in Boulder. The game is set to tip off at 1:01 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on ESPN+ and KOA radio.
The Buffaloes enter the matchup with a 10-2 record, returning from the holiday break after falling to Stanford, 77-68, in their last outing. This marks Colorado’s best nonconference start since the 2019-20 season. The team began the year with an eight-game winning streak, its strongest start in 76 years.
Colorado has shown strong offensive numbers during nonconference play, ranking 20th nationally in field goal percentage at 51.1 percent and third in the Big 12 Conference. The team is also among national leaders in three-point shooting, making 38.4 percent of attempts.
Scoring contributions have come from multiple players this season. At least four Buffaloes have scored in double figures in ten of twelve games so far, with five different players leading the team in scoring at various times. Freshman Isaiah Johnson leads Colorado in scoring while coming off the bench for all twelve games, averaging 14.8 points per game—second among Power 4 Conference reserves and third nationally among bench players.
Junior Barrington Hargress leads the team in assists (59) and field goal percentage (.583), sharing the lead for steals (14) with Johnson. Hargress has averaged 18 points over his last three games and posted a season-high five three-pointers against UTSA.
Sophomore Sebastian Rancik is second on the team in scoring (13.2 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg), while junior forward Bangot Dak leads Colorado with 6.9 rebounds per game and ranks eighth in blocks within the Big 12.
Freshman Alon Michaeli averages 10.4 points off the bench and has scored double digits seven times this season.
Colorado’s NET ranking stands at 60 as of December 26.
Northern Colorado comes into Sunday’s contest with a record of 9-3 but is currently on a two-game losing streak following defeats by Denver and No.19 Texas Tech. The Bears lead the Big Sky Conference both in scoring (86.9 points per game) and field goal percentage (50.7%). Graduate guard Quinn Denker leads UNC with an average of 17.3 points per game and tops the conference with 6.1 assists per contest.
Senior forward Brock Wisne (16.8 ppg) and graduate guard Zach Bloch (13.3 ppg) are also key contributors for Northern Colorado; Bloch leads both the conference and ranks fourth nationally by hitting over half his three-point attempts.
This meeting marks the forty-fourth between Colorado and Northern Colorado dating back to January 1918; Colorado holds a series advantage of twenty-five wins to eighteen and has won thirteen consecutive matchups against UNC since resuming regular play between programs coached by Tad Boyle, who previously led Northern Colorado from 2006 to 2010.
