Colorado secured a 79-70 victory over Kansas State on Wednesday night at the CU Events Center, marking its fourth consecutive home win. The Buffaloes improved their season record to 16-12 overall and 6-9 in Big 12 play, while Kansas State dropped to 11-17 and 2-13 in the conference.
Freshman Ian Inman delivered a standout performance, setting career highs with 17 points—including five three-pointers—and five rebounds. Head coach Tad Boyle commented on Inman’s impact: “There are two kinds of shooters,” Boyle said. “There are shot takers and shot makers. Ian [Inman] is a shot maker. We see that in practice every day. Ian was terrific, and he made shots that kept us in the game.”
Another freshman guard, Isaiah Johnson, also set personal bests by recording 18 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists—leading the team in all three categories. Johnson explained his approach: “Coach Bill (Grier) said before the game that the guards have to come help the bigs rebound,” Johnson said. “They have some pretty big guys, so I went down there to help BD (Bangot Dak), Alon (Michaeli), and Sebi (Sebastian Rancik) rebound.”
Additional contributions came from Barrington Hargress with 15 points, Sebastian Rancik with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Bangot Dak who added 10 points.
Kansas State was led by P.J. Haggerty’s double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds.
The Buffaloes built an early lead that reached as high as 19 points but saw it trimmed to nine at halftime after a late surge by Kansas State. The Wildcats continued their comeback efforts in the second half but were met with a decisive response—a Colorado run extended the margin back up to 22 points.
Late in the game, Kansas State narrowed Colorado’s lead to just three points with over two minutes remaining. However, Colorado sealed the outcome by making six free throws and blocking three shots during key defensive possessions.
The contest featured frequent stoppages due to four flagrant fouls reviewed by officials along with numerous timeouts. Addressing these interruptions, Boyle remarked: “It sure helps them,” Boyle commented on the extended stoppages. “When you got four reviews for flagrant fouls, and then we challenged one and lost it. You’ve got that plus you’ve got nine media timeouts, four in the first half, five in the second, you’ve got four timeouts from video reviews. What’s that? 13? You’ve got three timeouts by each team. That’s 19. We do lose our home court advantage, without a doubt.”
Next up for Colorado is an away game against No.5 Houston at 10 a.m., broadcast on ESPN2. Houston enters this matchup following its first three-game losing streak since joining the Big 12 Conference in 2023; recent losses include games against Iowa State (then ranked No.6), Arizona (No.4), and Kansas (No.14). Iowa State’s win marked only Houston’s second home conference defeat since joining the league.
