Sunday, March 2
Manhattan, Kan.
2 p.m.
Colorado
11-18,2-16Big 12
56
at
65
Kansas State
14-15,8-10Big 12
1
2
F
Colorado
22
34
56
Kansas St.
33
32
65
Buffs Can't Overcome Shooting, Turnovers In Loss At Kansas State
March 02, 2025 | Men's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Cold shooting early and turnovers derailed Colorado's chance at a first Big 12 Conference road win as Kansas State took a 65-56 decision at Bramlage Coliseum Sunday afternoon.
Colorado drops to 11-18 overall and 2-16 in the Big 12. Kansas State halts a four-game skid, improving to 14-15, 8-10 in conference play.
Sophomore RJ Smith led Colorado with 11 points hitting 5 of 8 from the field. Bangot Dak and Sebastian Rancik each had 10 points. Elijah Malone had seven points and led the Buffaloes with six rebounds and three blocks. Javon Ruffin had five points and matched a career high with five assists.
Colorado's leading scorer Julian Hammond III was scoreless, leaving the game eight minutes in with a lower back issue.
David N'Guessan led all players with 21 points and eight rebounds for Kansas State.
Neither team was very good offensively. Colorado shot 39 percent from the field and continued its season-long struggles from long-range making just 4 of 23 3-point attempts (.174). Kansas State shot 34.4 percent from the field but had more success from 3-point range hitting 7 of 21 (.333).
The Wildcats gained their advantage scoring 20 points off 15 Colorado turnovers and getting to the free throw line. The Wildcats, who entered the game shooting less than 68 percent from the free throw line made 16 of 19 (.842) including all nine attempts in the first half.
"Our defense was good enough tonight," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. "We held them to 34 percent, so when our defense got set, it was good enough to win this game. But the problem, and we knew this coming in, is we have to take care of the ball. And that's been who we are. We can't take care of the ball. Tonight, it's a nine-point game, and we lose the turnover battle 20-5."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Kansas State built a 10-point lead right out of the gate. N'Guessan scored the Wildcats' first five points. Colorado had three early turnovers as Kansas State jumped out to a 12-2 lead four minutes into the first half.
Colorado made just three of its first 14 shots. The Buffaloes had a little success early getting into the paint. Dak, Assane Diop and Rancik scored Colorado's first three field goals on inside feeds for layups. Malone drew a foul inside and hit a free throw to cut the K-State lead to 14-7 with 12:47 left.
Kansas State took advantage of Colorado misses by getting down the floor quickly. The Wildcats scored six-straight points finished of with a Dug McDaniel layup that gave the Wildcats a 20-7 lead. Smith broke the Wildcats' streak with a layup at the 8:24 mark.
Colorado missed its first nine 3-point attempts until Andrej Jakimovski broke the string at 6:11 in the first half as the Wildcats led 23-12. Jakimovski scored six straight for the Buffaloes and Smith added coast-to-coast layup off the steal to cut the Kansas State lead to 26-17 with 4:24 left in the half.
Kansas State padded its lead back to double digits thanks to five straight points by David Castillo and a N'Guessan dunk off a turnover. Smith made a 3-pointer and Diop got a late layup to cut the deficit to 33-22 at the half.
"At some point you got to be able to make some shots," Boyle said. "And we're really struggling making shots right now for whatever reason. We missed a lot of open looks tonight, and K State was the toughest team, and they deserve to win, because we you know, if you're going to miss a bunch of shots, you better get some offensive rebounds. We had five at halftime. We had one in the second half, so you're going to miss shots. You better go try to find second shots or get to the free throw line, which was really difficult to do tonight, do the physicality of the game, and came up short."
Kansas State used a 7-0 run early in the second half to extend its lead. Macaleab Rich scored on an alley-oop from McDaniel as the Wildcats held their largest advantage at 46-29 with 14:12 left.
Colorado had its best stretch midway through the second half. The Buffaloes found some rhythm, hitting six consecutive shots with Dak scoring twice and a Smith layup which cut Kansas State's lead back down to 11 at 54-43.
Rich and N'Guessan ended that run with back-to-back scores to put the Wildcats back up by 15. Colorado closed the gap back to 11 on free throws from Dak and Diop and a Malone tip in off a missed free throw as K-State led 58-47 with 5:25 left.
Colorado got as close as eight thanks to five-straight points from Ruffin. He hit a 3-pointer with 3:23 left to cut the lead to 60-50. Dak stole the ball on the other end, which Ruffin turned into a fastbreak layup for a 60-52 margin with 3:01 remaining.
The Buffaloes missed their next four shots and had a pair of turnovers before Rancik scored once more with the clock running out.
Colorado plays its last regular season road game at No. 10 Texas Tech, Wednesday, March 5, at 6 p.m. MT (ESPN+ / KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM)
Colorado drops to 11-18 overall and 2-16 in the Big 12. Kansas State halts a four-game skid, improving to 14-15, 8-10 in conference play.
Sophomore RJ Smith led Colorado with 11 points hitting 5 of 8 from the field. Bangot Dak and Sebastian Rancik each had 10 points. Elijah Malone had seven points and led the Buffaloes with six rebounds and three blocks. Javon Ruffin had five points and matched a career high with five assists.
Colorado's leading scorer Julian Hammond III was scoreless, leaving the game eight minutes in with a lower back issue.
David N'Guessan led all players with 21 points and eight rebounds for Kansas State.
Neither team was very good offensively. Colorado shot 39 percent from the field and continued its season-long struggles from long-range making just 4 of 23 3-point attempts (.174). Kansas State shot 34.4 percent from the field but had more success from 3-point range hitting 7 of 21 (.333).
The Wildcats gained their advantage scoring 20 points off 15 Colorado turnovers and getting to the free throw line. The Wildcats, who entered the game shooting less than 68 percent from the free throw line made 16 of 19 (.842) including all nine attempts in the first half.
"Our defense was good enough tonight," Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said. "We held them to 34 percent, so when our defense got set, it was good enough to win this game. But the problem, and we knew this coming in, is we have to take care of the ball. And that's been who we are. We can't take care of the ball. Tonight, it's a nine-point game, and we lose the turnover battle 20-5."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Kansas State built a 10-point lead right out of the gate. N'Guessan scored the Wildcats' first five points. Colorado had three early turnovers as Kansas State jumped out to a 12-2 lead four minutes into the first half.
Colorado made just three of its first 14 shots. The Buffaloes had a little success early getting into the paint. Dak, Assane Diop and Rancik scored Colorado's first three field goals on inside feeds for layups. Malone drew a foul inside and hit a free throw to cut the K-State lead to 14-7 with 12:47 left.
Kansas State took advantage of Colorado misses by getting down the floor quickly. The Wildcats scored six-straight points finished of with a Dug McDaniel layup that gave the Wildcats a 20-7 lead. Smith broke the Wildcats' streak with a layup at the 8:24 mark.
Colorado missed its first nine 3-point attempts until Andrej Jakimovski broke the string at 6:11 in the first half as the Wildcats led 23-12. Jakimovski scored six straight for the Buffaloes and Smith added coast-to-coast layup off the steal to cut the Kansas State lead to 26-17 with 4:24 left in the half.
Kansas State padded its lead back to double digits thanks to five straight points by David Castillo and a N'Guessan dunk off a turnover. Smith made a 3-pointer and Diop got a late layup to cut the deficit to 33-22 at the half.
"At some point you got to be able to make some shots," Boyle said. "And we're really struggling making shots right now for whatever reason. We missed a lot of open looks tonight, and K State was the toughest team, and they deserve to win, because we you know, if you're going to miss a bunch of shots, you better get some offensive rebounds. We had five at halftime. We had one in the second half, so you're going to miss shots. You better go try to find second shots or get to the free throw line, which was really difficult to do tonight, do the physicality of the game, and came up short."
Kansas State used a 7-0 run early in the second half to extend its lead. Macaleab Rich scored on an alley-oop from McDaniel as the Wildcats held their largest advantage at 46-29 with 14:12 left.
Colorado had its best stretch midway through the second half. The Buffaloes found some rhythm, hitting six consecutive shots with Dak scoring twice and a Smith layup which cut Kansas State's lead back down to 11 at 54-43.
Rich and N'Guessan ended that run with back-to-back scores to put the Wildcats back up by 15. Colorado closed the gap back to 11 on free throws from Dak and Diop and a Malone tip in off a missed free throw as K-State led 58-47 with 5:25 left.
Colorado got as close as eight thanks to five-straight points from Ruffin. He hit a 3-pointer with 3:23 left to cut the lead to 60-50. Dak stole the ball on the other end, which Ruffin turned into a fastbreak layup for a 60-52 margin with 3:01 remaining.
The Buffaloes missed their next four shots and had a pair of turnovers before Rancik scored once more with the clock running out.
Colorado plays its last regular season road game at No. 10 Texas Tech, Wednesday, March 5, at 6 p.m. MT (ESPN+ / KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM)
Team Stats
CU
KState
FG%
.393
.344
3FG%
.174
.333
FT%
.571
.842
RB
36
35
TO
15
8
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
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