Wednesday, March 5
Lubbock, Texas
6 p.m.
Colorado
11-19,2-17Big 12
75
at
91
Texas Tech
23-7,14-5Big 12
1
2
F
Colorado
33
42
75
Texas Tech
45
46
91
Colorado Falls to No. 9 Texas Tech On the Road
March 05, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Colorado couldn't keep up with No. 9 Texas Tech's hot shooting as the Buffaloes fell to the Red Raiders 91-75 Wednesday night at the United Supermarkets Arena.
With a loss in the final regular-season conference road game, the Buffs fall to 11-19 overall and 2-17 in Big 12 play. They finished 0-10 on the road in conference games. Texas Tech improves to 23-7 overall and 14-5 in conference play.Â
"There are times in this game, as much as we hate to do it as coaches because we're competitors and players are too, but sometimes you just got to tip your hat to your opponent," head coach Tad Boyle said. "Texas Tech's got a hell of a team. JT Toppin is playing at a very high level, we didn't have much of an answer for him in there tonight. He had his way with us, and it wasn't just on one guy; it was on multiple defenders that we had. The way they shoot the ball as a team; they made a bunch of threes against Kansas and taking away their threes was a big part of our game plan. Obviously, we didn't execute that very well. They made 16 of them on us. They have a team that passes the ball, shares the ball, runs their stuff, and is efficient."
Colorado was without senior point guard and leading scorer Julian Hamond III for the first time this season.
Without Hammond, the Buffs scored by committee; all nine players who saw the court scored. The Buffs' offense came inside from the big men, with Bangot Dak (12), Assane Diop (11), Elijah Malone (10), and Sebastian Rancik (12) all reaching double figures and combining for 45 points.
Texas Tech was led by JT Toppin, who finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds. He scored 21 points and had 10 of his rebounds in the second half.
"He drops his body around, and he draws fouls, and then he finishes," Boyle said on Toppin. "It seemed like in the second half, he either finished or they called the foul. It makes it really difficult if a guy's scoring, and he's getting the free throw line, which he does a good job of. He's a good player playing at a high, high level, and he's a problem."
Colorado outscored Texas Tech 34-30 on points in the paint, and the bench contributed 30 points, but Texas Tech made 16 3-pointers, the most CU has allowed in a game this season, compared to only three for Colorado.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado started the game coming from behind after going down 12-2 in the first five minutes. The Buffs would rebound with an 8-0 run with points from four different players, including a 3-pointer by RJ Smith in transition to cut the lead of Texas Tech to 12-10 with 12:56 left in the first half.
Texas Tech's Chance McMillian scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game to pace the Red Raiders.
Colorado kept up with Texas Tech by committee; eight different Buffs scored to close the gap to 25-22, with Dak scoring six points, all on jump shots.
The Red Raiders answered with an 8-0 run in less than a minute of game action, pushing the lead to 33-22 and forcing a Colorado timeout.
The Buffs tried to get back in the game in the first half, cutting the lead to six with an Andrej Jakimovski 3-pointer, but Texas Tech again answered with an array of shots behind the arc. The Red Raiders finished the first half shooting 10-of-17 from deep, but they only made five shots inside the arc. Colorado trailed 45-33 at halftime.
From the last six minutes of the first half through the first two minutes of the second half, Texas Tech outscored Colorado 28-13 to lead 53-35. The Buffs responded with a quick 8-0 run, scoring in the paint to cut the lead to 10.
After allowing 10 3-pointers in the first half, the Buffs forced the Red Raiders to miss the first three of the second half.
Colorado continued to trade baskets through the second half, with the lead hovering around a dozen points. The Buffs had eight different players score, while Texas Tech leaned on Toppin, who scored 14 straight points for the Red Raiders.
In an effort to make one final push, Colorado had a 5-0 run, including an and-1 by Dak to cut the lead to 10. Texas Tech immediately responded with an 11-3 run of its own to put it out of reach for good. A few extra baskets pushed it to the game's largest lead at 88-68.
UP NEXT
Colorado will close the regular season at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday against TCU (ESPN+ / KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM). The Buffs will honor the seniors at the conclusion of the game.Â
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With a loss in the final regular-season conference road game, the Buffs fall to 11-19 overall and 2-17 in Big 12 play. They finished 0-10 on the road in conference games. Texas Tech improves to 23-7 overall and 14-5 in conference play.Â
"There are times in this game, as much as we hate to do it as coaches because we're competitors and players are too, but sometimes you just got to tip your hat to your opponent," head coach Tad Boyle said. "Texas Tech's got a hell of a team. JT Toppin is playing at a very high level, we didn't have much of an answer for him in there tonight. He had his way with us, and it wasn't just on one guy; it was on multiple defenders that we had. The way they shoot the ball as a team; they made a bunch of threes against Kansas and taking away their threes was a big part of our game plan. Obviously, we didn't execute that very well. They made 16 of them on us. They have a team that passes the ball, shares the ball, runs their stuff, and is efficient."
Colorado was without senior point guard and leading scorer Julian Hamond III for the first time this season.
Without Hammond, the Buffs scored by committee; all nine players who saw the court scored. The Buffs' offense came inside from the big men, with Bangot Dak (12), Assane Diop (11), Elijah Malone (10), and Sebastian Rancik (12) all reaching double figures and combining for 45 points.
Texas Tech was led by JT Toppin, who finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds. He scored 21 points and had 10 of his rebounds in the second half.
"He drops his body around, and he draws fouls, and then he finishes," Boyle said on Toppin. "It seemed like in the second half, he either finished or they called the foul. It makes it really difficult if a guy's scoring, and he's getting the free throw line, which he does a good job of. He's a good player playing at a high, high level, and he's a problem."
Colorado outscored Texas Tech 34-30 on points in the paint, and the bench contributed 30 points, but Texas Tech made 16 3-pointers, the most CU has allowed in a game this season, compared to only three for Colorado.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado started the game coming from behind after going down 12-2 in the first five minutes. The Buffs would rebound with an 8-0 run with points from four different players, including a 3-pointer by RJ Smith in transition to cut the lead of Texas Tech to 12-10 with 12:56 left in the first half.
Texas Tech's Chance McMillian scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game to pace the Red Raiders.
Colorado kept up with Texas Tech by committee; eight different Buffs scored to close the gap to 25-22, with Dak scoring six points, all on jump shots.
The Red Raiders answered with an 8-0 run in less than a minute of game action, pushing the lead to 33-22 and forcing a Colorado timeout.
The Buffs tried to get back in the game in the first half, cutting the lead to six with an Andrej Jakimovski 3-pointer, but Texas Tech again answered with an array of shots behind the arc. The Red Raiders finished the first half shooting 10-of-17 from deep, but they only made five shots inside the arc. Colorado trailed 45-33 at halftime.
From the last six minutes of the first half through the first two minutes of the second half, Texas Tech outscored Colorado 28-13 to lead 53-35. The Buffs responded with a quick 8-0 run, scoring in the paint to cut the lead to 10.
After allowing 10 3-pointers in the first half, the Buffs forced the Red Raiders to miss the first three of the second half.
Colorado continued to trade baskets through the second half, with the lead hovering around a dozen points. The Buffs had eight different players score, while Texas Tech leaned on Toppin, who scored 14 straight points for the Red Raiders.
In an effort to make one final push, Colorado had a 5-0 run, including an and-1 by Dak to cut the lead to 10. Texas Tech immediately responded with an 11-3 run of its own to put it out of reach for good. A few extra baskets pushed it to the game's largest lead at 88-68.
UP NEXT
Colorado will close the regular season at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday against TCU (ESPN+ / KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM). The Buffs will honor the seniors at the conclusion of the game.Â
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Team Stats
CU
TTU
FG%
.527
.484
3FG%
.214
.485
FT%
.667
.813
RB
32
32
TO
10
6
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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