Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
12-4,2-1Big 12
Texas Tech
12-4,2-1Big 12
Buffs Rally Falls Short Against Texas Tech
January 10, 2026 | Men's Basketball
BOULDER – Colorado staged a furious second-half rally Saturday, but the Buffaloes came up just short against No. 14 ranked Texas Tech, dropping a 73-71 decision at the CU Events Center.
Tad Boyle's Buffs fell to 12-4 and 2-1 in the Big 12, and the Red Raiders improved to 12-4, 2-1.
After trailing by as much as 24 points early in the second half, the Buffs, sparked by a 20-3 run, rallied back. Down five, Sebastian Rancik hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two points. After getting a stop, Colorado had a chance to win the game on a Barrington Hargress 3-pointer, but the shot rimmed out.
"We had no timeout," Hargress said on the final shot. "We were really focused on getting that stop and giving ourselves a chance to either put the game in overtime or get the win. We took care of that part. Then, Isaiah (Johnson) and I were looking to get a good shot up."
Colorado was led by freshman Isaiah Johnson, who scored all of his 21 points in the second half and shot 13-13 at the free-throw line. Hargress scored 17 points, and Rancik added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Texas Tech had four players in double figures, led by Donovan Atwell, who made five 3-pointers. JT Toppin filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists. LeJuan Watts also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The stretch to end the first half and start the second led to a big deficit, but in the final 13 minutes of the game, Colorado outscored Texas Tech 36-15. In the first half, the Red Raiders made eight 3-pointers on 47.1%, but in the second half, they were held to 21.4% on three makes.
"We found out when we took our trip to Australia that we have a really competitive team that won't budge for anything," Boyle commented on the comeback. It took us a while to wake up, and the biggest thing we talked about after the game was that if we can be that competitive team you guys saw in the last six minutes of the game, we can play with anybody. So, that really has to be our consistent approach."
As has been a common problem so far this season, Texas Tech finished with 16 offensive rebounds and converted them into 10 second-chance points.
"This year's Achilles heel is our inability to finish possessions," Boyle said. "It's not about winning and losing to me, I told myself that I'm not going to let my emotional state be dictated by wins and losses. I'm going to let my emotional state be dictated by how our team is executing, how we are, how we execute, and every game plan is to finish possessions when we get our stops. You don't get an offensive rebound unless a shot goes up and doesn't go in. So when they shoot it and it goes in, that's a basket. There's no offensive rebound when they shoot it and miss it. Now there's either a defensive rebound or an offensive rebound. Our problem is too many offensive rebounds for the opponent, and it's happened all year."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado got off to a fast start, making its first three shots of the game, which included 3-pointers by Rancik and Hargress to take an early 10-4 lead. Hargress opened the game 3-3 from the floor with seven points in only four minutes of game time.
After building a lead as big as seven points, the Buffs' offense went into a lull and allowed Texas Tech to get back into the game and build a lead of its own with four 3-pointers in six scoring possessions to lead 27-20.
The Colorado offense continued to struggle, not making a field goal in the final four minutes of the first half. Coupled with the deep range success of the Red Raiders, the lead extended to 16 points after a last-second 3-pointer by Anderson.
Offensively, the Buffs started strong, making eight of their first 14 shots, but then went ice cold, making only two of their final 15 in the first half. From behind the arc after knocking down the first two, he missed the next eight.
On the flip side, Texas Tech finished the half, making seven of its last 12 3-point attempts, shooting 47.1% overall in the first half, as well as outscoring Colorado 16-10 on points in the paint.
The second half began much as the first half ended. Colorado's offense struggled to gain rhythm. The Red Raiders' offense started slowly but picked up steam, reaching as much as a 24-point lead.
Colorado responded, ratcheting up defensive intensity and taking advantage of entering the bonus halfway through the second half. The Buffs started chipping away using a 16-3 run to cut the lead down to 11 points.
Johnson knocked down a 3-pointer, followed by a layup from Alon Michaeli to cut the lead to six points, a part of an extended 20-3 run by the Buffs.
Texas Tech responded with a five-point burst, but Colorado kept pace with a 3-pointer by Johnson and layups by Hargress and Michaeli. Following more back-and-forth play, the Buffs cut the lead to five points with 55.2 seconds remaining.
Following a Texas Tech turnover, Rancik hit a 3-pointer in the left corner out of the inbounds to cut the lead to 73-71 with 42.3 seconds left.
After getting a stop, Colorado had a chance as time expired, but the 3-pointer by Hargress rimmed out, giving Texas Tech the win.
UP NEXT
Colorado travels hits the road to face off against Cincinnati on Wednesday, Jan. 14,  at 5 p.m. MT on Peacock.
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