Buffaloes Roll Past Utah In Road Finale

Tuesday, March 3

Salt Lake City, Utah

7 p.m.

Colorado

17-13,7-10Big 12

Utah

10-20,2-15Big 12

Colorado

Utah

Photo by: Ashton Scott

March 03, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Donate To Men's Basketball Buy Tickets Stats Postgame Press Conference

By: Aiden Tank, Athletic Communications

SALT LAKE CITY – Colorado scored 51 points in the first half to take control of the game early and held on to the final buzzer, finishing with a 92-78 win over Utah Tuesday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Tad Boyle's Buffs improved to 17-13 and 7-10 in the Big 12. Colorado won its first and last Big 12 road games of this season. Utah fell to 10-20 overall and 2-15 in conference play.

Isaiah Johnson and Bangot Dak led the way for Colorado. Dak set a new career high with 22 points and had a double-double with 10 rebounds while adding four blocks. Johnson tallied 22 points as well with four assists and three steals.

Barrington Hargress provided 19 points while shooting a perfect 3 of 3 from beyond the arc, and Jalin Holland added 11 points on a new career high, three 3-pointers.

"I thought we had great offensive efficiency tonight," head coach Tad Boyle commented. "Bangot [Dak] has 22 points on nine shots. Isaiah [Johnson] got 22 on 10 (shots). Barrington's [Hargress] got 19 points on 11 shots. That means you're playing efficiently."

Terrence Brown led the way for Utah with 26 points.

The Buffs were in control of this after a fast start. Colorado built a 20-point edge midway through the first half, pushed the margin to 51-25 at the break. Colorado's 51 points in the first half and 26-point lead are both the highest marks in a true road game since leading 54-28 over St. Mary's on Dec. 6, 2000.

The game was a tale of two halves, with Utah coming out of the second half firing on offense. The Utes made 12 of their first 13 shots of the second half and their first six 3-pointers to cut the lead to nine points.

"It was a tale of two halves," Boyle said. "We were really, really good in the first half, and part of it was Utah missed shots. But our guys, I thought, were really dialed in defensively, and we created some offense with our defense. In the second half, it was just the opposite.They made some tough shots. Credit to Utah for coming back, but I also credit our guys for stemming the tide."

Colorado shot 60.8 percent from the floor (31-for-51), 52.9 percent from deep (9-for-17), and 92.9 percent from the free throw line (21-for-23). The Buffs forced 10 turnovers, with nine coming in the first half, and converted them into 15 points compared to seven turnovers for eight Utah points.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Dak opened the game strong, scoring eight points in the opening four minutes to go along with a Hargress 3-pointer to give the Buffs an 11-10 lead.

Colorado's defense ramped up the intensity, forcing six quick turnovers, growing the Buffs' lead to 20-13 with 11:46 remaining in the first half.

Johnson led the Buffs on a 13-2 run to extend the lead, getting to 12 points in the first half after knocking down his first 3-pointer of the game to lead 36-19 with seven minutes left.

Utah continued to struggle to shoot the ball, only making one of its last nine shots from the field. Colorado took advantage, building the lead to 23 points with 3:52 left until halftime.

The first half closed with two more 3-pointers to push the lead to 51-25 with 12 points from Dak and Johnson. Colorado closed on a 38-12 run over the last 14:46 of the first half.

The first 20 minutes were controlled by the Buffs in nearly all metrics. Colorado shot 68 percent (19-28) from the field and 63 percent (5-8) from beyond the arc. After forcing nine first-half turnovers, the Buffs turned those into 13 points and outscored the Utes 13-5 on fast break points.

Utah opened up the second half and found success on the offensive end, making its first 3-pointer to cut the lead to 59-37 with 15:04 left in the game.

The Colorado lead was cut to 63-49 with 11:39 left in the game after Utah made seven straight shots and nine of its first 10 to open the half.

Hargress slowed the Utah run, with his 10 points in the second half off two 3-pointers. On the other end, the Utes made 10 straight shots to cut the lead to 74-65 with 7:32 left.

Dak and Johnson scored 12 of the next 14 points for the Buffs to keep Utah at bay. Johnson hit his second 3-pointer of the game to go up 88-74 with 2:16 left as the Buffs closed out the win.

UP NEXT
Colorado wraps up the regular season against second-ranked Arizona Saturday at 9 p.m. on ESPN 2. The Buffs will honor Elijah Malone for Senior Night.

GAME NOTES: With the win, Colorado is guaranteed to finish above .500 for the 14th time in 16 seasons under Tad Boyle ... Colorado shot 60.8 percent from the field, its best mark in a road conference game since shooting 61.8 percent at Nebraska on March 2, 2010 ... Bangot Dak secured his fifth career double-double with a career high 22 points and 10 rebounds. He was 9 of 10 from the free throw line, his nine free throws made also a career high. His last double-double was in the home win over Utah ... Isaiah Johnson moved into second in freshman season scoring, now with 498, just 14 points from Alec Burks' school record of 512 set in 2009-10.