Graduate student forward Andrej Jakimovski drives the ball against Kansas University on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025 at the CU Events Center. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
The University of Colorado Men’s basketball team (11-17, 2-15 Big 12) fell to the Kansas University Jayhawks (19-9, 10-7 Big 12) for the second time this season, 71-64 on Monday night. Sophomore forward Bangot Dak had 16 points and five rebounds, while senior guard Julian Hammond III contributed 11 points.
In a confidence-boosting game for KU, the CU Event Center was filled with the notorious din of the Kansas crowd, not quite equalized by the Buffs’ section.
“When we came out to that crowd,” KU center Hunter Dickinson said after the game. “It felt almost like a home game.”
Kansas’ offense was efficient from the start, making their first six shots. On the other end, the Buffs struggled to penetrate with KU’s height in the paint, settling for contested shots. The Jayhawks took an early 14-4 lead, forcing a Colorado timeout.
This trend continued for much of the first half. Dickinson, at seven feet two inches, had 15 points and seven rebounds in the first half, and his presence inside made it difficult for the Buffs to get good looks.
The Jayhawks had a 10 point lead at the first media timeout, and Colorado came out with renewed energy. Dak posted back-to-back dunks coming out of the media timeout, firing up the CU fans and leading to a Kansas timeout.
The Buffs ended the first half with a 10-5 run to trail the Jayhawks 37-32 heading into the locker rooms.
Colorado came out fast in the second half, opening on a 7-1 run. A big-time triple from Hammond III gave Colorado the lead for the first time all game, and the Buffs trailed by only one point going into the first media timeout of the half.
Aggressive defense by the Buffs forced Kansas to commit three turnovers in the first five minutes and allowed them to stay within attacking distance all half.
The rest of the half proved to be a tight battle. Both teams traded shots, with Kansas holding a slight lead. Several big-time dunks from Dak energized the CU crowd.
“My coach just tells me to put a lot of pressure on the rim because I’m a rim threat,” said Dak. “So I was trying to do that a lot tonight.”
While the Buffs trailed by only two with just over three minutes to go, Colorado was unable to close the gap, with missed shots and fouls allowing Kansas to extend their lead. In the end, the Buffs were unable to find an answer to Dickinson, who ended with 32 points and 13 rebounds.
“I thought he was the best player in the game,” KU head coach Bill Self said of Dickinson. “He played like an All-American tonight.”
“We didn’t execute the game plan on that,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said about Dickinson’s impact on the game.
While Colorado managed to out rebound KU 46-31, it wasn’t enough. They committed six more turnovers than the Jayhawks and only shot 38% from the field.
“I don’t fault our effort, I don’t fault our toughness,” Boyle said. “We just have to be more consistent in various parts of the game, not just one on any given night.”
Colorado will visit Kansas State University on Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m. MT. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Lila Nuttle at lila.nuttle@colorado.edu
