Kansas freshman guard Darryn Peterson blocks a layup in the game against the University of Kansas at the CU Events Center on Jan 8, 2026. (Peter FitzGerald/CU Independent)
It’s never a nice feeling when the visiting team’s fans start singing “Hey Jude” as the home team’s student section slowly filters out. That’s what happened Tuesday night as Colorado fell to No. 19 Kansas, 75-69, in front of a crowd of 8,356. Colorado’s student section was packed to the brim, sold out for a conference game for the first time since 2024 against Arizona, but there was no shortage of red and blue in the crowd.
“I felt like it was our home game,” KU guard Melvin Council Jr. said.
This game marked the 167th meeting between the two programs. Kansas (14-5, 4-2 Big 12) now leads Colorado (12-7, 2-4 Big 12) 137-40 in the series. The initial big story of the game was an announcement on Monday that Kansas head coach Bill Self was hospitalized and would not be joining his team in Boulder. By the end of the night, however, it was yet another controversial call halting Colorado’s momentum and chance to take down a ranked team.
Late in the second half, Kansas committed an offensive foul, which Colorado then turned into a quick three on the other end, getting within one point of Kansas. But just as it seemed the Buffs might take the lead, Kansas struck back with two quick layups, the second of which Council Jr. looked to be out of bounds on. Colorado head coach Tad Boyle was visibly upset with the officials on the court and was still irate postgame.
In spite of that incident, the Buffs made the Jayhawks battle to the end, trailing by just a couple of possessions for much of the game.
“I love the fight of this team, and we cannot lose that, and we will not lose that,” Boyle said postgame.
Freshman Isaiah Johnson, coming off his first career start, got the Buffs going with a 3-pointer to open the game, lighting up the student section. Johnson led Colorado with 17 points, including two threes and a perfect free-throw performance.
“It’s great to see everybody come and support,” Johnson said. “We need that every game.”
Although Kansas jumped out to an early lead, Colorado stayed close behind, putting up big plays to feed the palpable energy in the stadium. At one point, Johnson secured a loose ball and flipped it to Bangot Dak for a big slam, putting the score at 13-15 Kansas at the first media timeout.
Junior forward Bangot Dak celebrates a dunk in the game against the University of Kansas at the CU Events Center on Jan 8, 2026. (Peter FitzGerald/CU Independent)
Despite Kansas’ intimidating paint presence with center Flory Bidunga, who ranks eighth nationally in shots blocked at 2.6 per game, Colorado outscored KU 12-6 in the paint in the first half. Bidunga had an early swat against Bangot Dak, but the Buffs soon found ways to craft opportunities around his long arms.
Colorado point guard Barrington Hargress had a tough finish against him, taking KU’s big man to the rim and hitting a fadeaway layup as the game entered the last minute of the first half. The cheers from Colorado fans were quickly replaced by those of KU fans when Council Jr. nailed a 3-pointer on the other end, as Colorado called a timeout.
Another notable moment was Colorado center Elijah Malone exiting the game early with an injury. He went to the hospital, but no update was available on his status postgame.
A big focus for Colorado in this game was limiting KU star freshman Darryn Peterson, who’s expected to go No. 1 overall in the 2026 NBA draft. Boyle switched defensive tactics often, throwing different matchups as well as some zone to limit his points. The zone play didn’t slow down the 3-ball, however. Both teams shot well from beyond the arc, each hitting six 3-pointers in the first half.
Hargress sent the Buffs into the locker room on a high note with a tip-in off a missed jumper to beat the buzzer and put Colorado down just two, 38-40.
Junior guard Barrington Hargress goes for a layup in the game against the University of Kansas at the CU Events Center on Jan 8, 2026. (Peter FitzGerald/CU Independent)
The second half seemed even more intense, with Kansas pushing in transition and Colorado’s defense pressuring and trapping the Jayhawks. They still kept close behind Kansas; however, their shooting cooled off. Without Malone in the game, KU was able to switch on defense against the smaller Colorado lineup and limit their 3-point shooting to just 3-17 in the second half.
Despite their shooting woes, Colorado closed the gap to 59-60 with just over five minutes to go. The crowd of black and gold was in a deafening frenzy as the Buffs appeared poised to take the lead.
It was then that Council Jr. stole the ball from Sebastian Rancik as he was inbounding. While video playback showed Council Jr. out of bounds, the officials made no call, and the basket stood, despite some emphatic reactions from Boyle and a chorus of boos from the home crowd. While you can never blame the outcome of a game on one specific play, it’s hard to feel like the missed out-of-bounds call was inconsequential. It stopped a run of Colorado momentum and gave Kansas a boost of its own at a pivotal moment in the game. It also felt painfully similar to Colorado’s loss to No. 12 Texas Tech, in which another controversial call seemed to hinder the Buffs’ momentum.
“Frustration is being nice,” Boyle said. “Yeah I’m frustrated.”
From there, Peterson sank the dagger with a contested three that banked in, putting KU up 69-60 with just around two minutes to play. While they continued to battle it out, it made no difference, and the Buffs lost their fourth straight game, 75-69.
While the final result was hard to swallow, there’s still reason for Colorado to be optimistic going forward. For one, they had just three turnovers while forcing 15 on Kansas. The key, as Boyle noted, is turning those into points. Colorado had just 10 points off turnovers the entire game. Another aspect is rebounding. After a disappointing performance against West Virginia—just 22 total boards—the Buffs went after the ball, out-rebounding KU 45-33, including 12 offensive boards. If Colorado can continue this trend and capitalize on those extra possessions, there’s hope for more competitive games.
“This is what we signed up for when we signed our letter of intent to Colorado. We knew that these games were going to be tough,” Hargress said. “And we understand that you can’t fold just from tough games.”
The University of Colorado Boulder student section cheers in the game against the University of Kansas at the CU Events Center on Jan 8, 2026. (Peter FitzGerald/CU Independent)
The Buffs will stay at home, hosting UCF (14-4, 3-3 Big 12) on Saturday, Jan. 24 at the CU Events Center. Tipoff is at 1 p.m. MT and will be streamed live on ESPN.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Lila Nuttle at lila.nuttle@colorado.edu
