Colorado Buffaloes freshman guard,
Isaiah Johnson, dribbles the ball up the court against TCU on Sunday, Feb. 1st, 2026 (Remi Krupinski/CU Independent).
After winning their first two conference games, the Colorado Buffaloes (13-9, 3-6 Big 12) slid for six consecutive Big 12 losses over the span of three weeks. That streak ended in the Buffs’ 87-61 victory over Texas Christian University (13-9, 3-6 Big 12) on Sunday, Feb. 1.
Head coach Tad Boyle completely restructured the starting five following a brutal 30 point loss to Iowa State on Thursday. He elected to give three freshmen their first collegiate start: Josiah Sanders, Jalin Holland and Fawaz “Tacko” Ifaola. They rounded out a fresh, young lineup with freshman Isaiah Johnson and junior Barrington Hargress.
“We met as a staff after Iowa State for about four hours,” Boyle said about the change. “This team is not about who starts. It’s not about who comes off the bench. It’s not about how many minutes they play or shots they get. This team has to rely on each other.”
The new unit clicked out of the gate, bringing an overdue supply of energy into the CU Events Center. Over a seven minute 40 second span late in the first half, the Buffs didn’t allow a field goal from TCU and stretched on a 12-0 run to go up 13 at halftime.
Starting four freshmen at the beginning of the contest allowed for an alternate game plan for Colorado, bringing in a more experienced second rotation that fed off the energy of the first. The Buffs spread out the ball well in the first half, with 10 assists off their 15 made field goals, having eight players with two points or more.
The second half was a continuation of the first, highlighted by a monstrous dunk from junior Bangot Dak. In the play, Hargress snagged a rebound and tossed a high rainbow pass to a downhill Johnson, who threw a high lob to Dak for the game’s exclamation point.
Colorado Buffaloes junior foward,
Bangot Dak, dunks the ball against TCU on Sunday, Feb. 1st, 2026 (Remi Krupinski/CU Independent).
From the top, Colorado played with more energy and won the games within the game. They were more physical and aggressive on defense while flying around the court for rebounds. The energy from the three freshmen wanting to make an impression in their first start spread throughout the squad in a true team victory.
Johnson caught fire in the second half to end the day with 16 points, while Sebastian Rancik played a sound game off the bench with a game-high 17 points and six rebounds. Ifaola did a sufficient job starting at center while sitting on the bench for the majority of the second half, ending 3-3 from the field with six rebounds.
“It’s contagious,” Sanders said postgame about the energy Ifaola brought. “Everybody tries to hold ourselves to that standard.”
Sanders was the integral spark plug, while not filling up the stat sheet, he had very strong moments on defense and secured athletic rebounds. He finished his first career start with 12 points, six assists and three boards.
Colorado Buffaloes freshman guard,
Josiah Sanders, scroes a layup against TCU on Sunday, Feb. 1st, 2026 (Remi Krupinski/CU Independent).
Colorado led for 35 minutes of the game and bullied underneath the basket with 42 points in the paint. They tripled TCU’s assist total and finished with five players in double digits.
“We hadn’t seen that Colorado Buffalo team in November, December or January, but we finally saw it on February 1st,” Boyle said postgame. “We have to play with that energy and that effort, that toughness.”
The Buffs get a three day break before heading to Waco, Texas, for a match-up with Baylor University (12-9, 2-7 Big 12) on Feb. 4. Tip off is at 6 p.m. MT and the game will stream on Peacock.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Baylan Wysuph at baylan.wysuph@colorado.edu.
