Colorado men's basketball head coach Tad Boyle
Buffaloes Looking Forward To Writing A New Chapter To 2025-26
October 13, 2025 | Men's Basketball
Colorado's 2024-25 men's basketball season didn't go like anyone had hoped. The Buffaloes struggled in their transition back to the ultra-competitive Big 12 Conference with a last-place finish and an overall 14-21 record.
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While Colorado caught some traction down the stretch with wins in five of the final 11 games, including a pair of upsets in the conference tournament, the Buffaloes are eagerly moving ahead to rewrite the story for the 2025-26 campaign.
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"What kind of history do we want to create with this year's team?" said Colorado head coach Tad Boyle at Monday's annual CU Winter Sports Media Day. "That's our challenge, and that's what we've got to focus on every single day. I do believe that we have enough talent on this team. We can have a fantastic year. We can win a lot of games. We want to make Buff Nation proud of their basketball program."
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Return of the core
Bangot Dak played in all 32 games and averaged 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Dak ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 35 blocks. Sebastian Rancik averaged 5.9 points per game and showed sparks as a true freshman, including a career-high 19-point outing at Kansas. Second-year graduate senior Elijah Malone averaged just under eight points per game and led the team in shooting at 59.2 percent.
"We're going to need leadership this year," Boyle said. "I look at guys like Elijah, who's our only senior, a guy like Bangot back, third year of Division I basketball. I think Sebastian Rancik is a kid who we've really challenged to help lead this team as well."
Youth movement
While the Buffs return a strong core, they have plenty of new faces as well.
Junior transfer Barrington Hargress joins the Buffs after two seasons at UC Riverside. Hargress was named All-Big West Conference as a sophomore at UCR, leading the league and ranking ninth in the nation in scoring at 20.2 points per game. He set UCR's single-season scoring record with 686 points.
The Buffs will also welcome a talented group of freshmen in Isaiah Johnson, Josiah Sanders, and Jalin Holland.
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"I think that point guard position, that lead guard, however you want to term it, is going to be in really good shape this year," Boyle said. "I hope those guys can live up to the standard that McKinley (Wright IV) and KJ (Simpson) both set, and I think in time, they will."
Adding depth to the offense
A major point of emphasis this season for the Buffs is improving on offense.
Last season, Colorado ranked ninth in the Big 12 at 69.6 points per game, but Boyle believes this year's team has the ability to score in bunches with multiple players.
"I think we can have five on the floor that you have to guard all five of them," Boyle said. "So if they key on one, it's going to free somebody else up, and if we just play the game the way it's supposed to be played, everybody will. This can be a team that can have three, four, five guys average double figures. I really believe that. I think this is a team that can be like that."
Colorado will host Grace College for an exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 12 p.m. at the CU Events Center.
The Buffs will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 3, against Montana State in Boulder.
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While Colorado caught some traction down the stretch with wins in five of the final 11 games, including a pair of upsets in the conference tournament, the Buffaloes are eagerly moving ahead to rewrite the story for the 2025-26 campaign.
Â
"What kind of history do we want to create with this year's team?" said Colorado head coach Tad Boyle at Monday's annual CU Winter Sports Media Day. "That's our challenge, and that's what we've got to focus on every single day. I do believe that we have enough talent on this team. We can have a fantastic year. We can win a lot of games. We want to make Buff Nation proud of their basketball program."
Â
Return of the core
Bangot Dak played in all 32 games and averaged 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Dak ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 35 blocks. Sebastian Rancik averaged 5.9 points per game and showed sparks as a true freshman, including a career-high 19-point outing at Kansas. Second-year graduate senior Elijah Malone averaged just under eight points per game and led the team in shooting at 59.2 percent.
"We're going to need leadership this year," Boyle said. "I look at guys like Elijah, who's our only senior, a guy like Bangot back, third year of Division I basketball. I think Sebastian Rancik is a kid who we've really challenged to help lead this team as well."
Youth movement
While the Buffs return a strong core, they have plenty of new faces as well.
Junior transfer Barrington Hargress joins the Buffs after two seasons at UC Riverside. Hargress was named All-Big West Conference as a sophomore at UCR, leading the league and ranking ninth in the nation in scoring at 20.2 points per game. He set UCR's single-season scoring record with 686 points.
The Buffs will also welcome a talented group of freshmen in Isaiah Johnson, Josiah Sanders, and Jalin Holland.
Â
"I think that point guard position, that lead guard, however you want to term it, is going to be in really good shape this year," Boyle said. "I hope those guys can live up to the standard that McKinley (Wright IV) and KJ (Simpson) both set, and I think in time, they will."
Adding depth to the offense
A major point of emphasis this season for the Buffs is improving on offense.
Last season, Colorado ranked ninth in the Big 12 at 69.6 points per game, but Boyle believes this year's team has the ability to score in bunches with multiple players.
"I think we can have five on the floor that you have to guard all five of them," Boyle said. "So if they key on one, it's going to free somebody else up, and if we just play the game the way it's supposed to be played, everybody will. This can be a team that can have three, four, five guys average double figures. I really believe that. I think this is a team that can be like that."
Colorado will host Grace College for an exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 29, at 12 p.m. at the CU Events Center.
The Buffs will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 3, against Montana State in Boulder.
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