Buffs Struggle Early On, Fall to Kansas
February 11, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Colorado's shaky first-half shooting was too much to overcome against a ranked Kansas team on the road, as the Jayhawks defeated the Buffaloes by a score of 71-59 Tuesday night in Allen Fieldhouse.
The Buffs fall to 9-15 overall and 0-13 in Big 12 play this season, dropping their 13th straight overall.
"I thought our fight in the second half was good," head coach Tad Boyle said. "Our defense was better in the second half. I thought we lost this thing in the first half. The whole key with Kansas we wanted was to keep the ball in front of us."
Freshman Sebastian Rancik led the Buffs with a career-high 19 points and nine rebounds on 7 for 13 shooting from the field. His previous career-high was set in the season opener against Eastern Washington when he had 13 points in the win.
"His [Sebastian] toughness, he's not afraid, and he's going to keep getting better and better," Boyle stated. "But I'm proud of all of our guys, but Sebastian played well at times tonight on the offensive end."
Elijah Malone pitched in 10 points on an efficient 5 for 7 shooting from the floor. Andrej Jakimovkski drilled three 3-pointers for nine points along with four rebounds.
Hunter Dickinson led No. 17 Kansas with 19 points on 8 for 11 shooting with nine rebounds.
The 33.3% (9-27) shooting clip overall for the Buffs in the first half was their downfall in this one, while Kansas knocked down a scorching 57.1% (16-28) of their shots, leading to their 14-point lead at halftime.
Colorado outscored Kansas 33-31 in the second half, but the CU struggles in the first half kept KU out in front comfortably for the rest of the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Bangot Dak kicked off the scoring for the Buffs on the night, getting them out to a 2-0 lead. After a pair of Kansas buckets, Rancik then drilled a 3-pointer to reclaim the lead. A 6-0 KU run put them up 10-7, but a Rancik score down low with an and-one tied the game at 10 at the 15:34 mark in the first half.
Kansas got out to a 19-14 lead after making 4 of 5 attempts, with 12:17 remaining in the period. The third 3-pointer of the game for the Jayhawks gave them a 24-16 lead, with just under 10 minutes to go in the half. They got out to a double-digit lead after a KJ Adams dunk, putting his team up 31-20 with five minutes to go in the half. Kansas outscored CU 9-6 over the final minutes of the first half, heading into the break with a 40-26 advantage.
Jakimovski entered the scoring column for Colorado with back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second half. Another Dak basket in the paint forced a KU timeout with 18:28 left in the game, with Colorado trailing 42-34. Jakimovski brought the Buffs within six, 45-39, with his third bucket from beyond the arc.
Consecutive scores from Malone at the 13:16 mark brought the CU deficit to just five, 50-45, forcing a Kansas timeout. The Jayhawks went on an 8-3 run over the next few minutes to recapture their double-digit lead.
Kansas had an answer for every Colorado score in the final eight minutes, never giving the Buffs a chance to gain momentum. T
UP NEXT
The Buffaloes will look to bounce back at home on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 1 p.m. MT (ESPN+ / KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM)
