Colorado University Athletics
Saturday, January 17
Morgantown, W.Va.
4 p.m.
Colorado
12-6,2-3Big 12
61
at
72
West Virginia
12-6,3-2Big 12
1
2
F
Colorado
29
32
61
West Virginia
36
36
72
Buffs Fall To West Virginia
January 17, 2026 | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – With continuing rebounding struggles and a slow start for the second-straight game, Colorado fell to West Virginia 72-61, Saturday evening at Hope Coliseum.       Â
The loss drops Tad Boyle's Buffs to 12-6 and 2-3 in the Big 12, and West Virginia improves to 12-6 and 3-2 in conference play.
Barrington Hargress led the Buffs in scoring with 15 points and added five assists. Colorado had three other players reach double figures in scoring. Isaiah Johnson, in his first career start, had 12 points, Bangot Dak added 11, and Sebastian Rancik finished with 10 points.
Treysen Eaglestaff was the front man for the Mountaineers, scoring a game-high 22 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field. West Virginia registered four players with more than 10 points and four with at least six rebounds.
After trailing for most of the first half and early in the second, the Buffs used a 12-2 run to take their first and only lead of the game 43-42 with 13:37 left in the game. The rest of the game, West Virginia outscored Colorado 30-15 before a last-second 3-pointer from Johnson.
"We didn't string together enough stops," Boyle said on the momentum after taking the lead. That's the whole key with West Virginia; you've got to string together stops. The best way to score on them is in transition. You can't score on them in transition if you're taking the ball out of the net."
In what has become a common theme for Colorado this season, the team struggled on the glass. West Virginia outrebounded the Buffs by 16. In the first half of the 12 missed shots, the Mountaineers secured offensive rebounds on half of them.
"We have to guard better," Boyle said. "Because we hang our hat on defense and rebounding. The problem is there's no hook there. There's no hook to hang it on. West Virginia can hang their hat on their defense, and it showed tonight. We can't. We can't hang our hook on our rebounding; they can hang, that's the bottom line."
To keep the game close, the Buffs got out in transition, scoring 11 points compared to only five for West Virginia.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado, with only its second different starting lineup this season, again got off to a slow start. They allowed four offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points in the first five minutes of the game.
Down 12 points, Hargress gave the Buffs a lift, knocking down a deep 3-pointer at the top of the key, then threw an alley-oop to Dak as a part of a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three points.
After cutting the lead to three points multiple times, West Virginia had a six-point burst before the end of the half that was cut by a spinning layup by Johnson to go into halftime down seven points, 36-29.
West Virginia used the glass to control the first half, outrebounding Colorado 19-7 in total rebounds, and had six offensive rebounds to only one for the Buffs. Of the 12 missed shots in the first half, the Mountaineers grabbed half of them for second chances.
The Buffs stayed in the game by converting turnovers into points. They scored nine points off of four West Virginia turnovers.
Both teams struggled offensively to begin the second half, but a 3-pointer from Alon Michaeli, who entered the game after Elijah Malone fouled out with 18 minutes left, cut the lead to 40-36.
Hargress continued to lead the Buffs with seven early points and two assists to give Colorado its first lead of the game, 43-42, with 13:37 remaining as a part of a 12-2 run.
Following the Colorado lead, West Virginia went on a 12-3 run to put them up nine. The rest of the game, the Buffs made attempts to cut into the lead, but each time the Mountaineers responded, never letting the lead drop below six points.
The Mountaineers sealed the game with a 7-0 run to end the game before a Johnson 3-pointer on the last possession left the final score 72-61.
UP NEXT
Colorado returns home on Tuesday to take on Kansas at 9 p.m. at the CU Events Center, with the game airing on ESPN.
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The loss drops Tad Boyle's Buffs to 12-6 and 2-3 in the Big 12, and West Virginia improves to 12-6 and 3-2 in conference play.
Barrington Hargress led the Buffs in scoring with 15 points and added five assists. Colorado had three other players reach double figures in scoring. Isaiah Johnson, in his first career start, had 12 points, Bangot Dak added 11, and Sebastian Rancik finished with 10 points.
Treysen Eaglestaff was the front man for the Mountaineers, scoring a game-high 22 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the field. West Virginia registered four players with more than 10 points and four with at least six rebounds.
After trailing for most of the first half and early in the second, the Buffs used a 12-2 run to take their first and only lead of the game 43-42 with 13:37 left in the game. The rest of the game, West Virginia outscored Colorado 30-15 before a last-second 3-pointer from Johnson.
"We didn't string together enough stops," Boyle said on the momentum after taking the lead. That's the whole key with West Virginia; you've got to string together stops. The best way to score on them is in transition. You can't score on them in transition if you're taking the ball out of the net."
In what has become a common theme for Colorado this season, the team struggled on the glass. West Virginia outrebounded the Buffs by 16. In the first half of the 12 missed shots, the Mountaineers secured offensive rebounds on half of them.
"We have to guard better," Boyle said. "Because we hang our hat on defense and rebounding. The problem is there's no hook there. There's no hook to hang it on. West Virginia can hang their hat on their defense, and it showed tonight. We can't. We can't hang our hook on our rebounding; they can hang, that's the bottom line."
To keep the game close, the Buffs got out in transition, scoring 11 points compared to only five for West Virginia.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado, with only its second different starting lineup this season, again got off to a slow start. They allowed four offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points in the first five minutes of the game.
Down 12 points, Hargress gave the Buffs a lift, knocking down a deep 3-pointer at the top of the key, then threw an alley-oop to Dak as a part of a 7-0 run to cut the lead to three points.
After cutting the lead to three points multiple times, West Virginia had a six-point burst before the end of the half that was cut by a spinning layup by Johnson to go into halftime down seven points, 36-29.
West Virginia used the glass to control the first half, outrebounding Colorado 19-7 in total rebounds, and had six offensive rebounds to only one for the Buffs. Of the 12 missed shots in the first half, the Mountaineers grabbed half of them for second chances.
The Buffs stayed in the game by converting turnovers into points. They scored nine points off of four West Virginia turnovers.
Both teams struggled offensively to begin the second half, but a 3-pointer from Alon Michaeli, who entered the game after Elijah Malone fouled out with 18 minutes left, cut the lead to 40-36.
Hargress continued to lead the Buffs with seven early points and two assists to give Colorado its first lead of the game, 43-42, with 13:37 remaining as a part of a 12-2 run.
Following the Colorado lead, West Virginia went on a 12-3 run to put them up nine. The rest of the game, the Buffs made attempts to cut into the lead, but each time the Mountaineers responded, never letting the lead drop below six points.
The Mountaineers sealed the game with a 7-0 run to end the game before a Johnson 3-pointer on the last possession left the final score 72-61.
UP NEXT
Colorado returns home on Tuesday to take on Kansas at 9 p.m. at the CU Events Center, with the game airing on ESPN.
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Team Stats
CU
WVU
FG%
.393
.520
3FG%
.269
.273
FT%
.714
.636
RB
22
38
TO
6
9
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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