Colorado University Athletics
Thursday, January 29
Ames, Iowa
5 p.m.
Colorado
12-9,2-6Big 12
67
at
97
Iowa State
19-2,6-2Big 12
1
2
F
Colorado
29
38
67
Iowa St.
52
45
97
Photo by: Ashton Scott
Buffs Fall On The Road To No. 8 Iowa State
January 29, 2026 | Men's Basketball
AMES, Iowa – Colorado fell behind early Thursday, and the Buffaloes never recovered, dropping a 97-67 decision to 8th-ranked Iowa State at the James H. Hilton Coliseum.
Tad Boyle's Buffs losing streak extended to six games as they fall to 12-9 overall and 2-6 in Big 12 play. The Cyclones improve to 12-0 at home and are now 19-2 overall, 6-2 in conference play.
This one got away from the Buffaloes early. Iowa State used a 30-1 run to build a 30-4 lead eight minutes in. Iowa State took a 52-29 edge into the break, and the Buffs never mounted a serious threat in the second half as Iowa State steadily built its lead, pushing it to as much as 37.
Isaiah Johnson led the Buffs with a game-high 24 points, scoring 15 of those in the first half. Barrington Hargress added 11 points.
Milan Momcilovic led the way for Iowa State with 16 points. Six total Cyclones scored in double figures.
Iowa State shot 61 percent (35-for-57), including 10-for-21 from 3-point range. Colorado hit just seven of its 24 attempts from beyond the arc, and the Buffaloes were dominated on the boards, 33-22, the first time this year Colorado has lost the rebound battle.
The Buffs were also outscored 46-28 on points in the paint as well as bench points, 40-17.
"I knew what we were getting into, I'm not sure (our players) did," Boyle said. "We tried to prepare for it the last two days in practice in terms of the physicality and toughness we had to play with to have any success tonight. Our players learned what a top 10 team in the country looks like tonight in Iowa State."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rancik scored the first basket of the game on a 3-pointer on the left wing, but it would be all Iowa State going forward. The Cyclones responded with a 30-1 run using five 3-pointers to take a commanding 30-4 lead with 11:55 remaining in the first half.
Boyle attempted to slow down the run using three timeouts in the opening four minutes of the game.
Colorado fought back, going on a 12-2 run of its own. Johnson scored seven of those points with a 3-pointer and four points at the foul line to cut the lead to 16 points.
Iowa State kept pushing the pace and extended the lead to 23 points at halftime. Johnson did his best to keep the Buffs in the game, scoring 15 points in the first half.
Nearly every metric favored the Cyclones after the first half. They shot 20-of-32 from the field, with seven coming from beyond the arc.
The Buffs had only four players score in the first half, compared to seven for Iowa State. That led to 23 bench points for the Cyclones compared to zero for the Buffs.
Early in the second half, Colorado got on the board with two dunks by Dak, including one off an alley-oop from Rancik.
Iowa State slowly grew its lead, but Josiah Sanders found his footing, scoring six points and adding five rebounds midway through the second half. Those were the first points by a Buff off the bench in the game.
The Cyclones continued to add to the lead as both teams emptied the bench, reaching as high as 37 points.
UP NEXT
The Buffs return home to the CU Events Center on Sunday to take on TCU at 12 p.m. on TNT.
Tad Boyle's Buffs losing streak extended to six games as they fall to 12-9 overall and 2-6 in Big 12 play. The Cyclones improve to 12-0 at home and are now 19-2 overall, 6-2 in conference play.
This one got away from the Buffaloes early. Iowa State used a 30-1 run to build a 30-4 lead eight minutes in. Iowa State took a 52-29 edge into the break, and the Buffs never mounted a serious threat in the second half as Iowa State steadily built its lead, pushing it to as much as 37.
Isaiah Johnson led the Buffs with a game-high 24 points, scoring 15 of those in the first half. Barrington Hargress added 11 points.
Milan Momcilovic led the way for Iowa State with 16 points. Six total Cyclones scored in double figures.
Iowa State shot 61 percent (35-for-57), including 10-for-21 from 3-point range. Colorado hit just seven of its 24 attempts from beyond the arc, and the Buffaloes were dominated on the boards, 33-22, the first time this year Colorado has lost the rebound battle.
The Buffs were also outscored 46-28 on points in the paint as well as bench points, 40-17.
"I knew what we were getting into, I'm not sure (our players) did," Boyle said. "We tried to prepare for it the last two days in practice in terms of the physicality and toughness we had to play with to have any success tonight. Our players learned what a top 10 team in the country looks like tonight in Iowa State."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Rancik scored the first basket of the game on a 3-pointer on the left wing, but it would be all Iowa State going forward. The Cyclones responded with a 30-1 run using five 3-pointers to take a commanding 30-4 lead with 11:55 remaining in the first half.
Boyle attempted to slow down the run using three timeouts in the opening four minutes of the game.
Colorado fought back, going on a 12-2 run of its own. Johnson scored seven of those points with a 3-pointer and four points at the foul line to cut the lead to 16 points.
Iowa State kept pushing the pace and extended the lead to 23 points at halftime. Johnson did his best to keep the Buffs in the game, scoring 15 points in the first half.
Nearly every metric favored the Cyclones after the first half. They shot 20-of-32 from the field, with seven coming from beyond the arc.
The Buffs had only four players score in the first half, compared to seven for Iowa State. That led to 23 bench points for the Cyclones compared to zero for the Buffs.
Early in the second half, Colorado got on the board with two dunks by Dak, including one off an alley-oop from Rancik.
Iowa State slowly grew its lead, but Josiah Sanders found his footing, scoring six points and adding five rebounds midway through the second half. Those were the first points by a Buff off the bench in the game.
The Cyclones continued to add to the lead as both teams emptied the bench, reaching as high as 37 points.
UP NEXT
The Buffs return home to the CU Events Center on Sunday to take on TCU at 12 p.m. on TNT.
Team Stats
CU
IowaSt
FG%
.426
.614
3FG%
.292
.476
FT%
.737
.708
RB
22
38
TO
10
9
STL
6
6
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
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