Colorado University Athletics
Wednesday, April 1
Las Vegas, Nev.
6 p.m.
Colorado
17-16,7-11Big 12
86
vs
90
Oklahoma
20-15,7-11SEC
1st quarter1
2nd quarter2
OT 1 quarterOT 1
FinalF
Oklahoma
37
37
16
90
Colorado
41
33
12
86
Photo by: Tyler Davis
Buffs Bow Out of College Basketball Crown
April 01, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LAS VEGAS – Colorado's season came to an end in the first round of the 2026 College Basketball Crown tournament as the Buffaloes fell to Oklahoma in overtime, 90-86, at the MGM Grand Arena Wednesday night.
Colorado finished the season 17-16, advancing to postseason play past the conference tournament level for the 14th time in 15 possible seasons under head coach Tad Boyle.
"Once we found out that we were playing in this thing, and we had the opportunity, our players wanted to play, and they showed it tonight," Boyle commented. "That team played their guts out on the court. That's what playing in late March and April is all about."
Barrington Hargress, who recently resigned with the Buffs for the 2026-27 season, finished with a season-high 31 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and a career-high 15 of 16 from the free-throw line.
"Barrington is a warrior," Boyle said. "He has been all year for us, and obviously, he had to carry the load for us tonight. It's a great lesson for me as a coach, for him as a player, and for the players that will be returning. He can't do it by himself. He'll try, but he can't. He needs help, and we need to get him help on the recruiting trail and incoming players, so we're going to do that; there's no doubt about it.
Alon Michaeli scored 18 points to go along with 14 from Felix Kossaras to account for all the points of the bench for Colorado. Ian Inman added 10 points.
Oklahoma was led by the trio of Nijel Pack, Xzayvier Brown, and Tae Davis, who combined for 56 points.
Colorado controlled the first half of the game, leading by as much as 10 points, but Oklahoma's strong second half caused the lead to evaporate. The Buffs trailed by seven points with 1:51 remaining, but a 3-pointer by Hargress and two free throws by Michaeli cut the lead to 74-72. Hargress followed with a driving layup to tie the game 74-74 and force overtime.
In overtime, Oklahoma iced the game, scoring its final eight points at the free throw line.
Colorado used the free-throw line to stay in the game in moments where the offense struggled to hit shots. They finished 33-of-39 in the game, which included a stretch with 22-straight made free throws.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A new look Buffs starting lineup got off to a fast start with contributions across the board. Four different Buffs scored in the opening four minutes of the game to take an 8-5 lead.
The game shifted, and both teams struggled offensively, but Colorado forced Oklahoma into nine straight missed shots to stay ahead. As the benches trickled into the game, Kossaras added some scoring with five points of his own to keep the Buffs ahead 17-13 with 11:42 remaining before halftime.
Behind Hargress and Inman, Colorado's offense continued to make shots. After two mid-range jumpers from Hargress, he followed it up with a kickout to Inman for his second 3-pointer of the game to give the Buffs a 22-15 lead with 9:37 left in the first half.
Oklahoma cut the Colorado lead to as little as one point with 7:29 left in the half. The Buffs responded with Hargress and Michaeli scoring the next 15 points for Colorado. With their efforts, they built a 39-30 lead with 2:20 left till the break.
Colorado extended its lead to 10 points with under a minute to go, but two Oklahoma 3-pointers sent the game to halftime with the Buffs only leading 41-37.
Of the Buffs' 41 first-half points, 30 of them came off the hands of Hargress, Kossaras, and Michaeli. Andrew Crawford saw extended playing time early in the game and had his first three career assists.
The second half opened with the Buffs retaking control. A couple of mid-range jumpers from Inman and Josiah Sanders, along with hitting at the free-throw line, allowed Colorado to push the lead to 49-41 with 15:59 left in the game.
Oklahoma regrouped and cut Colorado's lead to as little as one point. The Buffs only made one of 13 shots over six minutes as the Sooners got back into the game, but Colorado still led 53-50 eight minutes into the second half.
The Sooners kept pushing the pace, and after two straight 3-pointers, they took their first lead of the game since the opening minutes, going up 61-58 with 8:19 remaining.
Colorado's shooting woes continued, going over eight minutes without making a shot from the field, but the charity stripe kept the game in reach. The Buffs scored 10 straight points at the free-throw line. The success at the foul line kept the game within reach, 69-66 in favor of Oklahoma, with 3:28 left.
Oklahoma took a seven-point lead with 1:51 remaining, but Colorado rattled off seven straight points, including a Hargress layup with 1.6 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime.
Overtime saw both teams make shots to start, with Jalin Holland knocking down his first 3-pointer of the game. Colorado trailed 84-83 with 1:16 left, and after a Holland miss, Sanders came up with an offensive rebound, and the ball found Hargress, who was fouled and made both to take an 85-84 lead with 39 seconds left.
On the other end, Oklahoma got to the line and made both retake the lead 86-85. The Sooners held on to win 90-86.
Colorado finished the season 17-16, advancing to postseason play past the conference tournament level for the 14th time in 15 possible seasons under head coach Tad Boyle.
"Once we found out that we were playing in this thing, and we had the opportunity, our players wanted to play, and they showed it tonight," Boyle commented. "That team played their guts out on the court. That's what playing in late March and April is all about."
Barrington Hargress, who recently resigned with the Buffs for the 2026-27 season, finished with a season-high 31 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and a career-high 15 of 16 from the free-throw line.
"Barrington is a warrior," Boyle said. "He has been all year for us, and obviously, he had to carry the load for us tonight. It's a great lesson for me as a coach, for him as a player, and for the players that will be returning. He can't do it by himself. He'll try, but he can't. He needs help, and we need to get him help on the recruiting trail and incoming players, so we're going to do that; there's no doubt about it.
Alon Michaeli scored 18 points to go along with 14 from Felix Kossaras to account for all the points of the bench for Colorado. Ian Inman added 10 points.
Oklahoma was led by the trio of Nijel Pack, Xzayvier Brown, and Tae Davis, who combined for 56 points.
Colorado controlled the first half of the game, leading by as much as 10 points, but Oklahoma's strong second half caused the lead to evaporate. The Buffs trailed by seven points with 1:51 remaining, but a 3-pointer by Hargress and two free throws by Michaeli cut the lead to 74-72. Hargress followed with a driving layup to tie the game 74-74 and force overtime.
In overtime, Oklahoma iced the game, scoring its final eight points at the free throw line.
Colorado used the free-throw line to stay in the game in moments where the offense struggled to hit shots. They finished 33-of-39 in the game, which included a stretch with 22-straight made free throws.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A new look Buffs starting lineup got off to a fast start with contributions across the board. Four different Buffs scored in the opening four minutes of the game to take an 8-5 lead.
The game shifted, and both teams struggled offensively, but Colorado forced Oklahoma into nine straight missed shots to stay ahead. As the benches trickled into the game, Kossaras added some scoring with five points of his own to keep the Buffs ahead 17-13 with 11:42 remaining before halftime.
Behind Hargress and Inman, Colorado's offense continued to make shots. After two mid-range jumpers from Hargress, he followed it up with a kickout to Inman for his second 3-pointer of the game to give the Buffs a 22-15 lead with 9:37 left in the first half.
Oklahoma cut the Colorado lead to as little as one point with 7:29 left in the half. The Buffs responded with Hargress and Michaeli scoring the next 15 points for Colorado. With their efforts, they built a 39-30 lead with 2:20 left till the break.
Colorado extended its lead to 10 points with under a minute to go, but two Oklahoma 3-pointers sent the game to halftime with the Buffs only leading 41-37.
Of the Buffs' 41 first-half points, 30 of them came off the hands of Hargress, Kossaras, and Michaeli. Andrew Crawford saw extended playing time early in the game and had his first three career assists.
The second half opened with the Buffs retaking control. A couple of mid-range jumpers from Inman and Josiah Sanders, along with hitting at the free-throw line, allowed Colorado to push the lead to 49-41 with 15:59 left in the game.
Oklahoma regrouped and cut Colorado's lead to as little as one point. The Buffs only made one of 13 shots over six minutes as the Sooners got back into the game, but Colorado still led 53-50 eight minutes into the second half.
The Sooners kept pushing the pace, and after two straight 3-pointers, they took their first lead of the game since the opening minutes, going up 61-58 with 8:19 remaining.
Colorado's shooting woes continued, going over eight minutes without making a shot from the field, but the charity stripe kept the game in reach. The Buffs scored 10 straight points at the free-throw line. The success at the foul line kept the game within reach, 69-66 in favor of Oklahoma, with 3:28 left.
Oklahoma took a seven-point lead with 1:51 remaining, but Colorado rattled off seven straight points, including a Hargress layup with 1.6 seconds left to tie the game and force overtime.
Overtime saw both teams make shots to start, with Jalin Holland knocking down his first 3-pointer of the game. Colorado trailed 84-83 with 1:16 left, and after a Holland miss, Sanders came up with an offensive rebound, and the ball found Hargress, who was fouled and made both to take an 85-84 lead with 39 seconds left.
On the other end, Oklahoma got to the line and made both retake the lead 86-85. The Sooners held on to win 90-86.
Team Stats
OK
CU
FG%
.366
.383
3FG%
.270
.304
FT%
.875
.846
RB
38
45
TO
9
15
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Pts
31
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
15
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
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