Tad Boyle has faced Houston on the road before. It’s been over 40 years, with over a thousand games on the sideline since, for Boyle. Yet he remembers that game clearly.
The Houston clubs of the Phi Slama Jama era rarely failed to make a lasting impression.
The current Cougars are reaching the same stratosphere. After winning the 2025 Big 12 Conference tournament, dispatching Colorado along the way, Houston reached the NCAA Tournament championship game last season and is a favorite to do so again as the CU men’s basketball team makes its first visit to Houston in more than 31 years on Saturday.
Boyle was a player at Kansas when the Jayhawks visited the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Cougars early in the 1983-84 season. These days, the defense-and-rebounding-minded Boyle expresses a high level of respect for veteran Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, whose defense-and-rebounding approach has kept the Cougars among the nation’s elite through the bulk of the past decade.
“Their ability to play with incredible energy every night, with toughness,” Boyle said. “And they rebound the ball. They keep offensive possessions alive with their rebounding. (Milos) Uzan is a hell of a player. Kingston Flemings is a five-star. They still have the defensive mentality and rebounding mindset. But now they’ve added some really, really talented offensive players with that. That’s what makes them special. And they’re unbelievably consistent. That’s a testament to coach Sampson.”
Despite four consecutive home wins that dulled a little of the sour taste left by several blowout losses on the road the past month, the odds are against CU.
The Buffs have gone 1-17 in true road games since the start of the 2024-25 season. Since upsetting UConn at the Maui Invitational early in 2024-25, the Buffs have lost 12 consecutive games against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. CU has lost 25 consecutive road games against AP Top 25 teams, dating back to a win at No. 19 Oregon 13 years ago.
In order to pull off what would be one of the biggest upsets in program history, CU will have to knock down shots against a Houston defense that ranks first in Big 12 games in points allowed (64.3) and third in defensive field goal percentage (.411). And while the Buffs have been better of late defensively and on the glass, their 3-point touch remains in a winter chill for all players not named Barrington Hargress or Ian Inman.
Despite a career-high five 3-pointers from Inman, a Houston native, and a 2-for-3 night from Hargress, CU finished just 9-for-25 on 3-pointers during Wednesday’s home win against Kansas State. The Buffs went a solid 11-for-27 from the arc in the previous game, a win at home against Oklahoma State, but they have shot just .300 (48-for-160) on 3-pointers in Big 12 road games.
While Hargress has been steady throughout the season and Inman has provided a recent spark, a few of CU’s more reliable shooters are trying to shake off slumps. Freshman Isaiah Johnson, a 40% 3-point shooter for much of the season, has shot .243 (9-for-37) on 3-pointers in the past six games, dropping his season percentage to .371. Sebastian Rancik is 3-for-22 from the arc in the past four games.
“There’s two kinds of shooters. There’s shot-takers and there’s shot-makers,” Boyle said. “We got one shot-maker on our team. I take that back — we’ve got two. Barrington’s shooting 50% from three. We’ll take that. And then Ian’s a shot-maker. We see that in practice every day.
“The rest of them, they’re inconsistent. There’s a lot of shot-takers. I thought early in the season Isaiah was a shot-maker. He’s missed some wide, wide open looks. Freshman wall? I don’t know. But Ian was terrific (against K-State). He made shots that kept us in the game.”
CU Buffs men’s basketball at No. 5 Houston Cougars
TIPOFF: Saturday, 10 a.m. MT, Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas.
TV/RADIO: ESPN2/KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM.
RECORDS: Colorado 16-12, 6-9 Big 12 Conference; Houston 23-5, 11-4.
COACHES: Colorado — Tad Boyle, 16th season (328-216, 384-282 overall); Houston — Kelvin Sampson, 12th season (322-89, 822-359 overall).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G Isaiah Johnson, 6-1, Fr. (16.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.8 apg, .481 FG%, .381 3%); G Barrington Hargress, 6-1, R-Jr. (14.2 ppg, 4.4 apg, .541 FG%, .506 3%); F Sebastian Rancik, 6-11, So. (12.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.0 apg); F Bangot Dak, 7-0, Jr. (10.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .474 FG%); F Alon Michaeli, 6-9, Fr. (7.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg); G Jalin Holland, 6-5, Fr. (4.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg); G Josiah Sanders, 6-5, Fr. (4.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, .452 FG%). Houston — G Kingston Flemings, 6-4, Fr. (16.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 5.1 apg, .482 FG%, .379 3%); G Emanuel Sharp, 6-3, R-Sr. (16.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .373 3%); G Milos Uzan, 6-4, Sr. (11.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.0 apg); F/C Chris Cenak Jr., 6-11, Fr. (9.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, .485 FG%); F Joseph Tugler, 6-8, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, .595 FG%).
NOTES: This will be CU’s first visit to Houston since Dec. 30, 1994, an 85-66 Buffs victory. Donnie Boyce led the way for CU, going 8-for-12 with 21 points and nine rebounds. … On Friday, Tugler was one of 15 players named to the late season watch list for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award. … Houston has reached at least the Sweet 16 in each of the past five seasons, with Final Four appearances in 2021 and 2025. … The Cougars rank fifth in Big 12 games with an average rebounding margin of plus-2.2. The Buffs rank 13th at minus-3.5. … Houston leads the all-time series 5-3, winning both matchups last year in the teams’ first as conference rivals. … The Cougars have lost three consecutive games for the first time since January of 2017. All three were against top 15 teams (Iowa State, Arizona, Kansas) and two of the three were on the road. … The Cougars have averaged the fewest turnovers per game (7.5) in Big 12 play. Even after matching the second-highest turnover total of the season with 17 against Kansas State, the Buffs still are averaging the fifth-fewest in league play (10.5). … CU visits Utah on Tuesday in the final road game of the regular season (7 p.m. MT, ESPN2).