Not one individual player is going to rescue Colorado from its overwhelming road woes.
Ian Inman, one of five true freshmen logging meaningful playing time for the CU men’s basketball team, certainly can’t do it by himself. Yet maybe the rookie wing can be a sort of role model, even to some of his older teammates.
As the Buffaloes limp their way into mid-February, Inman arguably is the only CU player currently displaying more confidence than at the end of the nonconference schedule. The Buffs will need some of that confidence to infect a few more players if they hope to finally put up a fight in a challenging road date, this time at No. 22 BYU on Saturday.
“What it was (for me) was just on the defensive side. I feel like I’ve been trying to work on that the most, just being very decisive on what I’m doing on defense,” said Inman, who briefly kept CU in the game at Texas Tech by going 4-for-4 on 3-pointers in the first half. “I feel like we did a good job in spurts, but (Texas Tech) got way too many threes. Obviously we have to get better for Saturday against BYU. We’ve got to get off to a good start. We’ve got to get one on the road.”
The Buffs’ 34-point loss at Texas Tech was their eighth in the past 10 games, and it extended the program’s prolonged frustration on the road. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, the Buffs are 1-16 in true road games. CU has lost its past five road games, including the past three by an average of 27.7 points.
The Buffs have lost 12 consecutive games against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, the longest such streak in 16 seasons under head coach Tad Boyle and the program’s longest since a 12-game winless run against ranked teams from the middle of the 1996-97 season through early in the 1999-2000 season. The Buffs have lost their past 24 true road games against ranked foes.
While CU has struggled with defense and rebounding through much of the season, it hit several season-lows offensively at Texas Tech, including points (44), field goal percentage (.291) and assists (five). CU also put up its second-lowest 3-point mark of the season (.240) and its third-highest turnover total (16).
Saturday will be the Buffs’ only regular-season look at BYU’s pending NBA lottery pick in dynamic freshman AJ Dybantsa, and CU likely will be challenged to slow a high-paced Cougars attack that ranks second in Big 12 games in scoring (85.3) and fourth in field goal percentage (.469). However, the Buffs might have an opportunity to at least get the offense back on track, as BYU ranks 15th in Big 12 games in points allowed (78.8), 12th in overall defensive field goal percentage (.477) and last in defensive 3-point percentage (.382).
“We’ve just got to understand that we’re playing good teams,” CU guard Barrington Hargress said. “We find ourselves in these moments like (Texas Tech) where we’re down 11 … with three minutes, maybe four minutes to go, and it stretches to 19 before the half. Just those little stretches and realizing that we’re there, and we just have to hunker down and execute. And then we’ll be in these games. I mean, we can play that brand of basketball, and we can play good basketball. It’s just about giving ourselves a chance down the stretch.”
CU Buffs men’s basketball at No. 22 BYU Cougars
TIPOFF: Saturday, 2 p.m. MT, Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
TV/RADIO: Fox Sports 1/KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM.
RECORDS: Colorado 14-11, 4-8 Big 12; BYU 18-6, 6-5.
COACHES: Colorado — Tad Boyle, 16th season (326-215, 382-281 overall). BYU — Kevin Young, 2nd season (44-15 at BYU and overall).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G Isaiah Johnson, 6-1, Fr. (16.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.5 apg, .496 FG%, .386 3%); G Barrington Hargress, 6-1, R-Jr. (13.9 ppg, 4.3 apg, .540 FG%, .486 3%); F Sebastian Rancik, 6-11, So. (12.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, .356 3%); F Bangot Dak, 7-0, Jr. (10.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .464 FG%); F Alon Michaeli, 6-9, Fr. (7.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg); G Josiah Sanders, 6-5, Fr. (4.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg, .447 FG%); G Jalin Holland, 6-5, Fr. (4.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg). BYU — F AJ Dybantsa, 6-9, Fr. (21.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, .549 FG%, .372 3%); G Richie Saunders, 6-5, Sr. (18.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, .489 FG%, .376 3%); G Robert Wright III, 6-1, So. (17.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.9 apg, .476 FG%, .439 3%); G Kenard Davis Jr., 6-6, Jr. (7.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg); C Keba Keita, 6-9, Sr. (6.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, .645 FG%).
NOTES: The Buffs have shot just .255 (12-for-47) on 3-pointers in the past two games. … Johnson has cooled of late from long-range, going 2-for-14 on 3-pointers in the past three games. … BYU posted an 83-67 victory last year in Boulder in the teams’ first game as Big 12 rivals. … Saunders enjoyed a big game against the Buffs last year, going 10-for-15 with 25 points and five rebounds. … This will be the Buffs’ first visit to BYU since Dec. 10, 2016. Colorado suffered a 79-71 loss despite 21 points from Derrick White and 14 points plus 12 rebounds from George King. … Texas Tech’s 47-30 rebounding advantage against the Buffs on Wednesday was CU’s largest rebounding deficit of the season. … BYU ended a four-game losing streak with a 99-94 win at Baylor on Tuesday. … Dybantsa has averaged 26.5 points in Big 12 play, the top mark in the league. … CU plays its next two games at home but will have a week off before hosting Oklahoma State on Feb. 21 (1:30 p.m., TNT).