Tad Boyle doesn’t feel Colorado is up to the task of challenging a top-10 team following a sixth consecutive loss, 97-67, at No. 8 Iowa State on Thursday night.
Iowa State (19-2, 5-2 Big 12) boatraced the Buffaloes (12-9, 2-6 Big 12) with a 30-1 run in the first half; Jamarion Bateman led six different double-digit Iowa State scorers with 17 points off the bench; Joshua Jefferson (13 points, 8 rebounds) flirted with a double-double.
Isaiah Johnson led Colorado, shooting just 43% as a team, with 24 points.
“I knew what we were getting into, I’m not sure that they did,” Boyle said.
“I tried to prepare them for it the last two days in practice, in terms of the physicality and toughness that we had to play with to have any success tonight. Our players learned what a top-10 team in the country looks like. Iowa State’s a top-10 team in the country, they’re legit, they’re well-coached and they’re tough, they’re physical and we’re not tough enough and we’re not physical enough to go compete in a game like this.”
Iowa State only managed to force away 10 turnovers from Colorado on the road, but neither Bangot Dak (3-7, 6 points) or Sebastian Rancik (3-8, 9 points) could find a rhythm inside. Johnson’s two triples led Colorado’s unhelpful 7-of-24 (29%) shooting behind the arc.
The Buffaloes are looking at an uphill climb with 10 games to go.
Colorado gets three chances at the win column at home against TCU on Sunday, at Baylor next Wednesday, Feb. 4, and at home again for Arizona State on next Saturday, Feb. 7. Four of their next seven games include four Big 12 programs resting a game or two outside the top 10: No. 1 Arizona, No. 10 Houston, No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 13 BYU.
It could be time for Colorado and Boyle to come to the table, as the longtime coach looks down the barrel of a second consecutive losing season following a pitiful six-game stretch in Big 12 play. The Buffaloes opened the month with back-to-back wins at Arizona State and Utah at home.
Boyle, who played college ball alongside a freshman Danny Manning at Kansas, last led Colorado to the big dance with the 2023-24 season, the school’s last as a member of the Pac-12. It’s also the last time the Buffaloes were ever included in the AP Top 25 poll.
