Colorado lost to No. 8 Iowa State 97-67 on Thursday at the James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Buffaloes fell behind early and were unable to recover, extending their losing streak to six games. Their overall record now stands at 12-9, with a 2-6 mark in Big 12 play. Iowa State remains undefeated at home this season, improving to 19-2 overall and 6-2 in conference play.
Iowa State took control of the game early with a decisive 30-1 run that put them ahead 30-4 just eight minutes into the first half. By halftime, the Cyclones led by 23 points, holding a 52-29 advantage. Colorado was unable to mount a comeback in the second half as Iowa State continued to build its lead, which reached as much as 37 points.
Isaiah Johnson led Colorado with a game-high 24 points, including 15 in the first half. Barrington Hargress contributed 11 points for the Buffaloes. Milan Momcilovic was Iowa State’s top scorer with 16 points, and six Cyclones finished in double figures.
Iowa State shot efficiently from the field, making 61 percent of its attempts (35-for-57) and hitting ten three-pointers out of twenty-one tries. Colorado struggled from beyond the arc, converting seven of twenty-four shots. The Buffaloes also lost the rebounding battle for the first time this season, being outrebounded by Iowa State 33-22.
The Cyclones dominated inside and off the bench as well, outscoring Colorado in points in the paint (46-28) and bench points (40-17).
“I knew what we were getting into, I’m not sure (our players) did,” said Colorado head coach Tad Boyle. “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.”
Rancik opened scoring for Colorado with a three-pointer but after that it was all Iowa State as they built an early commanding lead using five three-pointers during their initial run. Boyle called three timeouts within four minutes attempting to halt Iowa State’s momentum.
Colorado responded briefly with a run of its own—Johnson scored seven points during a stretch that cut Iowa State’s lead down to sixteen—but could not close the gap further before halftime.
In total, only four Buffaloes scored during the first half compared to seven different Cyclones; this disparity contributed to Iowa State’s significant edge in bench production before halftime.
Early second-half highlights for Colorado included two dunks by Dak—one coming off an alley-oop from Rancik—but Iowa State maintained control throughout. Josiah Sanders added six points and five rebounds off the bench midway through the second period—the first bench points for Colorado all game—as both teams eventually substituted freely late.
The Buffaloes will return home Sunday for their next game against TCU at CU Events Center.
