Sebastian Rancik has taken on a larger role with the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team in his sophomore season. After appearing in 33 games and making 11 starts as a freshman, where he averaged 5.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, Rancik has seen significant improvement this year.
In his second season, Rancik has started all 20 games for Colorado and is now averaging 13.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, showing marked increases from the previous year. He has also increased his assists to 1.9 per game compared to just 0.6 as a freshman.
Rancik’s shooting efficiency has improved notably. His three-point percentage rose from 25.8% last season to 33.8% on more attempts this year, ranking him third on the team for made threes and fourth in percentage among players with at least 40 attempts.
At the free-throw line, Rancik stands out in the Big 12 Conference with an accuracy of 87.1%, the second highest mark in the league among players with at least 80 attempts, after hitting 88 out of 101 foul shots so far this season.
Both Rancik and head coach Tad Boyle addressed his recent performance challenges before their last game against UCF. “I’ve just got to be physical, it’s something I’ve been telling myself,” said Rancik. “I have to be physical around the rim and in the paint, and my shot will fall. I’m not really worried about it. Tomorrow’s a new day, and tomorrow it will fall. Just keep stacking days and keep improving.”
Boyle added after a loss to Kansas: “He will quickly bounce back.” Against UCF, Rancik delivered his second career game scoring at least 20 points by finishing with exactly that total while shooting efficiently both from the field and beyond the arc.
Colorado will next face No. 8 Iowa State when they travel to Ames for a Thursday matchup scheduled for broadcast on FS1.
