March 3, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard Isaiah Johnson (2) reacts to guard Josiah Sanders (5)’s play against the Utah Utes during the first half at the John M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Image Colorado State and Oklahoma State meet in the first round Tuesday night in Kansas City, Missouri, hoping to find some magic and make a run at this week’s Big 12 Tournament.
The Buffaloes (17-14), the tournament’s No. 11 seed, have lost two of their last three games, including an 89-79 home loss to No. 2 Arizona on Saturday night. However, Colorado showed some potential by leading by as many as 11 points in the first half and then disappearing.
“Our guys really fought,” Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle said. “I liked the effort and toughness we showed. That’s a team we just beat. They’re Big 12 (regular season) champions for a reason.”
Colorado hopes to continue that effort in the conference tournament. Isaiah Johnson, who is averaging 17 points per game, found his offensive rhythm with consecutive 20-point performances this month. On March 3, he scored 22 points against Utah, and then scored 28 points against Arizona.
Similar to Colorado, No. 14 seed Oklahoma State (18-13) showed some life in Saturday’s 82-75 loss to No. 7 Houston. The Cowboys were down by as many as 13 in the first half before the Cougars rallied.
Anthony Roy could be ready for a big week at Oklahoma State. He ranks fifth in the league in making three 3-pointers per game. Roy scored 18 points against Houston and 27 points against UCF on March 3.
As a team, the Cowboys have the third-highest scoring offense in the Big 12 at 83.9 points per game. Now the hope is that everything will come together for an improbable conference tournament run.
“We played well on Tuesday and we played well tonight,” coach Steve Lutz said after Saturday’s game. “You’ve shown that you can compete with other NCAA tournament teams, now you just have to go and compete while you’re in Kansas City.”
The two teams met once during the regular season, when Colorado defeated Oklahoma State 83-69 on Feb. 21 in Boulder. Bangot Dak scored 17 points and Barrington Hargress had 16 points and eight assists for Colorado.
–Field level media
