Colorado will open its season Monday night at the CU Events Center with Abilene Christian coming to Boulder for a 7:01 p.m. MT tip.
The Buffaloes have made a habit of starting fast. They are 88-35 all-time in season openers and have won 10 straight, including a 14-2 mark under head coach Tad Boyle.
At home, Colorado has been even more reliable in the first game of the year, going 99-24 in home openers and winning its last 18. Boyle’s teams have never lost a home opener, sitting at 16-0.
That comfort at home has shown up across the board. Colorado is 217-52 at the CU Events Center in the Tad Boyle era and 530-203 all-time in the building. The Buffs have won at least 10 home games in each of the last 17 seasons.
The nonconference numbers are just as sturdy. Under Boyle, Colorado is 146-44 in nonconference regular season games and 112-9 in nonconference home games.
Since the start of the 2014-15 season, the Buffs are 99-27 in nonconference regular season play. They also posted 10 nonconference wins in 2025-26, their most since going 11-2 in 2019-20.
Colorado’s lone public tune-up came in an exhibition win over North Texas, a 67-64 battle on Oct. 18 at the Auraria Event Center in Denver. The game was physical from start to finish, with 50 free-throw attempts between the teams. The Buffs held a three-point lead with 10 seconds left before North Texas missed two threes at the buzzer.
That game offered an early look at some of Colorado’s new faces. Freshman guard Alex Dickeson, from Adelaide, Australia, scored a team-high 15 points, while graduate student forward Justin Neely, a transfer from UNC Greensboro, finished with six assists and nine rebounds. Colorado also got strong rim protection, finishing with seven blocks, including three from center Noah Feddersen.
“This was a great test for us this year,” Head Coach Tad Boyle said. “On Oct. 18, to play a team like North Texas, with veteran guards, a tough-minded coach and system, and it was a physical game, obviously.
Our guys answered the bell down the stretch. These are all about learning opportunities for our team.”
“It was great having the Denver people who didn't have to drive to Boulder,” Boyle added. “Before we left the gym, there were still a bunch of kids getting autographs from our players that maybe don't get a chance to come up to Boulder for a game. It's a great venue.”
Abilene Christian arrives after a 14-19 season in 2025-26 and a 5-13 mark in the Western Athletic Conference, now rebranded as the United Athletic Conference. The Wildcats bring back four players from that team, including senior guard Yaniel Rivera, who led them with 47 made 3-pointers and ranked fourth on the roster in scoring at 7.2 points per game. Fifth-year forward Cade Hornecker also returns after averaging 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 45.6 percent.
The Wildcats added 11 newcomers, with junior guard Noah Bolanga among the most notable. The Utah Tech transfer averaged 11.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists last season while knocking down 59 3-pointers. Bolanga was named to the Preseason All-UAC team, and Abilene Christian was picked seventh in the UAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Monday’s game will be available on ESPN+ with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke on the call. Jerry Schemmel will handle the radio broadcast on KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM, with audio also available on Sirius XM 261 and the SXM App 971. Live statistics will be available online.
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Abilene Christian brings its own recent success into the matchup, which should keep the focus on execution rather than first-night polish. For Colorado, the bigger story is less about the opponent than about whether this revamped group can start the year with the kind of clean, composed performance that sets the tone for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
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Even with the balanced effort, one phase kept standing out in a different way. The linebackers brought energy and production in the middle, and special teams repeatedly helped tilt field position by pinning Kansas State deep, giving Colorado a chance to play on its terms more often than not. The corners, though, were still part of a shakier picture, leaving a reminder that even a full-team win can come with one unit still demanding attention. [Read more 🡒]