While Colorado fans celebrated the arrival of new athletic director Fernando Lovo on Monday, the men’s basketball program was dealing with a far less uplifting reality: the Buffaloes still can’t stop anybody on defense.
And that’s not an exaggeration. Through 13 games, Colorado has shown flashes of offensive brilliance - they’ve got the firepower to hang with just about anyone - but their inability to get stops is starting to overshadow the good. That narrative continued Sunday in Boulder, where the Buffs dropped an 86-81 stunner at home to Northern Colorado, a game that felt like a defensive low point in a season already full of them.
Head coach Tad Boyle didn’t sugarcoat things afterward.
“We are not good enough on the defensive end of the floor. We haven’t been all year,” Boyle said. “We continue not to be, and that’s what we’re going to continue to work on.”
Boyle has stuck with the same starting five all season: Barrington Hargress, Felix Kossaras, Sebastian Rancik, Bangot Dak, and Elijah Malone. But Sunday’s loss came with a subtle shakeup - freshman guard Isaiah Johnson started the second half in place of Kossaras, who’s been billed as a potential defensive anchor. That move might’ve been more than just a halftime adjustment; it could be a sign Boyle is rethinking his rotation in search of answers on that end of the floor.
The urgency is real. Big 12 play is here, and it starts with a road trip to Arizona State on Saturday. If the Buffs don’t tighten things up quickly, conference play could get ugly in a hurry.
Sunday’s loss wasn’t just about effort - it was about execution, or lack thereof. Northern Colorado shot 52.5% from the field, including a ridiculous 73.9% (17-for-23) in the second half. Guard Quinn Denker lit up CU for a career-high 33 points, becoming the latest in a growing list of players to torch the Buffs’ defense.
Denker was also the second straight opposing guard to return from injury and immediately go off against Colorado. Just over a week earlier, Stanford freshman Ebuka Okorie dropped 32 in Phoenix. That’s not just bad luck - that’s a pattern.
And it doesn’t stop there.
Colorado State’s Josh Pascarelli hit 8-of-10 from beyond the arc and finished with 26 points in a rivalry win earlier this month. UC Davis guard Marcus Wilson had a season-high 21 points in Boulder back in November - he’s only scored in double figures twice since.
Montana State’s Patrick McMahon opened the season by going 10-for-13 for 24 points. And Eastern Washington’s Isaiah Moses?
He hung 30 on the Buffs in an overtime game on Nov. 8 - and had 27 of those in regulation.
In total, 10 of Colorado’s 13 opponents have featured at least one 20-point scorer, including each of the last six games. Three different players have hit the 30-point mark.
That’s not just a trend - it’s an identity. And not the kind you want to carry into Big 12 play.
Boyle, always candid, admitted he may need to reevaluate who’s getting minutes - and who isn’t.
“After games like this, where I feel bad is for the guys that aren’t playing,” Boyle said. “Ian Inman, Andrew Crawford.
That’s who I feel bad for. Coach is going with different guys right now.
Maybe I’ve got to reconsider that.”
Inman and Crawford haven’t been major rotation pieces, but Boyle’s comments suggest that could change if the defensive lapses continue. With the current lineup struggling to contain even mid-major guards, the door is open for new contributors to earn their shot.
For now, the team is focused on moving forward.
“There’s really nothing we can do about this (UNC) game now,” Johnson said. “It’s over, so we’ve just got to go watch film and get better for the next game.”
That next game? A tough road test in Tempe against Arizona State.
And if the Buffs don’t figure out how to defend - quickly - it could be another long afternoon. The offense is there.
The talent is there. But until Colorado finds a way to stop somebody, the ceiling for this team stays capped.
There’s still time to turn it around. But the clock is ticking.