Fast break
Why the Buffs won: CU outrebounded ASU 40-26 and posted a 42-26 edge on points in the paint.
Three stars
1. CU’s Sebastian Rancik. Recorded the first double-double of his career, posting 17 points along with a career-high 11 rebounds.
2. CU’s Barrington Hargress. Sparked CU’s offense through much of the night, going 10-for-15 with a season-high-tying 23 points along with four assists.
3. ASU’ Maurice Odum. Went 4-for-8 on 3-pointers before finishing with 25 points and five assists.
Up next: CU visits No. 13 Texas Tech on Wednesday (6 p.m. MT, ESPN+).
As a native of Slovakia, it’s not often Sebastian Rancik gets to play in front of his loved ones.
Colorado’s sophomore forward has enjoyed that opportunity lately, though, as his mother and grandfather visited Boulder the past few weeks. CU’s matchup against Arizona State marked the final game for Rancik with his family in town. And he made certain to send mom and grandpa on their way with a story certain to impress the folks back home.
Rancik bounced back from a rough game at Baylor to record the first double-double of his career, and the Buffaloes completed a regular-season sweep of the Sun Devils with a 78-70 victory on Saturday at the CU Events Center.
Rancik recorded 17 points with a career-high 11 rebounds, while point guard Barrington Hargress matched a season-high with 23 points. The Buffs recorded their fourth Big 12 Conference win in 11 league games, surpassing their win total during a miserable 3-17 run through conference play a year ago.
“It means everything,” Rancik said. “Back home, family means everything to us. I love my mom and my grandfather so much. Just being here, my mom cooking for me every day had helped. Just having them around, being able to talk my language and just to spend some time with them is a blessing. I wish they could stay longer. I’m just really grateful they could come out.”
After starting the first 21 games of the season, Saturday marked Rancik’s third consecutive appearance off the bench, and he also was coming off a zero-rebound showing during Wednesday’s loss at Baylor.
Rancik went 6-for-12 overall and 3-for-5 on 3-pointers, and his 11 rebounds included a career-high four offensive rebounds after he recorded just one offensive rebound in the previous four games combined. It was the sixth double-double by a Buffs player this season, and the first since Bangot Dak had 16 points and 12 rebounds against Utah on Jan. 7.
“Coach emphasizes rebounding, and even in the NBA they look at how you rebound in college, so it’s important to put that into my game,” Rancik said. “As I showed today, I’m more than capable. I’ve just got to stay consistent with it.”
CU used a 9-2 run to take a 10-point lead in the first half, and the Buffs led 39-27 before ASU scored the final four points of the first half, cutting Colorado’s lead to 39-31 at the break.
The Sun Devils then added 11 of the first 13 points of the second half to take their first lead since the game’s opening moments. Moments later, the Buffs took the lead for good with seven consecutive points.
It was a struggle down the stretch for the Buffs, particularly as a combination of foul trouble and ineffectiveness forced head coach Tad Boyle to cycle through Bangot Dak, Elijah Malone, Alon Michaeli and Tacko Ifaola at center, with Rancik even manning the spot for a few shifts.
Fortunately for the Buffs, the foul trouble didn’t prevent them from dominating the glass, as CU outrebounded ASU 40-26. It was a rough night from long range for the Buffs, who finished 6-for-22 on 3-pointers, but CU posted the advantage on paint points (42-26) and points off turnovers (12-7).
“That was a hard-fought win. It wasn’t easy,” Boyle said. “It’s a win we should be proud of, because it didn’t come easy. I thought the difference was rebounding. Finally, we strung some stops together and did a better job as the half went on. But we beat a good team. We’ll take that one and move on.”
Colorado 78, Arizona State 70
ARIZONA STATE (12-12, 3-8 Big 12)
Grbović 2-6 2-2 8, Mukeba 1-3 2-3 4, Diop 7-12 5-5 19, Ford 1-5 0-0 2, Odum 7-13 5-6 23, A.Johnson 5-10 2-2 14, Meeusen 0-4 0-0 0, Trouet 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 16-18 70.
COLORADO (14-10, 4-7)
Dak 6-9 0-0 12, Hargress 10-15 2-2 23, Holland 3-7 1-1 8, I.Johnson 6-12 3-6 16, Sanders 0-1 2-2 2, Rancik 6-12 2-3 17, Inman 0-3 0-0 0, Ifaola 0-0 0-0 0, Malone 0-0 0-0 0, Michaeli 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 31-61 10-14 78.
Halftime: Colorado 39-31. 3-point field goals: Arizona State 8-23 (Odum 4-8, A.Johnson 2-3, Grbović 2-6, Meeusen 0-2, Ford 0-4); Colorado 6-22 (Rancik 3-5, Holland 1-1, Hargress 1-4, I.Johnson 1-7, Michaeli 0-2, Inman 0-3). Rebounds: Arizona State 26 (Diop 7), Colorado 40 (Rancik 11). Assists: Arizona State 13 (Odum 5), Colorado 15 (Hargress 4). Turnovers: Arizona State 9 (Grbovic, Meeusen 2); Colorado 10 (Michaeli 3). Total fouls: Arizona State 17, Colorado 18. A: 6,820.
