Fast break
Why the Buffs lost: Texas Tech outrebounded CU 47-30, owned a 21-0 advantage on second-chance points, and held the Buffs to a season-low field goal percentage of .291.
Three stars
1. TTU’s Donovan Atwell. Went 6-for-10 on 3-pointers and led the Red Raiders with 20 points.
2. TTU’s JT Toppin. Tech’s standout forward posted his Big 12-leading 15th double-double, recording 16 points with 18 rebounds.
3. TTU’s Christian Anderson. Finished 5-for-10 with three 3-pointers, recording 14 points and seven assists.
Up next: CU faces another tough road date on Saturday at No. 22 BYU (2 p.m. MT, Fox Sports 1).
LUBBOCK, Tex. — There was no stirring comeback this time.
And the end result was the same as it has been in each of Colorado’s most recent road outings — discouraging, embarrassing and downright ugly.
No. 16 Texas Tech battered the Buffaloes into submission on Wednesday, topping CU 78-44 at United Supermarkets Arena. It was the Buffs’ 12th consecutive loss against a team ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, and their 24th consecutive loss against an AP Top 25 foe in true road games.
After barely putting up a fight for a third consecutive road game, a run that has seen the Buffs get outscored by an average of 27.7 points, CU head coach Tad Boyle was contrite and embarrassed.
“We took one tonight,” Boyle said. “I’m embarrassed by our performance. I’m embarrassed for our university. I’m embarrassed for the city of Boulder. I’m embarrassed for the state of Colorado. I’m embarrassed for every former player that has worn this uniform. We’ve got to own this.
“When you give up 17 offensive rebounds, and then the biggest part of the game plan is taking away threes for their shooters and they make 12 threes … it’s just not good enough in any way, shape or form.”
On a night marked by futility, the Buffs hit several new lows. CU’s .291 field goal percentage was a season-low and marked the Buffs’ first sub-30% shooting percentage since putting up a .286 mark at Washington State on Jan. 30, 2022. The Buffs’ 44 points was their lowest since scoring 43 in that same 2022 game at Washington State, and CU’s season-low five assists was its lowest total since recording five at California on Feb. 13, 2021.
CU scored the first bucket of the game, but Texas Tech reeled off the next seven points and never trailed the rest of the way. The Red Raiders pushed their lead to 16 points in the first half when the Buffs received a spark from freshman wing Ian Inman, who came off the bench to knock down four consecutive 3-pointers.
The last of those 3-pointers cut the Red Raiders’ lead to eight points with 3 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the first half, and the Buffs were in position to get a defensive stop when LeJuan Watts launched an awkward 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer.
Watts, though, tracked down his own offensive rebound, leading to a 3-pointer from Tech’s Jaylen Petty on the extra possession. That shot started a 12-3 half-closing run for the Red Raiders, who pushed the lead to 39-22 at the break.
“I think right now, it’s defense and rebounding,” Inman said. “We preach that all season. I just feel like on the road we’re in a little slump right now.”
Texas Tech nearly squandered a 24-point lead in Boulder last month, with a Buffs rally falling short in a two-point loss, but this time the Red Raiders didn’t let CU back in the game. Tech opened the second half with an 11-1 run, holding the Buffs without a field goal for the first 4 minutes, 54 seconds after halftime.
Texas Tech dominated the glass, posting a 47-30 rebounding advantage while turning 17 offensive rebounds into a 21-0 edge in second-chance points.
Texas Tech forward JT Toppin posted is Big 12-leading 15th double-double, finishing with 16 points and 18 rebounds, the most by a CU foe this season. Inman finished 4-for-5 on 3-pointers with a season-high 12 points, but the rest of the Buffs finished just 2-for-20 from long range.
“(Texas Tech) has a motto with their program that the toughest team wins,” Boyle said. “And there wasn’t even a question who the tougher team was tonight. That was Texas Tech, and we weren’t.”
Texas Tech 78, Colorado 44
COLORADO (14-11, 4-8 Big 12)
Dak 0-6 0-0 0, Rancik 1-8 0-0 3, Hargress 3-9 2-2 9, Johnson 5-9 3-5 13, Sanders 0-3 1-3 1, Inman 4-7 0-0 12, Ifaola 1-1 0-0 2, Holland 2-6 0-0 4, Michaeli 0-5 0-0 0, Malone 0-1 0-0 0, Kossaras 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-55 6-10 44.
TEXAS TECH (18-6, 8-3)
Toppin 6-11 3-3 16, Watts 2-6 1-3 5, Anderson 5-10 1-2 14, Atwell 6-10 2-2 20, Petty 5-12 0-0 12, Bamgboye 2-3 3-4 7, Bryan 1-5 0-0 2, Moseley 0-1 0-0 0, Groves 0-0 0-0 0, Henderson 0-1 0-0 0, Horner 1-2 0-0 2, Francis 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 10-14 78.
Halftime: Texas Tech 39-22. 3-point field goals: Colorado 6-25 (Inman 4-5, Hargress 1-5, Rancik 1-6, Dak 0-1, Holland 0-1, Malone 0-1, Michaeli 0-1, Sanders 0-2, Johnson 0-3); Texas Tech 12-30 (Atwell 6-10, Anderson 3-6, Petty 2-8, Toppin 1-2, Francis 0-1, Watts 0-1, Bryan 0-2). Rebounds: Colorado 30 (Ifaola 6), Texas Tech 47 (Toppin 18). Assists: Colorado 5 (Hargress 3), Texas Tech 16 (Anderson 7). Turnovers: Colorado 16 (Rancik 5); Texas Tech 13 (Anderson 5). Total fouls: Colorado 13, Texas Tech 12. Fouled out: Holland. Technicals: Ifaola. A: 13,246.
