Thursday, March 13
Kansas City, Mo.
1 p.m.
Colorado
68
vs
77
Houston
Buffs' Big 12 Championship Run Comes to an End Against Houston
March 13, 2025 | Men's Basketball
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Colorado's Big 12 Championship run ended in the quarterfinals against the No. 1 seeded Houston Cougars 77-68 Thursday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center.
Colorado (14-20) gave everything it had against the top-seeded and No. 2 team nationally in Houston (28-4), but in its third game in three days, the Buffaloes were unable to the top-rated defense in the Big 12.
"It's never easy when it ends, that's for sure, especially for our seniors," head coach Tad Boyle said. "My hearts go out to them because, when the season ends, it ends quickly, and today was the day. I got to give Houston credit, Houston is a hell of a team and a hell of a program. Kelvin Sampson is a hell of a coach. They are tough. They have big-time players. We cut it to 10 or even nine once or twice in the second half, and [Milos] Uzan hit big-time threes back-to-back that kept us at bay and couldn't get over the hump. So, credit to them; they're the second-best team by rankings in the country, and for good reason. Our guys battled. I have no problem with our fight and our competitiveness. We came here with a new season in mind, and we played like it, and I'm proud of these guys for it."
A late run at the end of the first half brought the score to five at halftime, 38-33, but CU was never able to get any closer in the second half, shooting 11-of-29 from the field and 1-of-9 from deep.
"Every game, they bring a lot of pressure," Julian Hammond III talked about Houston's defense. "They're always putting pressure in the gaps; they rebound the ball on offense and defense very well. It was really tough to keep on getting in the paint, getting shots inside out because they rotate so well. We turn the ball over 13 times, that's a few too many. Then, when we did turn it over, they were out in transition, and it's real hard stopping the team out in transition."
Despite the loss, this was the first time since Tennessee in the 1931 Southern Conference that a team that finished 16th or lower advanced to the quarterfinals of a postseason tournament.
Andrej Jakimovski led the way for CU with a career-high 25 points while adding eight rebounds and four steals. He scored 16 of those points in the first half to get Colorado back into the game after trailing 14 early.
"It feels good," Jakimovski commented on his career day. "I was just trying to win the game, just trying to help the team live another day. It feels good, but I'm very sad because I feel like these three days, I played my best basketball of the season, and I just wanted to help the team, and we fell short. Credit to Houston, they are number two in the country for a reason."
Bangot Dak was Colorado's only other player in double figures, with 10 points, four rebounds, and two steals despite only playing 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
Houston split the scoring duties by half, with Emanuel Sharp scoring 14 of his team-high 19 points in the first half and Milos Uzan scoring all of his 14 points in the second half. The Cougars finished with four players in double-figures scoring.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado got the scoring going with a basket by Dak just outside of the paint. Houston followed that up with the beginning of its 3-point barrage, making the first of three in a row.
Jakimovski started his scorching first half with a 3-pointer of his own before a Dak layup cut the Cougar lead to 9-7.
The offense went cold, going over six minutes without scoring, allowing Houston to go on a 12-0 run to push the lead up to 21-7, the largest lead of the half. Trevor Baskin finally took the lid off the basket with an and-1.
Another and-1, this time by Hammond, followed by two free throws by Baskin, got the Buffs back into the game down only nine.
After a quick scoring burst by Houston, Jakimovski took over, scoring seven straight points with an RJ Smith 3-pointer as part of an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 32-27. Jakimovski and Sharpe ended the half trading baskets, with each making two from behind the arc to go into halftime with Houston leading 38-33.
Jakimovski finished the first half with 16 points, the most by a Buffalo in a first half this season. Thirteen of his points came in the final seven minutes of the half.
Houston slowly started to pull away early in the second half, forcing turnovers on the first two Colorado possessions. The Buffs went to the free-throw line to score, making six free throws. Two straight dunks by Felix Kossaras and Elijah Malone cut the Houston lead to 51-43.
Houston kept trying to pull away, but Jakimovski refused to let it happen. He hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to pull the Buffs back within 10 at 60-50. After a Malone hook shot, the Buffs forced a turnover and got out in transition, where Hammond threw an alley-oop to Dak for an and-1 finish.
The next possession down Colorado returned to Malone in the post, and he delivered, cutting the Cougar lead to eight at 66-58. Houston responded with two straight 3-pointers by Uzan combined with over three minutes without scoring, ending the chances for Colorado.
Colorado (14-20) gave everything it had against the top-seeded and No. 2 team nationally in Houston (28-4), but in its third game in three days, the Buffaloes were unable to the top-rated defense in the Big 12.
"It's never easy when it ends, that's for sure, especially for our seniors," head coach Tad Boyle said. "My hearts go out to them because, when the season ends, it ends quickly, and today was the day. I got to give Houston credit, Houston is a hell of a team and a hell of a program. Kelvin Sampson is a hell of a coach. They are tough. They have big-time players. We cut it to 10 or even nine once or twice in the second half, and [Milos] Uzan hit big-time threes back-to-back that kept us at bay and couldn't get over the hump. So, credit to them; they're the second-best team by rankings in the country, and for good reason. Our guys battled. I have no problem with our fight and our competitiveness. We came here with a new season in mind, and we played like it, and I'm proud of these guys for it."
A late run at the end of the first half brought the score to five at halftime, 38-33, but CU was never able to get any closer in the second half, shooting 11-of-29 from the field and 1-of-9 from deep.
"Every game, they bring a lot of pressure," Julian Hammond III talked about Houston's defense. "They're always putting pressure in the gaps; they rebound the ball on offense and defense very well. It was really tough to keep on getting in the paint, getting shots inside out because they rotate so well. We turn the ball over 13 times, that's a few too many. Then, when we did turn it over, they were out in transition, and it's real hard stopping the team out in transition."
Despite the loss, this was the first time since Tennessee in the 1931 Southern Conference that a team that finished 16th or lower advanced to the quarterfinals of a postseason tournament.
Andrej Jakimovski led the way for CU with a career-high 25 points while adding eight rebounds and four steals. He scored 16 of those points in the first half to get Colorado back into the game after trailing 14 early.
"It feels good," Jakimovski commented on his career day. "I was just trying to win the game, just trying to help the team live another day. It feels good, but I'm very sad because I feel like these three days, I played my best basketball of the season, and I just wanted to help the team, and we fell short. Credit to Houston, they are number two in the country for a reason."
Bangot Dak was Colorado's only other player in double figures, with 10 points, four rebounds, and two steals despite only playing 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
Houston split the scoring duties by half, with Emanuel Sharp scoring 14 of his team-high 19 points in the first half and Milos Uzan scoring all of his 14 points in the second half. The Cougars finished with four players in double-figures scoring.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado got the scoring going with a basket by Dak just outside of the paint. Houston followed that up with the beginning of its 3-point barrage, making the first of three in a row.
Jakimovski started his scorching first half with a 3-pointer of his own before a Dak layup cut the Cougar lead to 9-7.
The offense went cold, going over six minutes without scoring, allowing Houston to go on a 12-0 run to push the lead up to 21-7, the largest lead of the half. Trevor Baskin finally took the lid off the basket with an and-1.
Another and-1, this time by Hammond, followed by two free throws by Baskin, got the Buffs back into the game down only nine.
After a quick scoring burst by Houston, Jakimovski took over, scoring seven straight points with an RJ Smith 3-pointer as part of an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 32-27. Jakimovski and Sharpe ended the half trading baskets, with each making two from behind the arc to go into halftime with Houston leading 38-33.
Jakimovski finished the first half with 16 points, the most by a Buffalo in a first half this season. Thirteen of his points came in the final seven minutes of the half.
Houston slowly started to pull away early in the second half, forcing turnovers on the first two Colorado possessions. The Buffs went to the free-throw line to score, making six free throws. Two straight dunks by Felix Kossaras and Elijah Malone cut the Houston lead to 51-43.
Houston kept trying to pull away, but Jakimovski refused to let it happen. He hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to pull the Buffs back within 10 at 60-50. After a Malone hook shot, the Buffs forced a turnover and got out in transition, where Hammond threw an alley-oop to Dak for an and-1 finish.
The next possession down Colorado returned to Malone in the post, and he delivered, cutting the Cougar lead to eight at 66-58. Houston responded with two straight 3-pointers by Uzan combined with over three minutes without scoring, ending the chances for Colorado.