Saturday, January 17
Morgantown, W.Va.
6 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
Colorado
Colorado to Become 200th Different Coliseum Visitor on Saturday
January 16, 2026 11:43 AM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A pair of 2-2 teams in the Big 12 Conference play will meet on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. when West Virginia takes on Colorado at Hope Coliseum.
The Buffaloes (12-5 overall) are on the second leg of a two-game Eastern swing that saw them lose 77-68 at Cincinnati on Wednesday night. The Bearcats jumped on Colorado early and never trailed in the game.
Colorado's two victories in conference action were on the road at Arizona State and at home to Utah.
Last Saturday, the Buffs were narrowly defeated by 15th-ranked Texas Tech 73-71.
Although freshmen AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Kingston Flemings have gotten most of the attention in the conference so far this year, Colorado freshman Isaiah Johnson is putting up similar numbers.
The Los Angeles resident is averaging a team-best 16.1 points per game, while shooting an impressive 51.7% from the floor. He's a 45.6% 3-point shooter on his 57 attempts and cashing in at an 81.9% clip at the free throw line.
He's getting to the foul line about seven times per game.
West Virginia coach Ross Hodge has been impressed with what he's seen on tape of so far of Johnson.
"There has been a lot of talk about the other freshmen in our league, but he's having a freshman year that's right on par with all those guys," the coach said on this week's United Bank Playbook segment posted online earlier today.
Two other freshmen, 6-foot-9 forward Alon Mitchell and 6-foot-5 guard Josiah Sanders, have also contributed to Colorado's 12 victories so far this year. Mitchell has played in 15 of 17 games and is averaging 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, while Sanders has appeared in all 17 contests and shows averages of 4.6 points and 2.5 rebounds.
The Buffaloes boast one of the tallest starting lineups in college basketball with 7-foot junior center Bangot Dak flanked by 6-foot-11 sophomore Sebastian Rancik and 6-foot-10 senior Elijah Moore.
Rancik and Dak are combining to average 24.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per game, while Moore is a space-eater weighing 270 pounds and averaging 6.1 points in 17 minutes of action.
"They have versatile parts offensively, and they can kind of play a couple different ways," Hodge observed. "When Malone is in the game, they can pound it into him, and when he comes out of the game they get into more of a versatile five-out look that opens up driving opportunities and kick-out 3s."
Junior guard Barrington Hargress is the other Colorado player averaging double figures at 13.6 points per outing.
The Buffaloes are averaging 84.5 points per contest and have exceeded 80 points in a game 12 times so far this year.
"They are very talented offensive team," Hodge noted.
Defensively, Hodge said Colorado will mix its coverages and play a soft press that backs up into a zone defense to try and disrupt opponents' offensive rhythm.
West Virginia (11-6 overall) is in a three-way tie with Colorado and Kansas in seventh place in the league standings, which means protecting its home court on Saturday is vital with a two-game Western swing looming next week at Arizona State and at No. 1-ranked Arizona.
Colorado will be playing for the first-time ever in the Hope Coliseum, making the Buffaloes the 200th different non-exhibition team to appear in West Virginia's historic venue.
The Mountaineer players will be wearing new white home uniforms on Saturday modeled after the 1959 replica uniforms worn last year. While the piping is similar, the new look adopts the modern color scheme the Mountaineers use today.
The first 5,000 fans in attendance on Saturday will be given a complimentary jersey koozie. Also, a large group of former players will be in town as part of Varsity Club alumni weekend.
"It's alumni weekend, so we will have a lot of former Mountaineers in town, and you always want to represent them well," Hodge said.
Sadly, former Mountaineer player Dave Allara, who was registered for this weekend's activities, passed away suddenly earlier this week. Allara played three seasons for the Mountaineers for coaches Joedy Gardner and Gale Catlett from 1977-79.
A limited number of tickets still remain and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Television coverage will be provided by CBS Sports Network (Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas).
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will get things underway at 5 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
The Buffaloes (12-5 overall) are on the second leg of a two-game Eastern swing that saw them lose 77-68 at Cincinnati on Wednesday night. The Bearcats jumped on Colorado early and never trailed in the game.
Colorado's two victories in conference action were on the road at Arizona State and at home to Utah.
Last Saturday, the Buffs were narrowly defeated by 15th-ranked Texas Tech 73-71.
Although freshmen AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Kingston Flemings have gotten most of the attention in the conference so far this year, Colorado freshman Isaiah Johnson is putting up similar numbers.
The Los Angeles resident is averaging a team-best 16.1 points per game, while shooting an impressive 51.7% from the floor. He's a 45.6% 3-point shooter on his 57 attempts and cashing in at an 81.9% clip at the free throw line.
He's getting to the foul line about seven times per game.
West Virginia coach Ross Hodge has been impressed with what he's seen on tape of so far of Johnson.
"There has been a lot of talk about the other freshmen in our league, but he's having a freshman year that's right on par with all those guys," the coach said on this week's United Bank Playbook segment posted online earlier today.
Two other freshmen, 6-foot-9 forward Alon Mitchell and 6-foot-5 guard Josiah Sanders, have also contributed to Colorado's 12 victories so far this year. Mitchell has played in 15 of 17 games and is averaging 9.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, while Sanders has appeared in all 17 contests and shows averages of 4.6 points and 2.5 rebounds.
The Buffaloes boast one of the tallest starting lineups in college basketball with 7-foot junior center Bangot Dak flanked by 6-foot-11 sophomore Sebastian Rancik and 6-foot-10 senior Elijah Moore.
Rancik and Dak are combining to average 24.8 points and 13.3 rebounds per game, while Moore is a space-eater weighing 270 pounds and averaging 6.1 points in 17 minutes of action.
"They have versatile parts offensively, and they can kind of play a couple different ways," Hodge observed. "When Malone is in the game, they can pound it into him, and when he comes out of the game they get into more of a versatile five-out look that opens up driving opportunities and kick-out 3s."
Junior guard Barrington Hargress is the other Colorado player averaging double figures at 13.6 points per outing.
The Buffaloes are averaging 84.5 points per contest and have exceeded 80 points in a game 12 times so far this year.
"They are very talented offensive team," Hodge noted.
Defensively, Hodge said Colorado will mix its coverages and play a soft press that backs up into a zone defense to try and disrupt opponents' offensive rhythm.
West Virginia (11-6 overall) is in a three-way tie with Colorado and Kansas in seventh place in the league standings, which means protecting its home court on Saturday is vital with a two-game Western swing looming next week at Arizona State and at No. 1-ranked Arizona.
Colorado will be playing for the first-time ever in the Hope Coliseum, making the Buffaloes the 200th different non-exhibition team to appear in West Virginia's historic venue.
The Mountaineer players will be wearing new white home uniforms on Saturday modeled after the 1959 replica uniforms worn last year. While the piping is similar, the new look adopts the modern color scheme the Mountaineers use today.
The first 5,000 fans in attendance on Saturday will be given a complimentary jersey koozie. Also, a large group of former players will be in town as part of Varsity Club alumni weekend.
"It's alumni weekend, so we will have a lot of former Mountaineers in town, and you always want to represent them well," Hodge said.
Sadly, former Mountaineer player Dave Allara, who was registered for this weekend's activities, passed away suddenly earlier this week. Allara played three seasons for the Mountaineers for coaches Joedy Gardner and Gale Catlett from 1977-79.
A limited number of tickets still remain and can be purchased through the Mountaineer Ticket Office by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Television coverage will be provided by CBS Sports Network (Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas).
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will get things underway at 5 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
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