Small ball lineup pushes Colorado past ASU

Barrington Hargress slings a pass to his teammate. Hargress (23) was Colorado's leading scorer. (Photo by Fidel Gonzalez/Sko Buffs Sports)

Playing his third lineup change in 10 days, head coach Tad Boyle doesn’t care who starts; It’s about winning games in February. 

In the Colorado Buffaloes (14-10, 4-7 Big 12) 78-70 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils (12-12, 3-8 Big 12), the Buffs rolled out four guards, Isaiah Johnson, Josiah Sanders, Barrington Hargress, Jalin Holland and played forward Bangot Dak at center. 

Although they’ve played guard-heavy lineups as of late, it was the first time the Buffs took the court without a true center. Centers Elijah Malone and Fawaz “Tacko” Ifaola were both limited to just eight minutes of play due to early fouls and Boyle’s choice.

The small lineup forced 9 turnovers and kept ASU at 40% shooting from the field. Most importantly for Boyle, the aggressive lineup snagged 40 rebounds, 14 more than ASU. 

“It's not about who starts. It's not about who comes off the bench. 
It's how do the starters play and how do the guys come off the bench play?” Boyle said. “If you play better, you're going to play more. It's a pretty simple deal.” 

Guards Barrington Hargress (23) and Isaiah Johnson (16) were the leading scorers from the starting lineup, and played well targetting ASU's zone defense.

Sebastian Rancik was the only player to score off the bench for Colorado, finishing with 17 points, a career high 11 rebounds and earning his first double-double in college. In his third game away from starting, the minutes have stayed consistent. 

“I don't think my role has changed. I just have to continue staying aggressive and rebounding like I did today,” Rancik said. “Just staying patient and playing my game.”

At times, Ranick even found himself playing the five for stretches where Dak was off the court. The change in rotation has allowed the Buffs to win two out of their last three games before the final push of Big 12 play. 

But with the lack of consistency from the center position, Colorado is limited in who they can play. Boyle wants to see the continued effort from his team before deciding who will play against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Wednesday. 

“Sometimes you got to do it night to night. But tomorrow's a new day. Wednesday's a new game, Monday's a new practice,” Boyle said. “
That's just part of it.”

With seven games left before the Big 12 Tournament, Colorado is looking to make a late-season push with the best lineup possible.