BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team might have opened their 2024-25 season with a 76-56 victory against Eastern Washington, but things didn’t come easily to the finish line. A troubled Buffs unit simply did not come out of the gates in the first half, as turnovers and woeful shooting directed them to a 27-10 first-half disadvantage.

Head coach Tad Boyle, who historically has led the Buffaloes to solid season-opening starts(13-2 in his career), admitted it was unusual that his team was so slow out of the blocks. “We obviously weren’t ready to play out of the gate tonight,” Boyle said of his club, recognizing the initial intensity with which Eastern Washington prepared. Whether altitude played a role in the Eagles tiring by the second half is Tad’s actual speculation, which opened the door for Colorado’s return.

The Buffs had turned the tide by the half, moving to within 31-25 by halftime. Entering the second half, they did make a much better opening of it, scoring 51 points to swing the game in their favor. Sebastian Rancik led with 13 points, one of four Buffaloes who finished in double figures in a testimony to their depth and the balance in their power.

The Buffaloes turned up their defense significantly in the last stretch, allowing Eastern Washington only 36 percent shooting from the field within the last ten minutes and snagging 45 boards to 28 boards for the Eagles. That showed the way for the Buffs from torrid starting with command finish.

After a win this season, Colorado comes looking to continue this momentum into Friday’s Northern Colorado match at 7 p.m. at CU Events Center. Boyle will surely stress a much stronger start to his team Tuesday night, which caused the earlier stumbles they went through in their season opener.