Utah aims to lock in on defense on trip to Colorado

Utah opened its Big 12 schedule against the top team in the nation and now travels to a tough venue when it visits Colorado on Wednesday night in Boulder, Colo.

Utah (8-6, 0-1) stayed with No. 1 Arizona early before taking a 97-78 home loss. It was a hard way to tip off the conference season, and head coach Alex Jensen said his players need to get better defensively.

"I think everybody on our team has to see themselves as a defensive player first, which isn't the easiest thing to do, because a lot of them haven't had to do that," Jensen said. "That's what will give you a chance in these games."

Utah has three players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Terrence Brown's 21.8 points per game. Don McHenry is second at 18.1 ppg and Keanu Dawes averages 12.4 points while leading the Utes in rebounding with a 9.2 average.

Brown went for 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting and added six assists against Arizona.

Colorado (11-3, 1-0) kicked off its conference schedule with a 95-89 win at Arizona State on Saturday. It was the Buffaloes' first Big 12 road win since rejoining the conference before the 2024-25 season.

The Buffaloes had lost two straight before beating the Sun Devils and can improve on their start against the Utes. Freshman Isaiah Johnson leads the way for Colorado with 15.9 points per game, while Barrington Hargress and Sebastian Rancik are both scoring 13.6 points a night.

Bangot Dak leads the team in rebounding at 7.1 per game while also averaging 11.5 points.

Johnson has been the catalyst for the Buffaloes this season.

"Isaiah is a terrific basketball player," head coach Tad Boyle said. "He's not afraid of the moment. And he's a big-time freshman. He's not getting the national attention that he deserves, but he will, if we can continue to win some games in this league."