The youthful direction of this Colorado team continues to make an impression. After beating San Francisco by the final score of 79-69 on Thanksgiving Day, the Buffs advanced to the championship of the Acrisure Holiday Classic Friday to face either Washington or Nevada.
3 Takeaways from Colorado's win over San Francisco
This team is resilient
Colorado earned a Quad 2 win over San Francisco, who is very good mid major team and currently ranked No. 78 on KenPom. The Dons had a lead of seven points at one point, but Colorado continues to find ways to get into the win column.
Isaiah Johnson scored a game high 17 points off the bench for Colorado, shooting 7-of-10 from the field while adding four rebounds. There were 25 points scored by the bench as a unit; 17 off which were scored by Johnson.
In the early stages of the season, Boyle must be thrilled with the freshman's performance.
Winning away from home
This is a really good sign for the Buffs. Colorado was just 3-16 on the road last season, and yes, this includes neutral site games as well.
Two of those wins came in the Big 12 Tournament, where they beat TCU and West Virginia before falling to Houston.
The lone win in the regular season came against No. 2 ranked Connecticut in a thriller in The Maui Invitational, thanks to a Andrej Jakimovski layup with eight seconds left.
Starting lineup continues to produce
A trio of Colorado's starters scored in double figures, led by Barrington Hargress with 15 points. Forward Bangot Dak stuffed the stat sheet, adding 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting while adding five rebounds, six assists, and two blocks.
Elijah Malone chipped in 13 points of his own, recording four rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks.
Despite shooting just 2-for-9 from the field for seven points, Sebastian Rancik pulled down nine rebounds and added three assists. Felix Kossaras has been a pleasant surprise as well. Despite scoring just six points, he hit a pair of three-pointers and added three steals to his credit.