photo by: AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Kansas guard Tre White collects a loose ball in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Colorado Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Boulder, Colo.

BOULDER, Colo. — Colorado had led for just two minutes on the night when it had a golden chance to seize control late in Tuesday’s game against No. 19 Kansas.

But the Buffaloes, trailing just 60-59, got blocked on back-to-back attempts at transition layups, KU guard Melvin Council Jr. used a steal to earn consecutive buckets, and the Jayhawks never went behind at all on their way to a 75-69 victory at the CU Events Center.

“I told the guys that the best part of team sports is everyone has a part,” said acting head coach Jacque Vaughn, who stepped in for Bill Self after Self spent time in the hospital in Lawrence and couldn’t make the trip to Boulder. “My part was to fill in for Coach … We came here to get a win. We had a great group who showed some resilience tonight, and we’ll go home with a W.”

Council tallied 18 points, and Darryn Peterson fought through an apparent ankle injury to finish the game and score 16 of his own, including a dagger 3 he banked in with two minutes remaining.

“We talked about at the end of the day, can we leave this with an empty tank, and so that you leave everything on the floor for your teammates,” Vaughn said. “And he tried to do that tonight. And the bank was open — late. Late-night ATM withdrawal.”

Tre White got to the line almost at will on his way to a 17-point, 15-rebound double-double, and added some key 3-pointers. Vaughn praised his ability to serve the team in different roles.

“That’s always my goal every night, to just try to help Flory (Bidunga) and (Bryson Tiller) board,” White said. “I feel like we’re at our best whenever we make the other team get one shot and we push with Melvin and DP using that speed. I feel like I tried to just hone in on that tonight. They were a bigger team, so just try to play a little more physical.”

CU’s Isaiah Johnson led all scorers with 19 points and Barrington Hargress added 17 for the Buffaloes, who never went away until the final whistle.

“Before the game started, Coach V told us, ‘We don’t need to be anybody else, just you have to be yourself,'” said Bidunga, who had 11 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. “And then I feel like along through the game, it (turned) out pretty good for us.”

Johnson connected twice early to put the Buffaloes ahead 5-4 before KU hit on three consecutive 3-pointers, two by Peterson and one by Council.

As the game drew deeper and deeper into the first half without a stoppage, CU began to gain the upper hand. Tiller missed a layup at one end and then faltered on a rebound at the other, leading to a dunk by Bangot Dak that cut the Jayhawks’ advantage to 15-12. Vaughn called a timeout to bring the game to a halt for the first time more than seven minutes in.

By the midway point of the half, the two teams had combined for nine made 3s.

“We were allowing some of those game-plan-wise at the beginning of the first half,” Vaughn said. “We paid for it a little bit. There was opportunities for us to stretch the lead that we didn’t capitalize on.”

The Jayhawks had grown their lead back to eight points on a drive by Elmarko Jackson before Felix Kossaras drained one from the corner.

While KU stagnated, CU persisted and cut its deficit to one point. Hargress missed a potential go-ahead jumper and Peterson made one at the other end.

The Buffaloes proceeded to score four straight again, but then committed their first turnover of the game with 2:31 left in the half. KU remained in front with a series of free throws by White. The Jayhawks struggled to get their lead back to two possessions until Council knocked down a deep 3-pointer in the final minute.

It didn’t stay there. Johnson missed a fadeaway with two seconds left, but Hargress managed to tip in the offensive rebound to cut KU’s lead to 40-38 at the break.

Hargress and White led the way with 12 points apiece at halftime.

Peterson hobbled off the court after twisting his ankle defending Dak with KU leading 44-41 early in the second half. He returned with the margin almost the same at 48-44 inside of 14 minutes to go.

Jamari McDowell got a tough 3-pointer to fall, but then the Jayhawks went cold again. With KU ahead 53-49 after yet another pair of free throws by White, Bidunga, who had been 1-for-2 from the field, wiggled his way inside for a much-needed three-point play.

“We tried to establish Flory early in the game, a little bit to our detriment — the guys were trying to look for him too much at times, made us a little stagnant,” Vaughn said. “And then there was a stretch in the second half where it came naturally throughout the flow of the offense.”

With KU ahead 60-56, an illegal screen by Tiller wiped out what would have been a 3-pointer by a still-hampered Peterson. Alon Michaeli spotted up for a 3-pointer at the other end.

Council gave the Jayhawks a bit more of a cushion with his consecutive tough finishes at the rim. The decisive shot, though, came with two minutes to go when Peterson, who had barely touched the ball in recent minutes, bounced in a 3 at the end of the shot clock to give KU its largest lead at nine points.

“Obviously you guys know about his situation, but that’s a bad man over there,” Bidunga said. “Despite everything that he has, he wants to stay in the game because he wants to finish the game with his guys. So that was pretty great.”

The Buffaloes went 4:58 without a field goal, sealing their fate in the final minutes.

“We know what we preach in practice, on the road, in the huddle: just defense and just coming together as one,” Council said.

Johnson and Hargress did make the final margin closer with late three-point plays.

The Jayhawks, who improved to 14-5 and 4-2 in Big 12 play will face Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown at Bramlage Coliseum at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Wildcats are 10-9 (1-5 Big 12) and just earned their first Big 12 win by beating Utah 81-78 on Tuesday night. Self is expected to return to practice this week, a KU Athletics official said, ahead of that game, although Vaughn said he’s prepared to serve however he’s needed.

Box score