How To Watch Colorado vs. Portland State: Preview, TV Channel, Prediction

Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball is back in business after smattering UTSA last Saturday. Coach Tad Boyle's Buffs (9-1) stay at home for a duel with the Portland State Vikings (6-3), a stout, experienced squad from the Big Sky.

How to Watch

When: Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m. MT
Where: CU Events Center in Boulder, Colorado
TV Broadcast: ESPN+
Radio Call: KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM

Buffs Aim To Keep Rolling Against Vikings

Dec 6, 2025; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes forward Sebastian Rancik (7) passes the ball to center Elijah Malone (50) as Colorado State Rams forward Kyle Jorgensen (35) and forward Jevin Muniz (55) defend in the first half at Moby Arena. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Colorado kept UTSA behind for the first 20 minutes last Saturday but exploded in the second half to snag a bounce-back victory. The Buffaloes scored 53 points in the latter half to win 88-64.

Junior point guard Barrington Hargress had a career day, burying five of his seven 3-point attempts to score a season-high 23 points. His prowess from beyond the arc is nothing new, but it was the most the UC Riverside transfer had ever made in a game.

Mountain air is doing wonders for Hargress's long-range shooting. He has made 12 of his first 20 triples (60 percent) with the Buffaloes after averaging 32 percent in his first two collegiate seasons.

Dec 6, 2025; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard Barrington Hargress (24) controls the ball in the first half against the Colorado State Rams at Moby Arena. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Junior forward Sebastian Rancik also came to play against UTSA, scoring 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbing a team-high seven rebounds. The Slovak is averaging 13.3 points on 52 percent shooting over his last three games.

Portland State is the third of four teams the Buffs have and will face throughout non-conference play. Colorado had trouble with the first two, as Montana State and Eastern Washington put up last-second fights, including the Eagles forcing an overtime period.

Those were the Buffaloes' first two games of the season, however. Boyle's bunch has been speeding through its last few weeks, other than a bumpy trip to Fort Collins against Colorado State.

The Vikings are a Quad 4 foe ranked No. 186 in NET, although over 120 spots ahead of UTSA (307) and nearly 80 spots better than Eastern Washington (264). Colorado is unbeaten against Q4 teams thus far, winning by an average of 15.8 points.

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Colorado's Keys To Beat Portland State

Dec 6, 2025; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle looks on in the first half against the Colorado State Rams at Moby Arena. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Buffs must remain even-keeled to top Portland State and not let their minds wander toward Big 12 play. Work to do remains on the defensive end, where Colorado has struggled this season.

Feed Hot Hands: Hargress's hot shooting could easily carry over a few days, so the Buffaloes should look to get him going early. His 12.5 points per game rank third for Colorado.

Stay Sound: Portland State can rack up buckets, scoring 90 or more four times through its first nine games (though against lesser competition). The Buffs should aim to make a statement defensively and display their potential on that end.

Give Freshmen Reps: Colorado's many close games have limited minutes for its less-touted freshmen. Look for guards Ian Inman and Andrew Crawford, along with center Fawaz Ifaola, to get some tread on their tires.

Pesky Portland State To Test Buffaloes?

Portland State head coach Jase Coburn holds his arms out in front of players after a NCAA non-conference men's basketball game against Iowa, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa beat Portland State 85-51. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

A third-place side in the Big Sky last season, coach Jase Coburn has built an improving unit at Portland State since his promotion to the position in 2021. The Vikings three losses (Stanford, San Francisco, Omaha) have each come by 10 points or less.

PSU is led by two 17-point scorers who joined by way of transfer from Louisiana Tech. Senior forward Terri Miller Jr. leads the Vikings with 17.5 points per game, and he's coming off a career-high 31 points against George Fox University last Saturday.

Guard Jaylin Henderson is averaging 17.1 points and a team-high 6.4 assists. The 6-3 senior from Wichita, Kansas, led PSU in scoring last season as well.

Former South Carolina Gamecock Tre-Vaughn Minott is a solid rebounder, averaging 8.3 a game at just 6-10. He'll be a tricky matchup for Buffs center Elijah Malone, currently in a slump after a hot start to the season.

Colorado vs. UTSA Prediction

As many Big Sky opponents have done before, the Vikings may keep up in Boulder. Their nose for scoring will cause fascinating matchups to watch. Still, expect the Buffs to do their jobs and move forward into the holiday season, beating Portland State 88-73.