Winners and Losers From Colorado Men's Basketball's Victory Over Cal Baptist

BOULDER — It didn't always look pretty, but the Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team made history on Monday evening by improving to 8-0 for the first time since 1949-50.

Colorado kept its undefeated season intact by beating the visiting California Baptist Lancers in Boulder, 78-70. True freshman guard Isaiah Johnson led the Buffs with 17 points, and fellow bench standout Alon Michaeli also impressed with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Although pleased with the ultimate result, coach Tad Boyle left the CU Events Center court frustrated by Colorado's slow start, which found the Buffs behind 23-9 early.

Winners Losers Colorado Men's Basketball Buffs California Baptist Lancers Elijah Malone Isaiah Johnson Bangot Dak Sebi Rancik — Oct 22, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Colorado head coach Tad Boyle speaks to media during Big 12 Menís Basketball media day at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Sophia Scheller-Imagn Images | Sophia Scheller-Imagn Images

"One thing that I take pride in as a coach is I want our team to get better every week, every game, certainly every month, throughout the season," Boyle said. "Today was a step backwards. So that I'm not too happy about, but you take the win, you move on."

Below are four winners and losers from Colorado's Monday night win over Cal Baptist:

WINNER: Isaiah Johnson

Johnson was once again impressive off the bench, and if he can continue to improve on defense, it might be a matter of time before he earns a starting nod. The rookie sensation hit 9-of-11 free throws and tied Bangot Dak for the team lead in assists (three).

"I'm definitely playing with a lot of confidence," Johnson said. "My teammates, my coaches, they all instill that in me. I come to work every day for practice, so it's just normal when I'm out there."

LOSER: Paint Defense

Mostly early, Colorado had a difficult night defending the paint. Cal Baptist scored 44 paint points to CU's 34, partially due to a rough defensive night from center Elijah Malone.

"We did not execute our defensive game plan at all," Boyle said. "I'm not saying we're going to shut them out and keep them out of the paint forever, but you got to hold them to 30 points in the paint. Make their non-shooting bigs, make them make a couple of 3s. But we didn't do that tonight."

WINNER: Bench Scoring

Boyle's bench outscored Cal Baptist's 37-10, with Johnson, Michaeli and Josiah Sanders combining for 35.

"It's a privilege to have such a good bench, especially with Isaiah, Alon, Jalin (Holland) and Josiah coming in and being that energy boost for us and being able to contribute points-wise, as well," starting forward Sebastian Rancik said.

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LOSER: Elijah Malone

Malone had one of his roughest nights of the season, finishing with a team-low -10 plus/minus. The most experienced player on Colorado's roster shot 3-of-6 from the field and committed three turnovers (second-most to Barrington Hargress' four) in only 12 minutes of play.

Up next, Colorado will face rival Colorado State in Fort Collins on Saturday at 3 p.m. MT (CBS Sports Network).