Jalin Holland had 18 points and six rebounds to help Colorado run away with a 94-59 win against Abilene Christian in the season opener for both teams on Monday night in Boulder, Colo.
Justin Neely scored 14 points off the bench, Josiah Sanders also scored 14, Barrington Hargress finished with 11 points and Noah Feddersen scored 10 for the Buffaloes, who were tabbed to finish tied for 14th in the 16-team Big 12 by members of the media.
Timeo Pons scored 13 points and Evan Boisdur and Willan Marie-Anais scored 11 each off the bench for the Wildcats, who briefly led at the end of the first half before Hargress hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Colorado a 36-34 lead.
Colorado used a 10-0 run to take an early 20-9 lead with 11:35 left in the first half.
Abilene Christian answered with five straight points by Boisdur.
The Wildcats went back down by 10 points twice more, but clawed back and moved ahead 34-33 on a layup by Marie-Anais with seven seconds left in the first half.
The lead quickly evaporated when Hargress hit the 25-footer on the other end.
Holland scored seven points in a 9-0 run that gave the Buffaloes their biggest lead at 50-37 with 15:22 left in the game.
Boisdur ended the run, but Neely then made back-to-back layups to expand the lead to 15. His 3-pointer with 11:57 remaining gave the Buffaloes their first 20-point advantage at 63-43 and they continued to ease away.
Colorado outrebounded the Wildcats 20-10 in the first half and 39-24 for the game.
Four of Colorado’s top five scorers last season transferred to other programs, leaving Hargress as the top returning scorer after averaging 14.7 points in his first season with the Buffaloes.