Colorado (17-15 straight up, 16-16 against the spread) won’t have three of its best players when it faces Oklahoma in Wednesday’s quarterfinals of the 2026 College Basketball Crown, an eight-team tournament in Las Vegas with a $500,000 NIL prize pool going to the event’s winner.
Isaiah Johnson, Bangot Dak and Sebastian Rancik won’t be in uniform for the Buffaloes, who take on the Sooners at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Fox Sports 1. All three players are planning to hit the transfer portal when it opens on April 7.
Johnson, a true freshman point guard, is currently listed as the nation’s #8 overall player among those with portal intentions at 247Sports. In his lone campaign with the Buffs, he started 15 of 32 games, averaging 16.9 points, 3.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.
Johnson made 48.6 percent of his field-goal attempts, 37.8 percent of his 3-pointers and 82.1 percent of his free throws. He had 28 points, five assists and three rebounds in an 89-79 home loss to Arizona on March 7.
Rancik started 26 times in 29 games this year, averaging 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 APG. He had 40.4/33.1/86.0 shooting splits in his second season at Colorado. The 6-foot-11 Slovakian will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Dak, a 7-foot junior, started 30 of 32 games in his third season in Boulder. He averaged 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 blocked shots and 1.4 APG. He hit 49.2 percent of his FGAs.
Colorado will have 12 student-athletes in uniform this week. The Buffaloes have lost three of their last four games, but they’re 5-2 ATS in their last seven games since Valentine’s Day. The ‘over’ has hit in four straight contests to improve to 16-16 overall.
Oklahoma (19-15 SU, 16-18 ATS) has played outstanding basketball since Feb. 7 when it won a 92-91 decision at Vanderbilt as an 11.5-point road underdog. The Sooners are 8-3 SU and 9-2 ATS in that 11-game span, including five wins over teams that made the NCAA Tournament.
Porter Moser’s club won’t have sophomore guard Dayton Forsythe, who recently underwent season-ending ankle surgery. Forsythe played in 28 games this year, averaging 5.3 points, 1.8 assists and 1.4 RPG. He had 33.6/28.1/86.0 shooting splits.
Forsythe played at least 13 minutes in each of OU’s last 13 games, scoring 12 points or more four times. He had 14 points, six assists and one steal in a 75-71 home loss vs. Texas A&M on Feb. 21.
Forsythe scored 12 points in the aforementioned upset win at Vandy.
As of Tuesday morning, most books had Oklahoma installed as an 8.5-point favorite vs. Colorado with a total of 165.5. The Buffaloes were +260 on the money line.
In Wednesday’s late game at MGM Grand Arena, most spots had Baylor as a 3.5-point favorite vs. Minnesota with a total of 148.5. The Gophers were in the +142 to +150 range to win outright.