BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Brayden Burries scored 22 of his season-high 31 points in the second half, fellow freshman Koa Peat had 25 points and No. 2 Arizona rallied from 11 down to beat Colorado 89-79 on Saturday night.
Arizona (29-2, 16-2), which clinched its first Big 12 Conference title with a victory over No. 6 Iowa State on Monday night, finished with the most regular-season wins in program history.
Isaiah Johnson had a season-best 28 points for the Buffaloes to break the school's freshman scoring record. He entered 14 points behind Alec Burks and passed him with two free throws late in the first half.
Colorado (17-14, 7-11) dropped to 0-7 against ranked opponents this season.
Peat had his best scoring night since putting up 30 points against Florida in his college debut. The burly forward made 12 of 15 shots and kept the Wildcats in the game with 19 points in the first half. Arizona was 0 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half and trailed 36-25 with 4:25 left in the period.
The Wildcats closed the half on an 11-2 run to get within 38-36 and started strong in the second half.
Arizona tied it at 46 when Burries hit the team's first 3-pointer of the night, and Ivan Karchenkov’s runner gave the Wildcats their first lead. They went ahead 51-46 but Colorado rallied to go up 54-52 and the lead changed hands nine times over the next three minutes.
Arizona took the lead for good on Peat’s layup with 9:53 remaining and led by as many as 12 down the stretch.
Top-seeded Arizona has a double bye into the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals Thursday.
Colorado is the No. 11 seed and will face 14th-seeded Oklahoma State in the first round Tuesday night.
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Colorado guard Isaiah Johnson, third from left, gets tied up with the ball by Arizona guard Jaden Bradley (0), guard Anthony Dell'orso, second from left, and center Motiejus Krivas, left, in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Russia’s national anthem will ring out at the Paralympics for the first time in more than a decade after Para alpine skier Varvara Voronchikhina won gold on Monday.
Russian athletes are back competing under their own flag in the Winter Paralympics at Milan Cortina, after years of having to do so as neutral athletes because of the country’s doping violations and military conflicts.
The 23-year-old Voronchikhina, who claimed bronze in the downhill two days earlier, finished first in the women’s super-G standing competition on Monday and the medal ceremony was set to take place shortly.
It will be the first time Russia’s anthem will be played at a major global sporting event since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the first time it is heard at the Paralympics since the 2014 Games in Sochi.
“It’s really special for me, I can see my flag (on the top of the podium)," Voronchikhina said. “Maybe now I can’t believe it, and I don’t understand what happened. Maybe I’ll see my gold medal and (believe)… it’s so special for me.
“It’s amazing. I have a big support of my family and friends and all the people in Russia.”
The Russian national anthem for a gold medal win has not been heard at any Olympics or Paralympics since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.
Russian athletes were initially banned because of a state-sponsored doping program, and the sanctions had continued after the invasion.
Russia arrived at Milan Cortina with six athletes. The International Paralympic Committee gave wildcard entries to Russian athletes, a decision that upset Ukraine and a few other nations that boycotted the opening ceremony on Friday.
AP Winter Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games
Varvara Voronchikhina, of Russia, stands on the podium after winning the bronze medal in the alpine skiing women's downhill standing competition at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Varvara Voronchikhina, of Russia, competes in the alpine skiing women's super-G standing final at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Varvara Voronchikhina, of Russia, crosses the finish line in the alpine skiing women's super-G standing final at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
