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Lack of Depth Costs ASU Late Against Colorado

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Lack of Depth Costs ASU Late Against Colorado


Arizona State men’s basketball once again showed fight, effort, and competitiveness—but once again, the lack of depth caught up to them late. In a 78–70 loss to Colorado, the Sun Devils stayed close most of the night before running out of gas in the final minutes.

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For long stretches, Arizona State looked like the team that wanted the game more. The energy was there early, and the Sun Devils even opened the second half with a strong run that briefly flipped momentum in their favor

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However, as the game wore on, Colorado’s deeper rotation and second-half adjustments became the difference.

Feb 7, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils guard Maurice Odum (5) dribbles past Colorado Buffaloes center Elijah Malone (50) in the first half at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
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The biggest issue continues to be Arizona State’s limited lineup. 

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Head coach Bobby Hurley was forced to rely on an eight-man rotation, which leaves very little room for rest or flexibility. In a tough conference like the Big 12, that becomes a major problem late in games.

When players are asked to play heavy minutes night after night, fatigue is unavoidable.

Late possessions become tougher, shots come up short, and defensive mistakes start to show. That was clear down the stretch against Colorado, as ASU struggled to generate clean looks offensively.

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Feb 7, 2026; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard Jalin Holland (11) defends on Arizona State Sun Devils forward Andrija Grbovic (14) in the second half at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Odum Leads, but Pressure Builds

Moe Odum did everything he could to keep Arizona State in the game. 

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He finished with 23 points and played nearly the entire contest. His shot-making abilities and leadership carried the Sun Devils for long stretches.

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But Colorado made smart adjustments in the second half. 

The Buffaloes put extra pressure on Odum, blitzing him on drives and forcing the ball out of his hands. With fatigue building and limited scoring options around him, ASU struggled to counter.

Massamba Diop added 19 points and seven rebounds, while Anthony Johnson chipped in 14 points and hit timely threes. 

Still, the Sun Devils needed just a little more help from the bench to change the outcome.

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Arizona State guard Moe Odum (5) looks over at the officials during a game against Cincinnati at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 24, 2026. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Colorado’s Depth Makes the Difference

Colorado benefited from having more players available.

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 They rotated freely, stayed fresh, and closed the game with energy. Sebastian Rankic stepped up with 17 points and 11 rebounds, giving the Buffaloes a big boost inside.

While both teams played hard, Colorado simply had more options late, and that mattered.

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What This Loss Really Means

This loss doesn’t mean Arizona State is failing. 

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It shows how competitive they’ve been despite tough circumstances. Many of their conference losses have been close, and this was another example.

As the season continues, ASU still has chances to prove itself and evaluate its future core. Depth may be holding them back right now, but effort isn’t, and that’s something this team can build on.

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Warm storm delivers modest totals to Colorado’s northern mountains

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Warm storm delivers modest totals to Colorado’s northern mountains


Arapahoe Basin Ski Area recorded 8.5 inches of snow through Friday morning.
Lucas Herbert/Arapahoe Basin Ski Area

Friday morning wrapped up a warm storm across Colorado’s northern and central mountains, bringing totals of up to 10 inches of snowfall for several resorts.

Higher elevation areas of the northern mountains — particularly those in and near Summit County and closer to the Continental Divide — received the most amount of snow, with Copper, Winter Park and Breckenridge mountains seeing among the highest totals.

Meanwhile, lower base areas and valleys received rain and cloudy skies, thanks to a warmer storm with a snow line of roughly 9,000 feet.



Earlier this week, OpenSnow meteorologists predicted the storm’s snow totals would be around 5-10 inches, closely matching actual totals for the northern mountains. The central mountains all saw less than 5 inches of snow.

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Here’s how much snow fell between Wednesday through Friday morning for some Western Slope mountains, according to a Friday report from OpenSnow:



Aspen Mountain: 0.5 inches

Snowmass: 0.5 inches

Copper Mountain: 10 inches

Winter Park: 9 inches

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Breckenridge Ski Resort: 9 inches

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area: 8.5 inches

Keystone Resort: 8 inches

Loveland Ski Area: 7 inches

Vail Mountain: 7 inches

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Steamboat Resort: 6 inches

Beaver Creek: 6 inches

Irwin: 4.5 inches

Cooper Mountain: 4 inches

Sunlight: 0.5 inches

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Friday and Saturday will be dry, while Sunday will bring northern showers. The next storms are forecast to be around March 3-4 and March 6-7, both favoring the northern mountains.





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Avalanche discipline, power play falters, Central Division lead shrinks in 5-2 loss to Wild

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Avalanche discipline, power play falters, Central Division lead shrinks in 5-2 loss to Wild


The Colorado Avalanche had a chance Thursday night to regain some real separation between them and the Minnesota Wild.

It didn’t happen, and special teams were again an issue.

Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek scored a pair of power-play goals, while the Avalanche took too many penalties and did not convert its chances with the extra man in a 5-2 loss at Ball Arena. The Wild scored on two of six power plays, both in the second period, then added a shorthanded goal into an empty net for good measure.

“We took six (penalties). Six is too many, especially against a power play like theirs,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We had a slow start to the second and then just kind of started getting going, then took a bunch of penalties and kind of took the momentum away and swung it back in their favor again.”

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Mackenzie Blackwood was excellent early in this contest and stopped 31 of 34 shots for the Avs in his first start since the Olympic break. Colorado, which went 0-for-3 on the power play, has not scored an extra-man goal in back-to-back games since Dec. 31 and Jan. 3. The Avs are 2-for-31 with the man advantage since Jan. 16, and at 15.1% are last in the NHL.

The Wild are now just five points behind the Avs in the Central Division, though Colorado has two games in hand. Filip Gustavsson made 44 saves for the visitors.

“I think we crated enough chances to win the hockey game,” Bednar said. “We give up the (second power-play goal) and that’s the difference in the hockey game for me. We had a chance (on the power play) … we score and it’s a tie game. We haven’t had an easy time capitalizing on some of our chances that we created in the last month.

“I’d like to see that turn around a little bit.”

Minnesota took advantage of three penalties on Colorado in a span of 53 seconds to take the lead with 2:23 left in the second period. Captain Gabe Landeskog was sent to the box for elbowing Eriksson Ek away from the play at 14:15 and Valeri Nichushkin was called for cross-checking at 15:04.

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That gave the Wild a 5-on-3, but it went from bad to worse in a hurry for the home side. Brock Nelson won the 3-on-5 in his own end, but Brent Burns’ backhanded attempt to clear the puck out of the zone went into the stands for a delay of game.

Minnesota had a 5-on-3 for 1:56, which Colorado successfully killed off, but because Burns’ two minutes didn’t start until Landeskog’s penalty ended, there was more 5-on-4 time and Eriksson Ek scored his second of the night. The Swedish Olympian was trying to send a cross-crease pass to Kirill Kaprizov, but it hit the inside of Blackwood’s right leg and pinballed across the goal line.

Because of the extended penalty time, both Eriksson Ek and Boldy officially logged a shift of more than four minutes, leading to that goal.

“I’m not a big fan of the penalties we took, necessarily,” Landeskog said. “Obviously, mine is a penalty. Val, I felt like he was protecting himself and Burns, that’s a penalty. There’s nothing to argue about there. But yeah, that tilts the ice for sure and just gives them unnecessary momentum.

“So yeah, undisciplined and we’ve got to be better there for sure.”

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Eriksson Ek put Minnesota in front at 7:48 of the second period. Cale Makar was called for slashing when his one-handed swipe while Yakov Trenin was attempting to shoot from the left wing. Trenin’s stick broke, so Makar went to the box.

Blackwood made the initial save on Matt Boldy’s shot from the high slot, but Eriksson Ek was there near the left post to clean up the rebound.



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Firefighters stop spread of wildfire in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon

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Firefighters stop spread of wildfire in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon



Late Thursday morning, a house fire spreading into the nearby woods in Colorado’s Golden Gate Canyon prompted officials to issue a pre-evacuation order to nearby residents. Firefighters have since brought the blaze under control.

According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, a house fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. in the 10600 block of Ralston Creek Road in Golden Gate Canyon, located around 25 miles west of Denver. The fire then began to spread into the nearby trees and grass.

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Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office


Multiple fire units quickly responded to the scene, and the JCSO issued a pre-evacuation notice to all residents within a three-mile radius, warning them to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

At 12:34 p.m., the sheriff’s office announced that the fire is no longer spreading and the burn area has been contained to less than an acre. A photo shared by JCSO shows a structure nearly completely destroyed by the fire.

Pre-evacuation orders were lifted around 1 p.m.

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