Seen and heard in Boulder: On UA fans, heavy hearts and cheap student drinks

BOULDER, Colo. — An hour before tip-off on Saturday, March 7, 2026, the CU Events Center felt more like a Tucson annex than a Pac-12-turned-Big 12 outpost. Arizona red and navy dominated the concourses, lower bowl and even the upper rows, where William Murphy of Tucson, Art Loya of Dallas and Chandler couple George and Wendy Mendoza reunited for the regular-season finale. “We just threw a dart on the calendar,” Loya shrugged, explaining the group’s decision to converge in Boulder. By game time an estimated third of the announced crowd wore Wildcats colors, continuing Arizona’s season-long trend of commandeering road arenas.

The evening began on a somber note. Colorado observed a moment of silence for Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder, the walk-on killed in a car crash six days earlier. Coach Deion Sanders said he left the decision to practice to the team; players voted to continue, chanting “Life’s gotta move on” in Ponder’s honor. “We don’t send kids to college not to come back,” Sanders told reporters Friday. “That’s the most painful thing I’m dealing with.”

Once the basketball began, the spotlight shifted to Colorado’s lone senior, Elijah Malone. The 6-foot-9 center actually graduated from NAIA Grace College in 2024, parlayed a COVID-year waiver into a fifth season, then gained an additional season after a court ruling for non-Division I athletes. A lingering shoulder issue limited him to 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds a night, but coach Tad Boyle started him on Senior Day anyway. “You’re not going to have a higher-character kid in your program,” Boyle said.

Boyle, who faced Arizona for the 15th time in 13 Pac-12 years and two Big 12 campaigns, called Tommy Lloyd’s current roster “the best Arizona team I’ve competed against.” He reserved special praise for forward Tobe Awaka, a former USA U19 pupil: “He could start for any team in the Big 12.”

Colorado played without sophomore forward Sebastian Rancik, sidelined for a second straight game. Boyle compared Rancik’s upside to that of 2024 NBA first-rounder Tristan da Silva, noting the sophomore’s per-minute production already exceeds da Silva’s at the same stage.

Off the court, the arena’s beverage policy drew notice. While standard 24-ounce cans of Coors Light, Modelo or Juice Drop Hazy IPA fetched $13-$14, students could purchase 12-ounce alcoholic or non-alcoholic cans for $2.99—if they queued at a single stand above the student section before tip-off. The discounted drinks disappeared once the ball went up.

The building itself no longer carries the Coors name—the $5 million sponsorship ended in 2018—but local brews remain plentiful. Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd learned of the name change during his Thursday radio show, now staged outdoors at St. Philips Plaza. The program will conclude March 15, Selection Sunday, minutes before the NCAA bracket is revealed.

Arizona entered the night with a program-record 29 regular-season victories, eclipsing the 28-win campaigns of 1987-88, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2021-22. Whether the Wildcats can convert that balance into a deep March run remains the next question, but in Boulder they left behind memories of overwhelming fan support, a community’s shared grief and students toasting bargain beers.