PALM DESERT, Calif. — Tad Boyle and Chris Gerlufsen were not full of Thanksgiving cheer.

During the first half of Colorado’s 79-69 victory on Thursday against San Francisco, the Buffaloes’ head coach and his counterpart for the Dons shared a heated exchange along the sideline.

What made the war of words even more unusual is the two coaches were chirping at one another while live action was ensuing on the court. And thanks to a thin crowd at the Acrisure Holiday Classic, their voices were clearly audible. The pair shared a lengthy, if less terse, discussion during the postgame handshakes, and afterward Boyle addressed the matter outside the CU locker room at Acrisure Arena.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for their coach, I’ve got a lot of respect for their players,” Boyle said. “It was a hard-fought, heated game. When players talk to you as a coach, you can’t talk back. At least I don’t think you should talk back as a coach. He told me after the game he felt like one of our players was talking to him. I addressed that with our players in the locker room. But I’ve been coaching Division I basketball for 31 years, I’ve never talked an opposing player. I’m not going to start now.

“It got heated. But we talked about it after the game. It’s all good. You’ve just got to move on. Sometimes things happen in the heat of battle that maybe shouldn’t happen. But they do and you have to reconcile that when the game’s over. We did that. So we move on.”

Versatility

Sebastian Rancik was recruited as the heir apparent to 2024 NBA first-round pick Tristan da Silva as a big wing who could do a little bit of everything in the inside-outside dynamic.

Rancik is filling that bill, as is fellow forward Bangot Dak.

Both players enjoyed strong all-around games in the Buffs’ win against San Francisco, with the 6-foot-11 Rancik countering a 2-for-9 showing from the floor by knocking down a pair of 3-pointers while matching a career-high with nine rebounds.

Dak went just 6-for-14, but he finished with 13 points, five rebounds and a career-high six assists without committing a turnover. Dak’s three offensive rebounds tied the second-highest total of his career.

“(Dak) is starting to understand the game and play the game the way it’s supposed to be played,” Boyle said. “Sebastian had zero rebounds our first game. He led us in rebounding with nine (against San Francisco). What I’m doing is trying to challenge each guy in certain areas to say this where you can get better, this is how you can help the team win. We know Sebastian can score. We know BD can catch lobs and dunk them. We know he can protect the rim. It’s what else can you do to help this team? And BD’s six assists and Seby’s nine rebounds helped us win. When those guys start really expanding their games, which they’re doing kind of before our eyes, the sky’s the limit for this team.”

Turnover turnaround

With the addition of point guard Barrington Hargress from UC Riverside, the Buffs expected to be an improved squad from the one that led the Big 12 in turnovers last season. But the early returns regarding ball security have even surprised Boyle.

CU committed just seven turnovers against San Francisco, the Buffs’ lowest total since recording seven in consecutive games late in the 2023-24 season. Of those seven turnovers, three occurred on offensive fouls. Another came on a shot clock violation on a possession in which CU actually put up a decent shot that ended in an airball.

Thursday marked CU’s third single-digit turnover total in six games. The Buffs had one single-digit turnover total in 35 games last year.

“We’re really taking care of the ball and making good decisions,” Boyle said. “We’ve got to continue to play together. We’re still taking too many bad shots. We’ve got to eliminate those. But 19 assists, (seven) turnovers, you give yourself a chance to win some games when you do that.”

Notable

CU guard Felix Kossaras recorded a career-high three steals. … Freshman guard Isaiah Johnson went 1-for-2 on 3-pointers and is 11-for-19 (.579) from the arc this season. … The Buffs will play former Pac-12 rival Washington in the Acrisure Holiday Classic championship game after the Huskies defeated Nevada 83-66. CU won its last three games against the Huskies.