Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
14-7, 3-3
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Kansas
19-1, 4-1
Jayhawks Hold Off Buffs In Final Minute Of Final Visit
January 25, 2011 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER - Unless an agreement is reached on a future non-conference game, Kansas has made its final basketball stop in Boulder. No more "Rock Cha-a-a-a-l-k J-a-a-a-y-hawk" at the Coors Events Center. No more throaty Jayhawks fans often half-packing the arena. And no more home Colorado losses to a powerful, efficient opponent that rarely beats itself.
The Buffaloes should know; they've been banging their horns against the hardwood for what seems like forever in this series. They did it again Tuesday night, rallying from 10-point deficits in both halves but never quite overtaking the Jayhawks in an 82-78 Big 12 Conference loss.
For the second consecutive game, the Events Center was sold out (11,203) and wacked out. CU Coach Tad Boyle called the fans "absolutely great . . . our fans have been unbelievable. The game atmosphere is what it's supposed to be about."
Nevertheless, CU lost its first home game this season (11-1) and dropped its 16th straight game to KU, which has won 43 of the last 44 games in the series and lead it 120-39. The Buffs' last win against the Jayhawks was 60-59 in Boulder on Jan. 22, 2003. With CU heading for the Pac-12 Conference next season, there's only a Feb. 19 trip to Lawrence, Kan., remaining for a final chance at defeating KU.
Tuesday night's loss marked CU's third consecutive in Big 12 play after a stellar 3-0 start. But Boyle isn't into streaks - winning or losing - and that's probably a good thing. Rather, Boyle is into measuring his team's day-to-day, week-to-week progress, and always with an eye on the schedule.
"We'll never be happy with this result," he said as the building was emptying Tuesday night, "but I'll go to the end with these guys, with that kind of effort . . . we took a step forward tonight even though it didn't show up in the final score."
Had the Buffs' effort at Oklahoma matched Tuesday night's, they would have another win. "We lost to a hell of a team (KU)," Boyle said. "We get that kind of effort, focus, intensity . . . if we had it in Norman last Saturday, the results would be different."
As it is, the Buffs now are 14-7 and 3-3, with a trip to Baylor looming Saturday. "The resiliency of this team will be tested," Boyle noted.
His bunch wasn't short on that against No. 6 KU, which was trying to rebound from a rare home loss last weekend against Texas that dropped the Jayhawks (19-1, 4-1) from No. 2 to this week's position. The Buffs rallied from a 27-17 deficit in the first half to trail 43-39 at halftime, then came back from a 69-59 second-half deficit to close to 78-76 with 31.6 seconds to play.
But KU isn't an easy team to overtake. "It's tough playing catch-up, no matter the team - but especially against a good team like that," said CU senior Marcus Relphorde.
Realistically, there was more to this loss than an inability to come back. While the Buffs committed just six turnovers, which Boyle termed "phenomenal in a game like that," they were out-rebounded 37-23 and outworked 21-2 in second-chance points. CU finished the first half without an offensive rebound and collected just four in the second half.
Of the blatant rebounding discrepancy, CU senior Cory Higgins said, "It's all effort and heart; we've showed we can outrebound people . . . we just didn't get it done tonight."
The Jayhawks also hit 10-of-24 three-pointers, with Tyrel Reed coming in as the marked man for CU's defense. But Josh Selby (three-of-six) and Brady Morningstar (four-of-seven) each outshot Reed (two-of-eight) from beyond the arc. Still, Boyle wasn't as concerned about KU's long-range shooting as he was the put-backs.
"Second chance points - end of story," Boyle said.
"If we rebound the ball, take away their second chance points, we win that game," Higgins said.
The Buffs nearly matched the Jayhawks' three-point output, hitting 9-of-13. But KU has a dimension CU lacks: the inside presences of 6-foot-10 Markieff Morris and his 6-9 twin brother, Marcus. They collaborated for 21 points and 16 rebounds.
"You pick your poison with Kansas," Boyle said. "We talked about having a team defensive effort; what you give up sometimes is a three if your (defensive) rotations are a little late . . . that's why they're Top 10 in the country - they've got an inside and outside game."
KU had four players in double figures, led by Selby's 17. Alec Burks led CU with 25. Higgins added 19, Relphorde 15.
The Buffs stayed close to the Jayhawks early, but succumbed to a spate of three-pointers by Selby and Brady Morningstar and found themselves trailing by 10 (27-17) halfway through the first half.
KU hit half of its 14 trey attempts in the first 20 minutes, with Selby and Morningstar each going three-for-five from long range. But CU, which shot only 1-for-10 from behind the arc at Oklahoma, used the long ball to catch KU.
After they fell behind by 10 on back-to-back treys by Morningstar, the Buffs got three-pointers on three consecutive possessions by Relphorde, Levi Knutson and Higgins. That flurry brought them to within 32-28, and they tied the score at 37-37 on a jumper by Burks with 3:17 left before intermission.
But the Jayhawks answered with a pair of Selby-Morningstar treys, and when a Burks jumper on CU's final possession of the half bounded off the rim KU took a 43-39 lead to the locker room.
"We were pretty good in the first half," KU Coach Bill Self said. "Defensively, we won the entire game. But they are pretty good because they spread you and drive you - and that's what we struggled with. Offensively, we were very efficient; we had some guys make shots."
CU needed a fast, efficient start for the second half, but it didn't happen. KU went inside to Marcus Morris its first six points of the half, then called on Markieff for its next basket.
When Morningstar canned his fourth trey of the game, the Jayhawks' lead had climbed back to 10 (56-56) with 14:27 to play. But the Buffs were far from done.
Burks scored a conventional three-point play (his layup was awarded on a goal tending call before hitting the free throw) and CU crept back to within 61-57 with 9:48 remaining. Then the Buffs cut the deficit to 75-72 on a three-pointer by Relphorde with 2:43 left.
CU finally closed to 78-76 when Burks sank a pair of free throws with 31.6 seconds to play. But the Jayhawks got four free throws from Reed and Marcus Morris in the final half minute to make it a two possession game. Â A final frustrating chapter to the CU-KU series in Boulder was finished.
"We always want Kansas," Relphorde said, "but especially right now that we're leaving (the Big 12). It's the last time we're going to get them at home. We all really wanted this one."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
