Brooks: Has CU Taken The Guesswork Out Of Selection Sunday?

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - No one out-guesses the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee, but by late Thursday afternoon here in a jubilant Colorado locker room the guesses were rampant - and most of them were educated.

For the third time this season, CU had put away Kansas State, with Win No. 3 coming in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference postseason tournament. Considering the spoils, it was the most impressive win of the three, the fifth-seeded Buffaloes securing a first-time spot in the Big 12 semifinals against top-seeded Kansas (5 p.m. MST, Friday).

By most accounts - but remember, the only account that matters belongs to the NCAA Selection Committee - the Buffs also secured their first NCAA berth since 2003 and only the third in 41 years. CU now has wins against four Top 25 teams and six wins against teams in the Top 50 RPI. K-State, the No. 4 Big 12 seed, entered the tournament on an impressive roll, having won seven of its past eight games with the only loss in that stretch occurring in Boulder (58-56).

If the Buffs did what was required of them to reach the Big 12 quarterfinals, outlasting Iowa State 77-75 on Wednesday, they boldly one-upped themselves on Thursday against K-State, punishing the Wildcats in the final minutes of an 87-75 win.

KSU Coach Frank Martin could do little but pay homage: "Lot of credit to Colorado . . . they took it to us. We couldn't defend them. They beat us three times, so they're just better than we are. There's no ifs, ands or buts about it. It's been proven on the floor."

CU players conceded their chances of cavorting in next week's Big Dance climbed after Thursday's win. "I think we have a pretty strong case now," said senior Levi Knutson, "but we're trying to stay focused on this tournament. One of our goals as a team was to win a championship; this is a huge opportunity to do that. We'll see what happens."

Added senior guard Cory Higgins: "I think we have a very strong argument (for the NCAA Tournament). But we're just focused on one game at a time; we're still here to win the tournament."

If the Buffs can accomplish that, the Selection Sunday suspense settles elsewhere. The Big 12 tournament winner receives one of 31 automatic berths in the 68-team field.

"My only thought is if we win it, there's ain't no thought . . . that's your ticket-puncher right there," said sophomore guard Shannon Sharpe.

True, but Thursday's win - largely directed by Higgins' second-half heroics (19 of his 29 points in the last 20 minutes) - looks to be CU's insurance policy. The Buffs haven't beaten the Jayhawks since 2003, losing 17 straight since.

CU Coach Tad Boyle, a 1985 KU grad, called the Jayhawks "a juggernaut in so many ways. You have to try and get to their shooters as best you can, they spread the floor, they're strong inside . . . they're just a good team. What are they, 30-2? But you've got to play the game, and the way these guys are playing right now, the way they're feeling good about themselves . . . I love our team."

There was a lot to love about Higgins, the long-suffering senior who said he "can't put into words" what the prospect of reaching the NCAA Tournament means to him. "This is the highest point I've been at in my college career. Just to experience this with these guys around me, especially the people who've been through it, and especially after the lows of Colorado basketball . . ."

In the final 3 minutes Thursday, when K-State twice closed to within a point, Higgins said Boyle "pulled us in and told us we had been battling adversity this whole year, so those next couple of minutes weren't going to be anything we hadn't seen.

"We just stuck together - that was the biggest thing. We were still confident we were going to get the win, as long as we got back to what we did well."

Alec Burks, who backed up Higgins with 24 points (Burks has 53 in CU's two games here), said Higgins "showed everybody what I've been talking about all year; he's one of the best players in the country and he doesn't get a lot of credit for what he does. But he proved it in the second half by leading us, taking us on his back and getting us this win."

As much as Higgins did for CU offensively, he might have been prouder of the defensive clamp he applied to K-State guard Jacob Pullen. Boyle had told his players they would have to match the intensity and physical play of Martin's team, which looked to Pullen to provide the spark in both areas.

Pullen scored a team-best 18 points (forward Curtis Kelly also had 18), but he hit only six of his 19 field goal attempts and was 3-for-11 from the three-point arc. Higgins was a ball-and-chain for Pullen.

"He was complaining to the refs a lot, saying he was bumped and all," Higgins said. "My goal was to make him as uncomfortable as I could. He's a great player and you can't let him get into his zone, because when he's there, there's nothing you can do about it.

"That was a point of emphasis in this game - try to take Pullen out of his game as much as possible and me guarding him this game was going to be a big part of that. I was focused in on the defensive end and I was going to let the offense take care of itself."

As is becoming the custom, CU entrusted Roberson with most of the board work. He responded with 14 rebounds, giving him 29 in two games here and his 11th time this season with 10 or more. He also scored 11 points, giving him 20 points in two games.

The 6-foot-7 Roberson also delivered what Boyle called "a big-time block" in the final seconds (he had three for the game). "He's growing up fast," Boyle said.

Added Burks: "He's showing the country what he can do. He's one of the best rebounders in the country and he's proving that every day. (K-State) thrives off of second-chance shots, but with him getting the rebounds that didn't happen."

Four of Roberson's double-figure rebounding efforts have come in CU's past five games. He's obviously acclimated himself to play at this level - and he's not surprised. "That was my idea of what I wanted to do . . . it's just good that it happened, you know?" he said. "It's a great accomplishment and hopefully I can keep it going."

From their first two meetings with the Wildcats, the Buffs knew they were playing what Boyle described as "the Big 12's most physical team." Matching that was CU's challenge, and Boyle kept the challenge going all game long, updating rebounding statistics and shooting percentages at timeouts and pushing his players.

"I knew it was what we had to do, knowing they're physical inside and the refs were going to let a lot of stuff go," Roberson said. "I just knew we had to get in there and grind it out with them."

Burks said K-State "tried to punk us . . . we fought back and showed that we're tough, too. We were tough enough to win."

"We've played good basketball against them," Knutson added. "We beat a good team three times. We had to grind it out, rebound, defend . . . and execute against their pressure defense. Each game was a good win for us."

KU comes next and improbable as Jayhawks fans consider, the Buffs would like nothing more than win their first Big 12 championship on their way to the Pac-12. "We've done a lot of special things over the conference season - 21 wins, beating some tops team," sophomore forward Austin Dufault said. "But we've got a lot to add on if we can go out and get that one (Friday).

"It always comes down to the (selection) committee; you never know which way the committee is going to go. We can't be satisfied with just winning two here. Go out (Friday) and play hungry like we have the last two games . . . who knows?"

Reaching the Big 12 semifinals, said Sharpe, "feels special, but I feel like we ain't done yet. We got a lot more to do."

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU