Colorado
20-12
Iowa State (First Round)
16-16
Burks Leads CU To Comeback Win, Keeps Tourney Hopes Alive
March 09, 2011 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Sophomore Alec Burks led a frantic second-half comeback against Iowa State here Wednesday, keeping Colorado's NCAA Tournament hopes intact. Burks scored 29 points - 25 of them in the second half - as fifth-seeded CU eliminated No. 12 seed Iowa State 77-75 in the first round of the Big 12 Conference postseason tournament.
CU faces No. 4 seed Kansas State Thursday at 1 p.m. (MST). The Buffs advanced to the Big 12 tournament's quarterfinal round for the first time since 2007-08, when as the No. 12 seed they upset No. 5 seed Baylor (91-84, 2 OTs).
CU (20-12) now has its fifth 20-win season in school history. The last came in 2005-06 (20-10), and that season also marked the Buffs' most recent postseason appearance (NIT).
Despite a stretch of 6-plus minutes without a field goal, the Buffs trailed only 28-26 at halftime - and it was the lowest scoring first half for either team in their two previous meetings. In their game in Boulder, CU led 49-34 at halftime; in Ames, ISU was up 38-37.
The Buffs didn't open the half like they finished it, taking an 8-2 lead on a pair of baskets each by Burks and Cory Higgins. But the Cyclones worked their back into it, taking their first lead (14-13) on a three-pointer by 6-foot-11 Jamie Vanderbeken with 13:42 before intermission.
From that point, neither team was able to pull away. The rest of the half featured one tie, six lead changes and at best reasonable facsimiles of basketball from both teams - not many actual points and no style points.
CU shot 36.7 percent from the field in the first half, ISU 34.3. The Buffs made one of five three-point attempts, the Cyclones four of 10.
After a Higgins basket at the 9:24 mark that gave his team a 20-18 lead, CU didn't get another field goal until Levi Knutson hit a reverse layup with 3:15 left before the break. Fortunately for the Buffs, the Cyclones couldn't capitalize on the offensive end - and the second 20 minutes were anybody's to claim.
Marcus Relphorde, who scored 21 points in the 5-point loss in Ames and 19 in the final regular-season win against Nebraska, was 0-for-3 from the field and got just two free throws in Wednesday's first half.
But he opened the second half with a trey, putting CU up 29-28. The next 5 minutes were a battle to see who blinked - and it was the Buffs. With Jake Anderson hitting a trey and converting a three-point play, the Cyclones took their biggest lead (40-35) with 14:38 remaining.
It was time for CU to shake itself awake, and Burks and the Buffs did. They caught and passed the Cyclones (41-40) on two free throws by Burks and a layup by freshman Andre Roberson. But over the next 6-plus minutes, Anderson scored half of his team's 18 points and the Cyclones matched their previous five-point lead (56-51).
Burks wasn't ready to pack for home, scoring 11 of CU's next 15 points and pulling the Buffs to 58-55. They closed to 58-57 on a Higgins layup before baskets by Anderson and Diante Garrett restored a five-point (62-57) ISU lead with 5:55 to play.
Time was running on CU and its NCAA aspirations.
The Buffs got to within two on three occasions before Garrett buried a three-pointer from the left wing to make it 69-64 with 3:06 left. Just over a minute later, CU closed to 70-69 on a Burks baseline jumper and a three-pointer by Knutson.
Burks stepped up again with a three-point play, tying the score at 72-72 with 1:45 left. On ISU's following possession, CU controlled the rebound on a Garrett miss and Boyle called time out with 1:19 showing. The Buffs came out of that timeout and Burks played contortionist on the baseline, hitting a short jumper to give CU its first lead (74-72) since 44-43.
Roberson rebounded a Scott Christopherson miss, but CU gave the ball back on a travel by Relphorde. ISU called time out with 34.7 seconds to play. Vanderbeken missed a long three-pointer, but the ball went out of bounds to ISU. Garrett missed again, Roberson got the rebound and was fouled.
His two free throws with 15.6 to play put CU up 76-72 - and the Buffs' comeback was almost complete.
Anderson missed his second free throw with 10.5 to play, but Higgins - fouled on the rebound - made one of his two to put the Buffs up by four again (77-73).
Anderson hit a layup to pull the Cyclones to within 77-75 with 2 seconds showing - but the Buffs were there. They inbounded the ball to Knutson and he dribbled out the final two ticks.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
