Second-half slip earns CU fifth consecutive loss
The Colorado Buffaloes fell short of a victory in the second half of their conference game against the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks Saturday in Boulder.
Head coach Jeff Bzdelik said that his team fought, but it wasn’t quite enough to beat the talented Jayhawks (21-1, 6-1).
“We played hard, we competed, and we just came up short,” Bzdelik said.
The Buffs were neck and neck with the Jayhawks in the first half. They held onto a lead over the No. 2 team in the country for just under the first 15 minutes of the game.
The game was tied 30-30 at halftime.
Senior guard Richard Roby said that coming out of halftime, the Buffs missed several opportunities to score, which allowed the Jayhawks to go on an 8-0 run to begin the half.
“We didn’t convert on three great opportunities coming out, and that got us down a little bit, and they got a couple steals and fast breaks. That’s what they thrive on,” Roby said.
Roby scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Bzdelik said the Buffs fought to keep the score close, but they were not able to keep pace with the deeper Kansas squad towards the end of the game.
The final score was 72-59.
Senior guard Marcus Hall said he is tired of moral victories, but was still pleased with how hard the Buffs played against a good team.
“Everybody fought,” Hall said. “I guess you’ve got to take something out of it, and I think everybody on the team fought, from the first man to the last man.”
Hall played the entire 40 minutes of the game, and he finished with 13 points and five assists.
Bzdelik said that he told his team to enjoy playing in a nationally-televised game against the No. 2 team in the country. He added that “no regrets” was the Colorado coaching staff’s first message to the team.
“I thought it was a great environment, both teams playing hard and playing some good basketball,” Bzdelik said. “You know, we came up short, but I enjoyed that experience, and I told my team to embrace this experience too.”
The Buffs were a bit shorthanded against the Jayhawks, as sophomore guard Xavier Silas was on the sideline for the Big 12 match-up.
Bzdelik said that Silas’s absence from the game was the decision of the coaches, and declined to elaborate any further.
“It was a coaches’ decision,” Bzdelik said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
The loss to Kansas drops the Buffs’ record to 9-12, and 1-6 in Big 12 play.
The Buffs will travel to Stillwater, Okla., to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Wednesday.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brad Cochi at Bradley.Cochi@thecampuspress.com
