Junior guard Cory Higgins runs the ball toward the basket during Saturday's game against University of Missouri in the Coors Events Center. The Buffs lost to the Tigers 66-84. (CU Independent/Lee Pruitt)
After nearly knocking off No. 1 Kansas, CU fans were hoping for a similar effort against another Big 12 power.
Instead, the school from the Show-Me State showed the Buffs how to win, and win big, on the road.
Despite a 27-point effort from freshman guard Alec Burks, who returned to the starting lineup after missing the KU game with a sprained knee, the visiting Missouri Tigers ran the Buffs off their home court 84-66 on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Marcus Denmon led the Tigers with a career-high 22 points off the bench and sophomore Kim English poured in 21 off his own, including four three-pointers, as Missouri (17-6 overall, 5-3 in Big 12) moved into a tie with Texas for fourth place in the Big 12.
With this loss, Colorado (11-12 overall, 2-7 in Big 12) fell under .500 for the first time this season, shining an all too familiar light on a program that had hoped to turn a corner after their 9-22 campaign a year ago.
The 18-point trouncing was even more of a surprise considering how close the group played Kansas for 45 minutes on Wednesday. To both the coaches and players, it was more a result of complacency at home than an emotional hangover.
“We thought we were at home, we could just play comfortable,” Burks said following the game. “Some felt we didn’t have to work hard because we took Kansas to overtime. I don’t think we came out with the same effort as we did against Kansas.”
Associate head coach Steve McClain, who filled in for head coach Jeff Bzdelik at the press conference (Bzdelik left immediately after the game to fly to Chicago and attend his late mother’s funeral), credited Missouri for taking full advantage of CU’s lackluster effort.
“I think we got comfortable,” McClain said. “We thought we were at home and it’s been pretty good for us so it would be okay.”
He added, “Even when we got down early, I think our guys were like, ‘It will be okay’. That’s why I give Missouri credit; they put the throttle down.”
One good note for Colorado was the play of Burks, who, in his first game back from the injury, showed no signs of being a different player than the one who leads Big 12 freshman in scoring. Burks scored 16 of his 27 points in the first half when CU had multiple chances to close the gap on the early lead Mizzou built.
Freshman guard Alec Burks shoots a free throw shot during Saturday's game against University of Missouri in the Coors Events Center. The Buffs lost to the Tigers 66-84. (CU Independent/Lee Pruitt)
After back-to-back 3-point shots by freshman forward Keegan Hornbuckle and sophomore guard Nate Tomlinson closed the Tigers’ lead to 19-15 with nearly 10 minutes to play in the first half, the Buffs played swarming defense with the crowd finally energized behind them.
Junior guard Cory Higgins made a leaping block on a layup attempt but Mizzou’s Keith Ramsey scooped up the loose ball and laid it in to kill CU’s momentum.
A few minutes later both Burks and senior guard Dwight Thorne II missed easy layup attempts with a chance to cut the lead to two; after that the Tigers’ three-point barrage buried the Buffaloes’ hopes.
Missouri’s defense gave Colorado problems, especially Mizzou’s big man Keith Ramsey who garnered four of his team’s six blocks.
But it was more than the rejections themselves that kept CU’s offense from gaining any rhythm.
“The difference between tonight and other night is that we kicked the ball to wide open shooters and we drilled the shots,” McClain said. “Tonight, we kicked it and the shot wasn’t going down for them.”
He added, “If it would have, it would have eliminated some of that. When you drive it, they blocked a couple and you kick it and you can’t knock down shots, now their defense just turns it up another level.”
The Buffs will have a week to rest and recover from the past two games because of their mid-week bye.
However, they will travel to Manhattan, Kansas to face No. 11 Kansas State in the so-called “Octagon of Doom”.
While Burks and some of the younger players are confident they will bounce back from Saturday’s performance, the elder-statesman Thorne realizes the time for him and the team to make some noise in the Big 12 is running out.
“The clock is ticking,” Thorne said. “Every time I go out there I give it all I got. That’s good enough for me.”
Contact CU-Independent Staff Writer David Starcer at David.starcer@colorado.EDU.
