Lawrence, Kan. – That wasn’t just a drought. Colorado might have found it easier to crawl across a desert than find the basket during a miserable stretch of 15 minutes and eight seconds of the first half Wednesday night in Kansas’ 75-54 victory.
After a layup by Jayson Obazuaye answered Kansas’ opening 3-pointer, CU couldn’t have tossed the ball in an ocean, much less in the hoop. The Buffaloes missed their next 19 field-goal attempts before a walk-on, senior Scott Senger, ended the drought on a layup with 1:48 left before halftime.
By then it was 27-9.
Before Senger’s basket, Colorado had gone 1-for-23 from the field and committed 11 turnovers.
“We were soft with the ball, we were non-aggressive in the first half,” said CU sophomore guard Richard Roby, who finished with 10 points, eight below his average. “We just couldn’t score.”
That about summed it up. CU had to rally late to cut a 21-point deficit to 32-15 at the break. Playing from behind is no way to beat the nation’s 18th-ranked team – or to score points with the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
Once again digging itself in a deep hole to begin a road game, Colorado (18-8, 8-7 Big 12) had better hope the selectors notice the Buffs never quit. Running with the Jayhawks in the second half, CU pulled to within eight points (58-50) when Julius Ashby hit a hook shot with 4:49 remaining.
“I just challenged our guys to play tougher and not let (Kansas) take us out of things we wanted to do,” CU coach Ricardo Patton said.
After Ashby’s basket, Colorado had an opportunity to make things interesting when the Buffs forced a turnover. But then CU committed two turnovers and ran out of energy. The usual capacity crowd of 16,300 at Allen Fieldhouse watched Kansas outscore the visitors 14-2 to close out the game.
The Buffs lost their fifth straight road game, and this had implications. Texas A&M clinched the fourth seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament in Dallas. The Buffs will not get a first-round bye, but that may not be all bad for a team in desperate need of victories.
“We can’t worry about anybody else, just ourselves,” CU junior guard Marcus Hall said.
Kansas (21-7, 12-3) got balanced scoring, including 14 points from freshman guard Mario Chalmers. More good news arrived afterward. Kansas pulled into a tie with Texas for first place in the conference standings.
“As young as we are, we’re never going to play 40 minutes of perfect ball,” Kansas coach Bill Self said of CU’s second- half rally.
Patton tried to fire up his troops by drawing his first technical foul of the season. He charged onto the court with 7:49 left in the half and complained about a no-call when Martane Freeman fell hard after being undercut by Chalmers while trying to get a rebound.
Patton’s technical didn’t immediately help shift the momentum, but his players appreciated his fire. And perhaps it got the team focused for the second half.
“Coach P. stood up for us,” Buffs senior forward Chris Copeland said.
As bleak as the evening appeared, CU can finish in the upper tier (top six) of the league standings with a home win Saturday night over Iowa State in the regular-season finale.
COLORADO (18-8, 8-7 BIG 12)
Copeland 2-12 0-0 5, Ashby 3-5 1-2 7, Obazuaye 1-5 1-4 3, Hall 5-10 0-0 12, Roby 3-13 2-4 10, Eddy 1-4 0-1 2, Osborn 2-5 0-0 6, Senger 3-3 0-0 6, Coleman 0-0 0-0 0, Freeman 0-4 3-4 3, King-Stockton 0-3 0-0 0, McGee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-64 7-15 54.
KANSAS (21-7, 12-3 BIG 12)
Kaun 2-4 2-4 6, Moody 1-2 0-1 2, Hawkins 2-4 0-0 6, Vinson 1-4 0-0 3, Rush 4-11 2-2 13, Robinson 4-9 1-4 10, Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Case 1-1 0-0 3, Chalmers 5-8 1-2 14, Wright 2-5 3-8 7, Giles 5-7 1-1 11, Kleinmann 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 10-22 75.
Halftime – Kansas 32-15. 3-point goals – Colorado 7-25 (Osborn 2-4, Hall 2-4, Roby 2-9, Copeland 1-7, Obazuaye 0-1); Kansas 11-23 (Chalmers 3-4, Rush 3-6, Hawkins 2-4, Case 1-1, Robinson 1-3, Vinson 1-4, Moody 0-1). Fouled out – None. Rebounds – Colorado 45 (Osborn 8); Kansas 38 (Giles 8, Kaun 8). Assists – Colorado 14 (Copeland 4, Roby 4); Kansas 20 (Robinson 7). Total fouls – Colorado 14, Kansas 17.
A – 16,300.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
