Lincoln, Neb. – Nebraska opened up a 10-0 lead and never let Colorado get closer than eight points on the way to a 71-50 victory Saturday.
Aleks Maric scored 28 points for the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska took advantage of six Colorado turnovers to open the game, going up 10-0 on J.R. Strowbridge’s 3-pointer with 16:17 remaining.
The Buffs (5-10, 1-4 Big 12) turned the ball over 14 times in the first half. Nebraska scored 16 of its 30 first-half points off turnovers.
“We had too many unforced errors,” CU coach Ricardo Patton said. “At one point I told them coaching was taken out of the game and it was up to them to make plays.”
Colorado was held scoreless for the first four minutes of the game and for almost six minutes late in the half. The Buffaloes shot 5-of-20 in the first half.
Nebraska took its largest lead of the half on a Maric layup that made the score 30-11 with 1:10 remaining.
The Huskers opened the second half with a 10-3 run, going up 40-16 on Charles Richardson Jr.’s long-distance 3-pointer with 16:23 remaining. Colorado never got closer than 19 the rest of the game.
Xavier Silas led Colorado with 13 points, and standout Richard Roby had just five points.
COLORADO (5-10, 1-4 Big 12)
Williams 3-5 1-2 7, King-Stockton 0-0 0-0 0, Coleman 6-13 0-1 12, Silas 5-12 1-2 13, Roby 1-2 3-4 5, Inge 0-0 0-0 0, Thorne 1-4 0-0 3, Van Burck 0-5 1-2 1, Jackson-Wilson 0-2 0-0 0, Perkowski 0-0 0-0 0, Beckley 3-6 0-0 9. Totals 19-49 6-11 50.
NEBRASKA (12-5, 1-2)
Maric 10-12 8-9 28, Richardson Jr. 1-4 0-0 3, Perry 1-6 2-2 4, Strowbridge 1-2 0-0 3, Anderson 2-5 0-0 5, Henry 0-1 0-0 0, Marks 2-3 0-0 4, Smith 1-2 0-0 3, Velander 1-1 0-1 3, J. White 7-15 4-5 18, Nelson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-52 14-17 71.
Halftime – NU 30-13. 3-point goals – CU 6-22 (Beckley 3-5, Silas 2-7, Thorne 1-4, Coleman 0-3, Van Burck 0-3), NU 5-18 (Velander 1-1, Smith 1-2, Strowbridge 1-2, Anderson 1-2, Richardson Jr. 1-4, J. White 0-3, Perry 0-4). Fouled out – Jackson-Wilson. Rebounds – CU 34 (Coleman, Silas 7), NU 27 (Maric 8). Assists – CU 7 (Coleman 5), NU 18 (Perry, Richardson Jr. 4). Total fouls – CU 19, NU 12. A – 11,382.
