Boulder – The good news Saturday for Colorado – and there hasn’t been much of it this season – was limiting Kansas State to 34.6 percent shooting and 29 points in the first half.
The bad news? K-State hit 66.7 percent after halftime, breaking down CU defenders with dribble-drive penetration.
“We played a pretty good defensive half in the first half,” CU coach Ricardo Patton said. “Unfortunately, in the second half …”
Not so much.
The result, an 87-71 Wildcats victory, added to Colorado’s last-place misery and provided milestones for the visitors. Under first-year coach Bob Huggins, Kansas State (20-9, 9-5 Big 12) clinched a winning conference record for the first time in the 11 years of the Big 12.
K-State reached 20 victories for the first time since 1999. More important than rewriting the record books was earning a fourth Big 12 road victory in seven tries. If Kansas State remains a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament, as many college basketball observers project, those conference road wins will go a long way with the selection committee.
“I can’t imagine, in this league, that we hit double-digit league wins and over 20 (total) and don’t get in,” said Huggins, after Kansas State swept its annual home-and-home series with CU for the first time since 1992.
If Patton had a vote, he certainly wouldn’t keep out the Wildcats. And he pities the team that draws Kansas State in an early round. K-State’s aggressive man-to-man defense helped force 17 Colorado turnovers.
Losing their fifth game in a row, the Buffaloes (6-18, 2-12) didn’t have enough to keep up. They got a game-best 26 points from junior guard Richard Roby but managed just 37.1 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.
“They don’t make the ‘all-airport team,”‘ Patton said, referring to Kansas State’s lack of size and power. “(But) there won’t be any team in the NCAA that plays with more toughness.”
Colorado led 30-29 at halftime, but that’s all the fun the gritty opponents would allow. Kansas State quieted the Coors Events Center crowd of 4,582 by opening the second half with an 18-4 run, which included 13 unanswered points.
Losing a school-record ninth home game, CU yielded 58 points in the second half, many coming on slashing drives from a bouncy K-State lineup that scurries around like five perimeter players. Jermaine Maybank (twice) and David Hoskins produced a trio of old-fashioned three-point plays after they were fouled on layups during a 1 1/2-minute flurry midway through the second half.
KANSAS STATE (20-9, 9-5 BIG 12)
Hoskins 7-10 6-8 21, Colon 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 3-9 1-2 8, Stewart 5-10 3-4 16, Wright 2-4 0-0 4, Patzwald 0-0 0-0 0, Young 4-6 5-6 13, Afeli 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 4-9 9-11 19, Maybank 2-3 2-2 6, Merriewether 0-1 0-0 0, Yearby 0-0 0-0 0, Kent 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-53 26-33 87.
COLORADO (6-18, 2-12)
Williams 2-3 0-0 4, Jackson-Wilson 1-5 1-2 3, King-Stockton 1-2 3-4 5, Coleman 4-6 0-0 8, Roby 8-17 8-11 26, Thorne 2-6 0-0 5, Silas 5-9 4-4 17, Van Burck 0-1 0-0 0, Kowal 0-1 0-2 0, Bay 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 24-53 16-23 71.
Halftime – Colorado 30-29. 3-point goals – Kansas State 7-21 (Stewart 3-4, Martin 2-5, Hoskins 1-2, Harris 1-6, Maybank 0-1, Kent 0-1, Wright 0-1, Young 0-1), Colorado 7-17 (Silas 3-5, Roby 2-5, Thorne 1-2, Bay 1-3, Coleman 0-1, Williams 0-1). Fouled out – King-Stockton, Wright. Rebounds – Kansas State 26 (Hoskins 5), Colorado 34 (Coleman 8). Assists – Kansas State 12 (Hoskins 4), Colorado 17 (Coleman 4). Total fouls – Kansas State 21, Colorado 25. A – 4,582.
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
