BOULDER — A day after complaining to reporters that the Colorado men’s basketball program would never be on a level playing field with other Big 12 Conference schools until it gets more facility upgrades and a strength-and-conditioning expert, Buffaloes coach Jeff Bzdelik sounded less frustrated and more optimistic about the future Saturday after his team played well in spurts against Kansas.
But in the end, Colorado (8-8, 0-2 Big 12) lost 73-56 while shooting 37.2 percent with 18 turnovers. So it wasn’t like Bzdelik was ready to throw a party or anything.
“When I leave here, I’m going to find a treadmill and run for an hour,” Bzdelik said during his postgame news conference. “We’re young. We’re going to take our lumps. Kansas is a top-tier team in this league. We’ve got a chance to win some games. . . . My staff has gotten me some stress balls.”
A Coors Events Center crowd of 10,212 was a season high and appeared equally divided among CU and Kansas fans, including one Jayhawks supporter who held up a poster that read: “Welcome to Allen Fieldhouse.”
But Colorado, getting 20 points from sophomore guard Cory Higgins, did quiet the KU fans for a spell. CU led by as many as five points in the first half. And after trailing 34-27 at halftime, the Buffs scored the first five points after the break. But as Kansas seems to do without much effort, the Jayhawks turned on the jets and answered every challenge with a run.
The Jayhawks finished the first half with a 15-4 spurt. And after Colorado pulled to within two points in the early minutes of the second half, Kansas converted turnovers into layups and went on an 18-4 run, making everything that followed inconsequential.
“We always seem to struggle out here,” said Kansas coach Bill Self, who returned only one of his top seven players from last season. That returnee, junior guard Sherron Collins, scored 18 points and dished out seven assists in his new role of point guard and caretaker for a slew of newcomers.
Kansas (13-4, 2-0) also committed 18 turnovers. At times, the Jayhawks struggled to recognize CU’s switching to 1-3-1 and 2-3 zones. But through the offensive sloppiness, Kansas’ annoying man-to-man defense remained a constant.
The Buffs made only a third of their shots in the second half. Meanwhile, Kansas enjoyed a 61.4-percent shooting effort, including a blistering 69.6 percent after halftime.
“We competed a lot more (than in a 107-62 loss Wednesday at Missouri),” Higgins said. “But it’s the same old things — taking care of the ball and offensive rebounds.”
If nothing else, Colorado may have found a center. Trey Eckloff, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Cherry Creek High School, came off the bench and played a season-high 25 minutes, getting three points and a team-best six rebounds. Eckloff also got a whale of an indoctrination from 6-11, 245-pound sophomore Cole Al-drich (15 points, 10 rebounds).
“His level of talent is just yards beyond anyone else we’ve played,” Eckloff said of Aldrich. “It’s a great learning experience for me.”
KANSAS (13-4, 2-0 BIG 12)
Aldrich 6-6 3-6 15, Collins 5-14 4-4 18, Morningstar 1-2 0-1 2, Taylor 6-7 1-2 14, Little 0-0 0-0 0, Teahan 0-1 0-0 0, Reed 4-6 0-1 11, Mark.Morris 1-3 1-2 3, Marc.Morris 4-5 1-3 10. Totals 27-44 10-19 73.
COLORADO (8-8, 0-2)
Jackson-Wilson 3-5 0-0 6, Dufault 4-9 2-4 10, Tomlinson 0-2 0-0 0, Higgins 3-8 12-12 20, Thorne II 4-9 1-1 10, Kelley 1-4 4-4 7, Crawford 0-1 0-0 0, Eckloff 1-5 0-2 3. Totals 16-43 19-23 56.
Halftime — Kansas 34-27. 3-point goals — Kansas 9-17 (Collins 4-7, Reed 3-5, Marc.Morris 1-1, Taylor 1-2, Mark.Morris 0-1, Teahan 0-1), CU 5-16 (Higgins 2-4, Eckloff 1-2, Thorne II 1-3, Kelley 1-3, Crawford 0-1, Tomlinson 0-1, Dufault 0-2). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Kansas 31 (Aldrich 10), CU 21 (Eckloff 6). Assists — Kansas 19 (Collins 7), CU 8 (Thorne II 3). Total fouls — KU 22, CU 20. A — 10,212.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
