LAWRENCE, Kan.—It would have been the biggest lead Kansas ever game up in a loss. It was almost one of the most stirring victories in Colorado’s basketball history.
Instead, it turned out to be the Jayhawks’ 40th victory in 41 games over the plucky Buffaloes, their 27th consecutive victory against Colorado in Allen Fieldhouse, and a narrow escape that left 16,000 Kansas fans gasping for air.
Saturday’s 66-61 squeaker stretched Kansas’ home court winning streak to 36 games, the longest in the nation, and wasn’t assured until Tyrel Reed’s 3-pointer halted the Colorado comeback and Sherron Collins scored his team’s last four points.
“Fortunately, we didn’t lose,” said Collins, who suffered through one of his worst shooting games of the year.
The Jayhawks (17-4, 6-0 Big 12) scored only 25 points in the second half and went more than 7 minutes in one stretch without a field goal.
“I thought we adjusted well,” said Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik. “So we grew as a young basketball team. And the most important thing is to understand the difference in the two halves.”
The Buffaloes (9-11, 1-5) nearly overcame a 21-point second-half deficit while gunning for their first win in Lawrence in 26 years. Kansas seemed comfortably in front of the 20-point underdogs when Markieff Morris’ 3-point play made it 46-25 less than a minute into the second half.
But then Cory Higgins hit five straight points and the Buffaloes went on a 27-8 run to get within two points.
Reed’s 3-pointer gave Kansas a 57-52 lead with 5:43 left.
“I was worried, obviously,” said Kansas coach Bill Self. “Tyrel made the 3 and that let us breathe. I felt like all along we were going to win the game. But we had lost all momentum. We didn’t have any juice defensively. We didn’t create havoc and we let them get comfortable. I bet you they scored 10 possessions with the shot clock under 8 seconds.”
Dwight Thorne’s bucket made it 64-61, but then Collins, struggling with his shot all day, sank two free throws.
Cole Aldrich had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Kansas, while Collins had 11 points and Morris and Brady Morningstar had 10 each. Thorne had 18 points and Higgins 15 for Colorado.
Colorado stayed close through most of the half by hitting five straight shots at one point. But Reed and Morningstar each drilled 3-pointers in the final minute to send the Jayhawks into halftime with a 41-25 lead.
The Kansas record for the biggest lead surrendered in a loss is 20 points, and that seemed in grave danger as the Jayhawks missed shot after shot in the second half. Collins, who had been one of three players averaging more than 20 points in Big 12 play, was only 1-for-10 from behind the 3-point arc.
“We weren’t defending in the first half,” said Thorne. “We went to the locker room, made some adjustments and came out in the second half and started defending better.”
Collins, who had been one of three players averaging over 20 points in conference games, made the first bucket of the game and then missed his next seven shots before connecting on a pull-up jumper for a 52-40 lead.
A pair of free throws by Marcus Morris put Kansas on top 54-42, but Higgins made two straight steals and ignited an 8-0 run. Thorne’s jumper off an inbounds play under the basket pulled the Buffaloes to 54-50 at the 8:18 mark.
At that point, the Buffs had hit 10 of 15 second-half shots while the Jayhawks were going 5-for-17.
The lead shrank to 54-52 on Jermyl Jackson-Wilson’s bucket.
“I thought that we were going to get the win when we were down by two,” said Thorne.
Nate Tomlinson’s 3-pointer shaved the lead to 62-59 with 59 seconds left, and Colorado called time out. With 4 seconds left on the shot clock, Kansas called time. Collins then put up an off-balance shot that went in, making it 64-59. Then, with 7 seconds to go, Thorne’s bucket made it 64-61.
After a Colorado time out, Collins was deliberately fouled with 4.8 seconds to go. With a 27-straight free throw streak and the game on the line, the junior guard hit both foul shots to seal the win.
“It is a big improvement for our team,” said Jackson-Wilson. “We have to grow from this.”
