OKLAHOMA CITY — Freshman forward Austin Dufault and his Colorado teammates won’t waste any time getting back into the weight room.
It could be today, perhaps — once the soreness wears off from banging into Texas junior center Dexter Pittman during a 67-56 loss Wednesday to the Longhorns in a first-round game of the Big 12 Tournament at the Ford Center.
Pittman, who dunked his way to a career-best 26 points and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds, goes 6-feet-10 and 298 pounds and plays even bigger. He has shed almost 75 pounds of baby fat and replaced much of it with muscle since arriving in Austin in 2006.
“It’s time to start eating and start lifting,” said the 6-8, 210-pound Dufault, who was preparing for a Class B high school regional in North Dakota at this time last year. “When you’re watching the Big 12 on TV, you can’t tell how big and strong these teams are. You can’t prepare for how physical it is.”
Certainly not against a mountain of a man like Pittman.
“That’s probably the closest we’re going to get to playing against Shaquille O’Neal,” said CU freshman forward Trey Eckloff, who needs to add some girth to his 6-9, 225-pound frame.
Pittman entered the game averaging 9.2 points. Improving by the week, he looked unstoppable.
Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik tried five different players on Pittman. The problem was, CU defenders allowed Pittman to catch the ball too deep.
“We were unable to double-team him,” Bzdelik said. “We weren’t very forceful on him. We’re not physical enough.”
The No. 5 seed, Texas (21-10) advanced into a quarterfinal game today against fourth-seeded Kansas State.
Colorado (9-22) depends heavily on guard Cory Higgins, who entered the game ranked fifth (17.8) among Big 12 scorers. The usually steady sophomore had scored a career-best 34 points in the earlier meeting with Texas, an 85-76 overtime loss, but couldn’t get to the rim this time. He finished with a season-low five points on 1-for-11 shooting.
COLORADO (9-22)
Jackson-Wilson 4-9 0-0 8, Dufault 1-2 0-0 2, Tomlinson 2-5 0-0 5, Higgins 1-11 3-4 5, Thorne II 4-11 5-5 15, Veal 1-3 4-4 6, Knutson 3-5 4-4 11, Crawford 1-2 2-2 4, Eckloff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-48 18-19 56.
TEXAS (21-10)
Pittman 9-13 8-12 26, Abrams 4-6 2-2 10, Balbay 0-3 2-2 2, James 4-13 2-2 11, Mason 2-3 2-3 6, Johnson 3-9 1-3 7, Smith 0-2 1-2 1, Atchley 2-3 0-0 4, Chapman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 18-26 67.
Halftime — Texas 35-29. 3-point goals — Colorado 4-17 (Thorne II 2-5, Knutson 1-2, Tomlinson 1-4, Dufault 0-1, Higgins 0-5), Texas 1-6 (James 1-3, Smith 0-1, Atchley 0-1, Abrams 0-1). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — Colorado 30 (Jackson-Wilson, Knutson 6), Texas 38 (James 11). Assists — Colorado 6 (Higgins, Tomlinson 2), Texas 10 (Balbay 3). Total fouls — Colorado 19, Texas 14. A — 15,413.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
