AUSTIN, Texas — Freshman guard Avery Bradley scored 29 points, hit 12-of-14 shots and grabbed nine rebounds in his Big 12 debut, leading No. 2 Texas to a 103-86 victory over Colorado (9-6, 0-1) on Saturday.
“What can I say? He was terrific,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said of the 6-foot-2 Bradley. “Avery’s explosive. He’s quick. He’s as fast as anybody we’ve had in a long time.”
Before Saturday, Bradley’s season high was a 20-point game in a victory over North Carolina.
Senior forward Damion James contributed 20 points and 14 rebounds as Texas improved to 15-0 for the first time since the 1932-33 season.
For Colorado, it was just another afternoon of road woes. The Buffaloes dropped their 22nd consecutive road game overall and their 30th in the Big 12.
Marcus Relphorde scored 24 points for the Buffaloes, but he also was one of four Colorado players to foul out in a four-minute stretch of the second half as Texas put the game away.
Early on, CU looked like a team determined to end its run of road futility. The Buffaloes made 12 of their first 17 shots. But even with that kind of shooting, they couldn’t keep Texas from building a big lead.
Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said the problem was trying to guard Bradley while also trying to stop James and 6-10 Dexter Pittman near the basket.
The Buffaloes stopped Pittman — he was in foul trouble the entire game and finished with just four points — but the others can take over a game.
“We didn’t disrespect Avery by leaving him open, we just couldn’t get to him in time because we were helping out in the paint,” Bzdelik said. “They have just so many weapons.”
CU shaved Texas’ lead early in the second half and kept it close for a while. Bradley fouled Alec Burks on a dunk, and the three-point play made it 59-50. But Bradley also kept making the baskets that held off the Buffaloes.
“It made it tough,” Relphorde said. “They were a real physical team.”
FG FT Reb
COLORADO Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Harris-Tunks 13 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 5 2
Tomlinson 23 2-4 2-3 0-1 6 3 7
Relphorde 27 8-13 5-5 2-5 0 5 24
Burks 31 8-16 5-6 1-6 0 3 21
CHiggins 33 6-10 3-4 0-2 2 1 15
Thorne 24 2-3 3-4 0-1 3 0 8
Knutson 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Dufault 9 0-2 1-2 0-0 1 5 1
Crawford 10 2-4 1-2 1-3 0 2 6
Hornbuckle 12 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Eckloff 10 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 5 2
Totals 200 30-56 20-26 6-23 13 29 86
Percentages: FG .536, FT .769. 3-point goals: 6-15, .400 (Relphorde 3-6, Thorne 1-1, Crawford 1-3, Tomlinson 1-3, Burks 0-1, C. Higgins 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 3 (Thorne, Burks, Eckloff). Turnovers: 15 (Relphorde 4, Dufault 2, C. Higgins 2, Eckloff 2, Tomlinson 2, Burks 2, Hornbuckle). Steals: 4 (Relphorde, Hornbuckle, Harris-Tunks, C. Higgins). Technical fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
TEXAS Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
James 28 9-16 1-5 6-14 0 5 20
Pittman 12 2-4 0-0 0-1 0 3 4
Bradley 36 12-14 2-3 3-9 3 2 29
Balbay 16 1-2 1-1 1-2 5 3 3
Mason 10 0-1 0-0 1-2 3 1 0
Johnson 28 5-7 6-9 1-3 0 2 16
Lucas 14 2-4 2-2 0-0 1 0 6
Wangmene 10 1-2 4-6 2-2 0 1 6
Hill 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Hamilton 29 3-9 5-6 3-5 1 4 12
Brown 15 2-7 2-2 1-1 5 3 7
Totals 200 37-67 23-34 18-39 18 24 103
Percentages: FG .552, FT .676. 3-point goals: 6-12, .500 (Bradley 3-3, James 1-1, Brown 1-3, Hamilton 1-4, Lucas 0-1). Team rebounds: 0. Blocked shots: 1 (Pittman). Turnovers: 11 (Pittman 3, Balbay 3, James 2, Johnson, Bradley, Lucas). Steals: 5 (Wangmene 2, Hamilton, Lucas, Balbay). Technical fouls: None.
Colorado 42 44 — 86
Texas 57 46 — 103
A — 15,146. Officials — Michael Eggers, Damon Jones, James Breeding.
