BOULDER — KU Night is when the politically blue city of Boulder becomes literally blue inside the Coors Events Center. CU’s effort to reduce Kansas’ fans presence changed some of that. Rarely has it been less blue here.
But here’s what never really changes — KU wins. And wins. And wins.
On Wednesday, the Buffs displayed hope for the future, but the No. 1 Jayhawks put a 72-66 overtime statement on the present.
Now Kansas has beaten Colorado 14 straight times, 41 of the last 42 overall and seven straight at the Coors Events Center. But not every Big 12 victory is an easy one, and the newly crowned top-ranked team found Colorado was unwilling to let those numbers grow without a substantial fight.
The Buffs pushed Kansas to the brink and to overtime, but the good times stopped there. Kansas scored the first seven points of the extra frame, finally played much of the kind of basketball expected of the best team in the nation, and put and end to CU’s upset bid.
It would have been the signature win of the Jeff Bzedelik era.
Instead it was CU’s 11th loss this season. A heartbreaker, given the circumstances, yet a definite sign the men’s basketball program may actually be on the mend.
Colorado was hurt by the absence of Alec Burks, the freshman phenom who is second on the team in scoring and tops in rebounds. Colorado filled the void from the 3-point line.
But not early.
Two quick 3-pointers gave CU an early 6-4 lead, but things fell apart swiftly. Cole Aldrich blocked shots on one end, and the Jayhawks turned them into points on the other. By the time Colorado could gather itself, Kansas had gone on a 20-2 run to turn a deficit into a 24-8 lead.
But a composed CU started to find the range.
The Buffs used a deadly stroke from behind the arc to spark a 18-6 run and climb within four at 30-26 with 3:18 left in the first half. All of this without a big contribution from the Buffs’ leading scorer, Cory Higgins, who finished the first half a frigid 1-of-7 from the field for two points.
When Levi Knutson hit two 3s to start the second half, Colorado had the game tied at 34. Kansas did what it had to do — get the ball to Aldrich in the post.
When Marcus Relphorde made a layup at 2:45, the Buffs were down just one at 59-58. With less than a minute left, two Relphorde free throws gave CU a 60-59 lead. Sherron Collins hit one of two free throws with 37 seconds left that eventually sent the game to overtime.
