BOULDER — After missing Wednesday night’s overtime loss to Kansas with a knee sprain, Colorado freshman Alec Burks made a spectacular return to the court Saturday. Missouri, however, would not allow it to become a triumphant return.
A native Missourian, Burks scored 27 points, a career best, but Missouri controlled the tempo, the baseline and the scoreboard in an 84-66 Tigers victory at the Coors Events Center.
Struggling against Missouri’s trapping defense and outmuscled inside, Colorado (11-12, 2-7 Big 12) led only once, at 1-0, and fell behind 42-29 by halftime.
Colorado drew another good crowd but fans had little to cheer about. CU’s top scorer for the season, junior guard Cory Higgins, fouled out on a charging call with 5:29 remaining. He had 15 points. The Buffs’ third scoring option, junior Marcus Relphorde, got in early foul trouble and failed to score a point until almost three minutes had elapsed in the second half.
Uncharacteristically, the Buffs had already committed nine turnovers by halftime. When CU was able to get the ball down the court, too often the Buffs settled for 3-pointers from the corner or midrange shots in traffic. Neither worked.
The result: numerous ragged possessions for the Buffs and a 30.4 shooting percentage in the first half.
Missouri (17-6, 5-3), which reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last spring, got a combined 43 points from sophomore guards Marcus Denmon (22) and Kim English (21). With the Tigers controlling the paint, Missouri guards didn’t have to work hard for open looks. That made for a difficult afternoon for Colorado defenders.
CU’s Burks, the 2009 Missouri (prep) Gatorade player of the year, scored eight of the Buffs’ first nine points and, with 16 points, had nearly matched his season scoring average (16.3) by halftime. But Missouri connected on 5-for-8 3-pointers in the first half and remained in control.
Colorado’s Jeff Bzdelik coached the game with a heavy heart. He was scheduled to leave immediately afterward to fly to Chicago for the funeral of his mother, Ruth, who died Thursday.
The Buffs have a mid-week open date and do not return to action until Saturday at Kansas State.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
