BOULDER — All former NBA player and executive Fred Hoiberg could do was shake his head — in both disgust and admiration.
In his first year as coach of his alma mater, Iowa State, Hoiberg had to be impressed Tuesday night when, not far from the ISU bench, Colorado sophomore guard and future pro Alec Burks drove the baseline past two Cyclone defenders and then turned, twirled and wiggled underneath for a layup just before the halftime buzzer. Burks’ basket put Colorado up by 15 points on its way to a 95-69 romp that snapped a four-game losing streak for the Buffaloes (15-8, 4-4 Big 12) and delighted those among the Coors Events Center crowd of 6,764 that braved frigid conditions to get into the arena. They were treated to CU’s most lopsided victory over Iowa State in 41 years.
“It’s good to be on the winning side; it’s been a rough couple of weeks,” CU coach Tad Boyle said.
Earlier in the week, Hoiberg had called the 6-foot-6 Burks and 6-5 CU senior guard Cory Higgins “future NBA players.” They did not disappoint. So lethal and explosive in the open court, the pair keyed a 17-0 run in the first half that put Colorado in control.
Burks, considered a probable NBA first-round draft choice, finished with 19 points, just about reaching his season average of 19.8, and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Higgins had 16 points. Both could have put up more shots if needed, but the Buffs cruised in the second half and shared the ball for 21 assists. Three different CU scoring runs added up to a 55-3 domination.
Boyle was especially pleased with his team’s 43-30 rebounding advantage, led by 13 boards from 6-7 freshman forward Andre Roberson. “We talked before the game about (rebounding) being a barometer for this team,” Boyle said.
Losing players through attrition with the coaching change, Iowa State (14-9, 1-7) had only seven scholarship players available.
“The (uptempo) pace of the game favored us; we love it,” Boyle said.
Colorado was coming off a frustrating 70-66 weekend loss at Baylor in which the Buffs led by as many as 17 points in the first half. This time CU wasn’t about to let a 49-34 halftime lead disappear.
“All the coaches mentioned (the Baylor loss) at halftime,” Higgins said. “We knew we let a big one get away (in Waco).”
Junior guard Scott Christopherson led the Cyclones with a game-high 24 points.
FG FT Reb
IS (14-9, 1-7) Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Ejim 26 0-4 3-4 2-7 1 4 3
Vanderbeken 23 2-6 0-0 0-0 0 4 5
Anderson 33 5-12 1-2 1-3 1 1 11
Garrett 38 5-14 0-0 0-4 8 2 15
Chrstphrsn 37 9-16 2-3 0-6 3 0 24
Railey 12 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 3 0
Palo 26 4-7 0-0 2-6 5 5 9
McBeth 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
McKnight 3 1-2 0-0 0-2 0 0 2
Mitchell 1 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Totals 200 26-62 6-10 5-30 18 19 69
Percentages: FG .419, FT .600. 3-point goals: 11-26, .423 (Garrett 5-8, Christopherson 4-8, Palo 1-3, Vanderbeken 1-3, Ejim 0-2, Anderson 0-2). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 3 (Railey 3). Turnovers: 17 (Anderson 6, Garrett 5, Palo 2, Ejim 2, Christopherson, Railey). Steals: 4 (Garrett 2, Palo, Vanderbeken). Technical fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
CU (15-8, 4-4) Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Dufault 13 2-4 2-2 1-2 1 5 6
Tomlinson 29 4-6 0-0 0-1 5 1 10
Relphorde 21 6-9 0-0 0-2 6 2 15
Burks 31 7-13 4-4 2-10 5 2 19
Higgins 31 6-11 3-3 1-5 1 1 16
Sharpe 17 1-4 1-2 1-3 1 1 3
Beckley 3 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
Coney 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Roberson 22 2-6 4-6 4-13 1 1 9
Knutson 26 5-9 2-2 0-3 0 1 15
Eckloff 3 0-1 2-2 0-3 0 0 2
Totals 200 33-66 18-21 9-43 21 14 95
Percentages: FG .500, FT .857. 3-point goals: 11-23, .478 (Relphorde 3-5, Knutson 3-6, Tomlinson 2-4, Burks 1-1, Higgins 1-2, Roberson 1-2, Eckloff 0-1, Sharpe 0-2). Team rebounds: 0. Blocked shots: 3 (Burks 2, Roberson). Turnovers: 12 (Higgins 3, Burks 3, Tomlinson 2, Knutson 2, Roberson, Relphorde). Steals: 7 (Relphorde 2, Knutson 2, Tomlinson, Burks, Dufault). Technical fouls: None.
Iowa State 34 35 — 69
Colorado 49 46 — 95
A — 6,764. Officials —Scott Thornley, Randy Heimermann, Terry Oglesby.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
