KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Will Colorado’s chances at earning its first NCAA Tournament bid in eight years be on the line in today’s Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal against Kansas State?
Or did Wednesday’s 77-75 win over Iowa State clinch an invitation?
Colorado coach Tad Boyle said he has no clue.
“I don’t know what it means; I don’t have any better answer today than I had yesterday,” he said. “It’s one of those deals where you can’t control it. You just gotta try to beat K-State.”
This much is certain: Fifth-seeded Colorado (20-12, 8-8 Big 12 regular season) absolutely, positively needed to get past No. 12 seed Iowa State for the Buffaloes to remain in the national “bracketology” conversation. And Wednesday afternoon at the Sprint Center became about as draining as it gets, even with CU sophomore guard Alec Burks seemingly carrying the team on his back with 29 points and a career-best 15 rebounds.
Iowa State (16-16, 3-13) led for much of the game and was up 70-66 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. That’s when Burks and senior guard Levi Knutson combined for what Boyle called the play of the game.
Burks drove toward the lane and attracted the attention of three Iowa State defenders. He passed the ball to Knutson, who drained a 3-pointer from the left side.
“That got us back to one (down) and got our mojo back,” Boyle said.
A jumper by Burks finally put the Buffs up, 74-72 with 1:13 to go. Colorado then made a couple of defensive stops but it still took two free throws by CU’s Andre Roberson with 15 seconds left before anybody could exhale.
Roberson is a freshman. A rebounding machine, he matched Burks with 15 boards but still needs work on his shot. He entered the game with a below-par average of 57.1 percent from the line.
“Iowa State wanted me at the foul line,” Roberson said. “I just relaxed myself and pictured that I was at practice.”
Good. Good.
“I’ve told Andre that he’s not a freshman anymore,” Knutson said. “He wasn’t scared. I knew he’d make them.”
Playing in his hometown, Burks scored 25 points in the second half as nothing Iowa State tried against him worked.
“Obviously, Burks was a difference-maker,” said ISU first-year coach Fred Hoiberg, a former NBA player and executive in the league who pegged Burks as a lottery pick whenever the sophomore decides to turn pro. “He goes in there, throws his body around and does a great job of drawing fouls.”
As good as Burks was, Iowa State’s Jake Anderson matched him — and more. A slithery 6-f0ot-2 senior guard, Anderson finished with a career-high 33 points.
CU won by outscoring Iowa State 13-5 in the final three minutes.
“I told the guys in the locker room, sometimes you gotta win unconventionally and it’s not always going to be pretty,” Boyle said.
Colorado defeated Kansas State in both regular-season meetings, sparkling gold stars for the Buffs’ NCAA resume. The 19th-ranked and fourth-seeded Wildcats (22-9, 10-6) have not lost since losing 58-56 in Boulder, winning six in a row and eight of their past nine.
“Kansas State is physical, they’re tough,” said Burks, who was recruited by the Wildcats.
Nobody said reaching the NCAA Tournament would be easy.
FG FT Reb
ISU (16-16) Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Ejim 22 1-3 0-0 4-7 0 4 2
Vanderbeken 24 2-11 1-2 0-5 0 5 6
Anderson 36 13-20 4-7 3-6 1 4 33
Garrett 40 6-14 6-6 0-2 6 3 19
Chrstpherson 36 3-16 0-0 0-4 5 1 8
Railey 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Palo 9 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 0 0
Godfrey 32 3-7 1-3 6-8 0 3 7
Totals 200 28-73 12-18 15-36 13 20 75
Percentages: FG .384, FT .667. 3-point goals: 7-23, .304 (Anderson 3-5, Christopherson 2-9, Garrett 1-2, Vanderbeken 1-5, Ejim 0-1, Palo 0-1). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 4 (Godfrey 4). Turnovers: 8 (Anderson 3, Vanderbeken 2, Christopherson, Ejim, Garrett). Steals: 9 (Godfrey 3, Ejim 2, Christopherson 2, Garrett, Vanderbeken). FG FT Reb
CU (20-12) Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Dufault 13 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 4 2
Tomlinson 20 0-0 0-0 1-2 4 2 0
Relphorde 35 2-7 4-4 0-6 1 3 9
Burks 38 9-16 11-14 4-15 6 1 29
Higgins 35 7-13 1-2 0-4 2 0 16
Sharpe 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Roberson 30 3-7 3-4 7-15 0 5 9
Knutson 26 5-12 0-0 0-2 0 2 12
Totals 200 27-58 19-24 13-48 14 17 77
Percentages: FG .466, FT .792. 3-point goals: 4-13, .308 (Knutson 2-5, Relphorde 1-2, Higgins 1-3, Dufault 0-1, Burks 0-1, Roberson 0-1). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 3 (Relphorde, Burks, Tomlinson). Turnovers: 15 (Burks 5, Relphorde 5, Higgins 2, Tomlinson, Roberson, Dufault). Steals: 4 (Burks 3, Tomlinson).Iowa State 28 47 — 75
Colorado 26 51 — 77
A — 18,910. Officials —Joe DeRosa, Kipp Kissinger, Darron George.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
