Photo Gallery

Kansas Basketball vs. Colorado

A photo gallery of the men's basketball game against Colorado.

KANSAS 73, COLORADO 56

Game Over

Colorado scratched and clawed to keep the game close in the second half. In the end, Kansas' athleticism won out.

The Jayhawks broke the Buffs' full court pressure with ease and kept pushing the lead back to 15 points or more with easy buckets in two-on-one situations.

Tyrel Reed and Tyshawn Taylor scored a combined five points in the first half, but finished with a total of 25. Their play, plus Cole Aldrich's low post dominance helped secure the win down the stretch.

Check back to Kansan.com later tonight for full coverage of today's game, including stories, pictures, a Jay Report podcast and "Blog" Allen's Double Overtime post.

KANSAS 55, COLORADO 39

7:46 left in the second half

Suddenly, Kansas' scoring is coming from everywhere. Collins and Aldrich still have 26 combined points, but now Taylor and Tyrel Reed each have eight points. Marcus Morris is also chipping in with 10 points.

Defensively, the Jays are switching between man-to-man and zone looks on different possessions. The result is a Colorado squad that doesn't know what to expect every time it brings the ball up the court.

KANSAS 45, COLORADO 36

11:13 left in the second half

Ugly would be the best way to describe this second half. Aside from Higgins' buzzer-beater and a layup alley-up from Collins to Taylor, this half has been utterly boring and full of miscues.

The FAA should be alerted to Kansas' plethora of traveling violations, and Colorado can't do much better. The game has slowed down and most of the offensive mistakes bone-headed plays as opposed to defensive pressure.

KANSAS 37, COLORADO 32

15:50 left in the second half

What a start to the second half for Colorado's defense. The Buffs forced turnovers on four of their first five defensive possessions, and the offense got jacked up by a Higgins three-pointer with one second left on the shot clock.

Kansas has already lost all of its first half momentum, and now it must recapture the fire that it found with eight minutes to go in the first half. That move has got to start with Collins or Tyshawn Taylor who is back on the court after playing just seven first half minutes with foul trouble.

KANSAS 34, COLORADO 27

Halftime

For 12 minutes, Colorado answered every Kansas basket with one of its own. But after the eight minute mark, the Jays began to heat up and the Buffs fell off the pace.

Once Collins got a sweat going his shot poured out with it. He's on pace for a typically spectacular game with 15 points at the break.

Aldrich hasn't found any rhythm, which could be because he spent a significant amount of time on the bench. Still, the big guy shouldn't have any trouble enforcing his will against a considerably smaller Colorado front court.

Cory Higgins is keeping the Buffs in the game, but he needs to start hitting some more shots. He's getting fouled plenty, but Colorado needs a few more three-point plays if it wants to keep up with suddenly hot Kansas. Higgins is money from the free throw line, though, where he hit 10-of-10 in the first half. His personal best is 12-of-12 and the school record is 16-for-16. One, if not both, of those is likely to fall this afternoon.

Kansas started great from the free throw line, but it has since fallen to 8-of-14. If the Jays continue to shoot that poorly, then the Buffs would be smart to hack away and let Self's bunch squander their lead at the line.

KANSAS 30, COLORADO 23

3:59 left in the first half

The Teahan experiment was a success, sort of. Teahan himself was terrible, committing a foul and a turnover in one minute. But while he was out there, Kansas' stars Collins and Aldrich finally woke up and put Kansas back in front.

In his usual fashion, Collins waited until his emergence would seem more heroic, then started hitting shots at will and creating better looks for his teammates. He has 12 points.

The twins were solid in relief of Aldrich and amazingly, neither has more than one foul despite playing significant minutes.

The physicality has only increased since the opening minutes, but it hasn't given either team an advantage because both are hitting their free throws.

COLORADO 19, KANSAS 17

7:37 left in the first half

Colorado is feeding off its solid defense and hitting big shots every time Kansas tries to pull away. Dwight Horne just sliced through the defense for a layup and drew a foul from Tyrel Reed.

The Buffs lead for the first time today and Higgins leads the way with six points. He hasn't been able to find a shot yet, but he's getting to the free throw line, where he's absolutely lethal.

Kansas still isn't feeding Aldrich down low, and now coach Bill Self has inserted Conner Teahan to try to shake things up. He hasn't found a lineup that plays well yet, so little-used Teahan is the apparently the next option.

KANSAS 15, COLORADO 12

11:18 left in the first half

Kansas seems to of left its defense back in Lawrence. The Buffs are swinging the ball around and getting a plethora of open looks. The only problem for them is that they haven't hit enough to take the lead.

Offensively, Sherron Collins has hit a couple of shots to wake up the team. Cole Aldrich also has four, but he's been open the last three possessions and only received one pass. Kansas needs to look inside to him more because Colorado can't contend with his size defensively.

KANSAS 8, COLORADO 6

15:49 left in the first half

It's a sloppy and physical game in the opening minutes. There are seven fouls already, and it could mean that we see a lot more of each team's bench early as starters get into foul trouble.

Colorado's Cory Higgins is as good as advertised, forcing his way into the line and drawing a foul — he's attempted the second most in the Big 12 — and elevating for a sweet slam. Kansas hasn't had much success with its half court sets yet, instead scoring its points on fast breaks and at the free throw line.

Both teams need to settle down and find their rhythm, or else we could see a very slow and ugly game with a lot of hacking.

2:30

Prediction time.

In Friday's paper, Case Keefer predicted an 89-75 Kansas victory. Given a redo, he opts for a 89-77 Jays victory.

I see the game much the same way. Colorado is simply too young and inexperienced to hang around too long. Kansas will open a large lead, then let off the gas a bit down the stretch. Mark me down for a 91-78 victory.

2:25 p.m.

Colorado rivals Missouri for the best dance team in the Big 12. There's just something about the shiny gold tops that just works so well.

The Buffs also have an interesting pregame routine, where they bring down the band to surround the court with the cheerleaders in the middle, ready to welcome Colorado onto the court. Kansas came out first, and the surrounding band bombarded it with high tone blasts, which actually could barely be heard over the cheers from the high number of KU fans in attendance.

Still, it's kind of a cool little wrinkle to pull in fans at a school where the basketball alone doesn't usually cut it.

2:20 p.m.

Big 12 North schools get very familiar with each other's personal throughout the years. When these teams meet again, I doubt either will have to study a lick of tape.

Exactly two weeks from today, Colorado travels to Allen Fieldhouse to visit repay the yearly home-and-home series. That probably works out better for Colorado because it won't be as intimidated heading into Lawrence after playing Kansas once.

That is, of course, unless the Jays break out the whupping sticks like Missouri did on Wednesday. If that happens today, then Colorado mights as well pack it in for the year.

2:10 p.m.

Any chance for KU success today hinges on the play of sophomore guard Cory Higgins, so let's get to know him a little better.

HIggins averages 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, both of which rank in the top 10 of the conference. Before missing a free throw at Columbia on Wednesday, Higgins had hit 45 in a row, which is a Colorado and Big 12 record.

His father played in the NBA, and Higgins credits pops for his sweet shooting stroke. The Danville, Cal., native has also recorded an assist in every game this season, which just makes him a nightmare for opponents to guard.

Unfortunately for Colorado, Higgins lacks any significant weapons around him. Today's a big game for the Buffs, and I think Higgins will rise to the occasion. Look for a double-double — 25 points and 12 rebounds sounds good — from the sophomore, but don't count on it making a difference in the game's outcome.

1:15 p.m.

Greetings from Boulder, where Kansas and Colorado are a little more than an hour from tip-off.

We came into town last night — nine hour car ride be damned — so now we're bright and chipper and ready for some Big 12 basketball.

Judging by Colorado's last game, a 107-62 drubbing at Missouri, today shouldn't be much of a game. But the Buffaloes are a better team at home and the Jays have yet to win a true road game. I expect that to change today, but don't be surprised if it takes awhile for the Baby Jays to adjust to the atmosphere.

One thing that should really work in their favor is the fact that Kansas fans pack Coors Event Center, making this a de facto neutral game with the crowd split down the middle.

Coach Bill Self was in the media room earlier to inquire about the Syracuse-Georgetown game — Syracuse won 93-74 — and now that that one's over, it's time to focus on today's contest in Boulder.

I'll have more as we get closer to game time and be sure to check back to Kansan.com for updates and photos throughout today's game.