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Dak did it all, but it wasn’t enough to upset Kansas.
Let’s just rip off the band-aid: Colorado lost to Kansas by a final score of 71-64.
A pissed-off Jayhawks team that lost their spot in the AP Poll for the first time in four years snapped their four-game road losing streak with the help of a 32-point double-double from All-American center Hunter Dickenson.
Alright, the crappy part’s all over now. Let’s get to the fun stuff:
BANGOT DAK IS SO DAMN FUN. LIKE SO SO SO FUN. THIS GUY ROCKS.
Colorado’s emerging star sophomore forward put on the show of a lifetime in front of a sold-out crowd at the CU Events Center, showing Buffaloes fans how fun the future of CU basketball could be. Dak put on his own version of a slam dunk contest, showing off his ability to posterize the Jayhawks time and time again.
Ahead of the Dak masterclass, fans were treated to a slow and sloppy undercard. The -6.5 point underdog Buffaloes looked the part right after tip, allowing KU to rack up a quick 14-4 lead. Kansas was getting essentially anything they wanted on the offensive floor, going six for six on FGs to start the contest, with Dickenson providing three of those buckets for six points. On the other hand, Colorado started as cold as could be. The Buffs couldn’t stop bricking their shots, going only 2-9 to start the game.
A similar thing happened to CU in Ames only eight short days ago when the Buffs let the Cyclones rip off a 20-5 run to open the game, which put the nail in Colorado’s coffin early. Instead of dying and rolling over like they did at the Hilton Coliseum, the Buffs put their head down and battled, drilling six of their next 10 shots to claw back into the game. Two back-to-back dunks from Dak cut KU’s lead to only 26-20, giving fans a small taste of the main course to come.
Immediately after pulling within two scores of the Jayhawks, Colorado would once again get cold. The Buffs suddenly couldn’t make a shot but would rely on their offensive rebounding to keep up with KU. CU crushed Bill Self’s squad off the offensive boards in the first, snagging 10 and cashing them in for 12 points second-chance points. In comparison, Kansas only finished the first half with three o-boards and no second-chance points.
A big-time three-pointer from Andrej Jakimoski and a last-second layup from Javon Ruffin would send Colorado to halftime down only 37-32 at halftime, with a real chance of pulling off a second consecutive quadrant one win.
Colorado couldn’t have wished for a better start to the second half. KU would open play by bricking four consecutive free throws, their first three shots from the floor and turning the ball over twice. Oh, and they’d brick one more FT just for good measure. Colorado would take full advantage of the Jayhawk’s 3:58 minute scoring drought, capitalizing on a Jullian Hammond and-one to tie the game at 37 points.
This is where things start to get a bit wacky. The Buffs and Jayhawks would trade buckets for a bit until a David Coit long three-pointer put KU ahead by three points. To answer, Colorado’s Javon Ruffin would casually swish a half-court three-pointer to tie things up once more.
Hence begins the Bangot Dak show. With KU starting to build a lead with a score of 53-49, Colorado’s forward went nuclear. Dak would begin his rampage by putting in a beautiful two-handed slam. Kansas’ KJ Adams would answer that slam, yamming on Dak to attempt to put the youngster in his place. That attempt would quickly prove futile, as Dak would immediately follow up Adams’ dunk with an even more impressive dunk of his own.
As a wise man once said...
Unfortunately, that’s where the fun ends. Dak would pick up two quick fouls in 30 seconds with six minutes to play in the game, sending Colorado’s best player to the bench.
Trailing only 62-60 with 4:12 to play, the Buffs had a golden opportunity to mimic Askia Booker’s squad and clutch up against Kansas. Instead, they’d finish the game shooting 0-6 from the floor, crushing any hope of a comeback. Kansas and Dickenson did just enough down the stretch to put distance between them and the Buffaloes, winning by a margin of seven points.
Dak finished his masterclass with 16 points, five boards, four dunks, a steal and a block. The Buffs completely dominated KU off the offensive boards by a margin of 18-5, scoring 15 more second-chance points than the Jayhawks. Unfortunately, 14 turnovers and a 5-24 (20.8%) shooting performance from beyond the arc would nullify that advantage.
Colorado’s next challenge will be a road test with the K-State Wildcats at the Octagon of Doom on Sunday, March 2nd at 2:00 pm MT. Fans can tune in on ESPN+.
by RylandScholes
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