Roby's 30 Not Enough To Overcome No. 8 Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kan. -Richard Roby's 30 points weren't enough for Colorado to pass up No. 8 Kansas Saturday afternoon, as the Buffaloes fell 97-74, their 35th loss to the Jayhawks in their last 36 meetings.

Colorado (5-12, 1-6 Big 12) closed within nine points (61-52) at one point in the second half behind Roby, who broke out of a four-game shooting slump.

But then Mario Chalmers hit two free throws and Rush made his third 3-pointer to trigger a 20-5 run by the Jayhawks (18-3, 5-1).

Colorado, which had never before lost six of its first seven Big 12 games, fell to 7-57 in Lawrence and outgoing Colorado coach Ricardo Patton dropped to 0-12 in Allen Fieldhouse.  CU's last win there came on Feb. 10, 1983, a 75-74 verdict on a last second jumper by Billy Houston.

The Buffaloes committed 30 turnovers, one short of their Big 8/Big 12 Conference record of 31 at Oklahoma, Feb. 20, 1985.

Russell Robinson had 12 points and Sherron Collins 11 for the Jayhawks, who have forced at least 20 turnovers seven times this season and held opponents to under 50 percent shooting in 27 straight games.

Jermyl Jackson-Wilson had 11 points for Colorado. He combined with Roby to spark a short-lived rally that sliced Kansas' lead to 63-54 with 11:51 left.

Xavier Silas had nine points for Colorado, and Roby broke loose in a big way. Just 15-for-50 in his four previous games, the 6-foot-6 junior shot 10-for-15 from the floor and 7-of-10 at the line. He also had seven rebounds.

Patton, with at least one game against Kansas left as Colorado coach, is 1-25 against the Jayhawks.

Chalmers and Brandon Rush, who hit his first five shots, combined to score 20 of the first 23 points for Kansas, which is 12-1 this season at home.

Julian Wright, the up-and-down sophomore who's been inconsistent after being selected the preseason Big 12 player of the year, had one of the most embarrassing moments of his career late in the first half when he stole the ball at midcourt and cruised in for an uncontested dunk.

But just as he got to the basket, the ball slipped out of his hand and he lost his balance and fell in an awkward heap. He lay there a moment seemingly in pain and did not return to the game until the second half, when he got a huge cheer with a slam dunk that made it 55-40 with 16:28 to go.

After Rush's 3-pointer got the Jayhawks started on their take-charge run in the second half, Robinson stole a Colorado pass and hit a short jumper. Then Collins, after making a free throw, stole the ball underneath the Colorado basket and put in a layup for a 73-55 lead.

The Buffs' next action will be against the Baylor Bears (11-8, 1-5 Big 12) on Tuesday, January 30 in Waco, Texas. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain at 6:30 p.m.