Whew. That was a little closer than Colorado would have liked. The Buffaloes defeated Iowa State 77-75 on Wednesday in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. Colorado entered the game as a 4.5 point favorite and nearly lost it before securing a victory in the final minute of the game.
The story of the game is, who else, Alec Burks. Before the game, I made a Captain Obvious statement and said Burks, the Big 12 player of the year candidate, would be an important piece to the puzzle and he'd need to come through with a solid game. By halftime, he had just four points putting some doubt on whether he would be a big factor.
The second half answered that question as he put up 25 more points ending with a ridiculous 29 points and 15 boards. Teammate Cory Higgins added 16 points and four boards helping the Buffs secure the win.
Iowa State wasn't short on big time performances in the loss. Darian 'Jake' Anderson scored 33 points points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field while teammate Diante Garrett added 19 points.
After a rough first half for both teams, Colorado came out in the second half shooting significantly better to pull out the victory.
This sets Colorado up for another matchup with Kansas State on Thursday. The Buffs swept that season series. For more on the game, check out Clone Chronicles and Ralphie Report.