No. 2 Jayhawks Head to Colorado
Jan. 14, 2005
BOULDER, Colo. –
No. 2 Kansas concludes its three-game road trip with a Big 12 matchup against Colorado at 3 p.m. (CT) in Boulder, Colo. After defeating Iowa State 71-66 Wednesday night in Ames, Iowa, the Jayhawks improved to 12-0 (2-0 in Big 12) for the first time since the 1996-97 team began the season with a perfect 22-0 mark.
Colorado is 8-5 on the season and 0-2 in Big 12 play after its 68-61 loss to Nebraska on Wednesday night in Boulder. After winning seven of their first nine games, the Buffaloes have dropped three of their last four contests. KU and CU are meeting for the 147th time in men’s basketball.
About Kansas
No. 2 Kansas has been ranked in the top two nationally the entire season after opening as the nation’s preseason No. 1 in both polls. The Jayhawks are coming off a 71-66 victory at Iowa State on Wednesday. Earlier in the week, the Jayhawks defeated No. 8 Kentucky 65-59 in Lexington, Ky., for the team’s second triumph over a top 10 opponent this season (KU also defeated No. 9 Georgia Tech 70-68 in overtime on Jan. 1).
KU is 2-0 in conference play for the 10th straight season after Wednesday’s win over the Cyclones. Senior forward Wayne Simien underwent surgery on Dec. 20, but returned to the starting lineup against ISU after missing just four games. KU’s leading scorer (16.9 ppg) and rebounder (11.6 rpg), Simien posted 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds in his first action since Dec. 18. He is the only player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double. Senior guard Keith Langford bounced back from a severe concussion at Kentucky to score a game-high 18 points and grab six boards against the Cyclones. After being held without a three-point goal for two consecutive contests, sophomore guard J.R. Giddens regained his touch from the outside and connected on 3-of-4 attempts from behind the arc to finish with 13 points. Senior point guard Aaron Miles ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 9.2 points per game. He also boasts a league-best 7.1 assists per contest. Junior forward Christian Moody is averaging 6.8 points and is second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game. He was unavailable for Wednesday’s game at Iowa State and is listed as day-to-day. Freshman forward C.J. Giles has started the last four games for KU. He is averaging 4.1 points and 3.5 rebounds and leads KU with 13 blocked shots this season.
About Colorado
Colorado is 8-5 (0-2 Big 12) on the season and has lost its last two games. The Buffaloes are 6-1 at home and suffered their first loss of the season at Coors Events Center to Nebraska 68-61 on Wednesday night. CU was 18-11 last year and advanced to the first round of the postseason NIT.
Talented freshman guard Richard Roby leads this year’s team with an average of 14.9 points per game and has connected on 45 percent of his shots from the field. He also ranks second on the club behind junior forward Chris Copeland with 18 three-pointers. Roby, the half-brother of Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin, scored 20 points (6-of-14 from the field) in CU’s game against Nebraska on Wednesday. As a team, the Buffaloes are shooting better than 35 percent from behind the three-point stripe while holding their opposition to just over 30 percent.
Through seven home games this season, Colorado has averaged just over 3,000 fans per contest.
