The Colorado men’s basketball team was routed by 34 points at Texas Tech, then ranked 16th in the nation, two weeks previous.
Against Kansas State, the Buffaloes built a lead of 19 points in the first half. They led by 22 in the second half, totals that seemed unreachable just a few weeks ago while CU was getting routed repeatedly on the road.
Still, head coach Tad Boyle channeled some of the angst that boiled over at Texas Tech with his postgame comments following Wednesday’s 79-70 win against the Wildcats, saying CU’s inability to put K-State away left a sour taste.
The Buffs got the win. But Boyle said a similar showing on Saturday likely will lead to another ugly road show when CU visits No. 5 Houston.
“I feel tonight like I did after Texas Tech,” Boyle said. “We weren’t mentally, emotionally, ready to play (against K-State). And that’s on me. We just don’t have that killer instinct that you gotta have in this league to put people away. So we’ve still got a lot of room for improvement. There’s no doubt about it.
“If we play like we did (against K-State) on Saturday, look out, baby. I don’t think we will. It’s an opportunity to learn, and I’d rather learn from a win than a loss, there’s no doubt about it. But I’m not real happy with our performance, especially in the second half.”
While it may not have been the Buffs’ sharpest performance, it was their fourth consecutive home win. CU improved to 6-9 in the Big 12, doubling its conference win total from last year, and sits in sole possession of 11th-place in the league standings. One year after finishing last, CU can’t finish worse than 14th and remains alive mathematically for a top-eight finish and a bye at the conference tournament, although that would require help alongside monumental upset wins against Houston and No. 2 Arizona next week in the regular season finale.
Still, the Buffs (16-12, 6-9 Big 12) typically have played their best basketball in February and March under Boyle, and they have put together a 4-3 February after a 2-6 January. One player who certainly has been putting his improvement on display has been freshman wing Ian Inman, who continued his February surge against Kansas State.
Inman went 5-for-7 on 3-pointers, recording season-highs with 17 points and five rebounds. His five 3-pointers matched Barrington Hargress’ total against Texas-San Antonio on Dec. 13 for the most by a CU player this season. After playing a total of 14-plus minutes during a 16-game span, Inman has come on strong over the past month, going 14-for-30 (.467) on 3-pointers in the past eight games. Inman also hadn’t recorded more than two rebounds in any game before grabbing five against K-State. Inman credited extra practice sessions with graduate manager Tyson Gilbert for keeping him sharp until called upon.
Now Inman gets a chance to take his hot hand back to his hometown of Houston to face one of the top programs in the nation.
“I would say it’s just sticking to my grind,” Inman said. “I’ve always been a grinder on and off the court and stuff like that. Tyson has helped me a lot, just getting extra reps and stuff like that. For me, it’s always just been sticking to my grind, sticking to my mentality, and ultimately when my time comes, just produce.”