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Kansas pounds Colorado, pulls into tie for Big 12 lead

Feb 15, 2007 - 8:26 AM BOULDER, Colorado (Ticker) -- Russell Robinson helped Kansas put down its foot forcefully.

Robinson scored 14 points and freshman Darrell Arthur added 11 as the eighth-ranked Jayhawks rolled to an impressive 75-46 victory over Colorado in a Big 12 Conference contest.

Sasha Kaun added 10 points and nine rebounds in just 15 minutes for Kansas (22-4, 9-2 Big 12), which shot 48 percent (30-of-63) in capturing its fourth consecutive road victory in league play.

The Jayhawks also claimed their sixth win in their last seven games to pull into a tie with Texas A&M atop the league standings. The Aggies absorbed a 77-75 home loss against Texas Tech on Tuesday.

"We're happy to be tied," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We still have to play Nebraska and they have been playing great. We need to build off this win and keep moving forward."

Seeking its ninth consecutive victory in the series with Colorado, Kansas raced out to a quick start behind Arthur, who scored six points on 3-of-3 shooting to lift it to a 19-5 advantage with 11:40 left in the first half.

"Well it certainly wasn't what I expected," Colorado coach Ricardo Patton said. "I thought we would have come out and played better then we did. We have to make shots, especially the easy ones."

Fellow freshman Sherron Collins, who ended up with seven points, capped the spurt with a three-point play.

The Jayhawks, who held a 38-22 lead at the half, continued to pour it on after intermission, pulling ahead, 59-33, with 10:41 left after Robinson's 3-pointer capped a 16-2 run.

Robinson finished 6-of-9 from the field with two 3-pointers, handed out six assists and tied a career high with five steals.

With Kaun held back, reserve forward Darnell Jackson picked up the slack inside, finishing with a career-high 11 rebounds. Arthur added seven off the bench as Kansas finished with a 48-39 advantage on the boards.

"Darrell Arthur will play in the NBA some day, and he's coming off the bench," Patton said. "Whenever you have NBA-caliber players coming off the bench, that helps. Kansas has four good post players and are six-deep at guard."

Xavier Silas was the lone player in double figures with 11 points for the Buffaloes (6-15, 2-9), who finished 27 percent (15-of-55) from the field, including 3-of-16 on 3-pointers.

Leading scorer Richard Roby finished with just seven points for Colorado, 10 below his season average.

Coming on the heels of a 78-59 loss at Kansas State, the 29-point rout was another warning sign of complacency for the Buffaloes, who have dropped nine of their last 11 games.

"It certainly resembles that (players quitting) to me," Patton said. "One thing that we talk to our guys about is never quitting. No matter who your coach is you should play for the love of the game. When you quit you hurt yourself."