At 11-10 in the Big 12, Colorado was a spot off of last place in the conference. They have been cellar dwellers in this conference for a while now, and Kansas fans even flood west in massive numbers to take over their gym and cheer on their Jayhawks. With the exception of a game in 2003 that Colorado took from Kansas 60-59 (the year Kansas lost to Syracuse in the title game, so playing bad in Colorado does not necessarily dictate the legitimacy of a title contender) Kansas has been overwhelmingly successful in games played between the two schools. Wednesday night was a different story.
Playing without their big freshman, and probably the best freshman in the Big 12, (sorry Xavier) Colorado hung with the top ranked Kansas team. From my view it seemed like the Jayhawks were simply getting out hustled. Granted, it probably would not have been a close game if we did not shoot 18-38 from the line, that did not help. But that aside, the energy just was not where it needs to be, especially out of a team claiming the #1 ranking in the country.
After going up 24-8 in the first half, a championship team should put their opponents away. Never letting a team such as Colorado back into the game. I do not sense a killer instinct with this team, and they continually play down or up to their opponent. It could be the tragic flaw with this team, a team that on paper has all the tools to win a National Championship this year. But if they cannot string together solid game after solid game, they are not going to end the season where the want.
As Kansas fans we have to trust in the power of Bill Self's coaching. We have to trust in the leading ability of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich. This team is dangerous, with weapons 6 seats deep on the bench, but with effort like the one shown against Colorado, it could be a sad finish to this season, but with the effort that Kansas has shown a number of times this season (see Kansas v. K-State) this team can be the last one standing in Indianapolis in early April.
