Men’s basketball: No. 2 Houston ends season for CU Buffs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Colorado men’s basketball team returned to the Big 12 Conference tournament for the first time in 14 years with something to prove.

The Buﬀaloes did just that. But Houston is trying to prove it’s the best team in the nation, and CU learned why.

After becoming just the second last-place team in the 29-year history of the Big 12-era of the conference to win a pair of games at the league tournament, the Buﬀs battled but couldn’t keep pace with the second-ranked Cougars, who ended CU’s season with in a 77-68 decision in the quarterfinals on Thursday at the T-Mobile Center.

Despite the commendable finish in Kansas City, the Buﬀs end the campaign at 14-20 for the eighth 20-loss season in program history.

Andrej Jakimovski enjoyed a big performance in what turned into his final collegiate game, scoring a career-high 25 points while almost single-handedly keeping CU in the battle. But the rest of the Buﬀs struggled to convert chances against Houston’s league-leading defense.

Houston led by 14 points in the first half before CU rallied, cutting the deficit to 38-33 at halftime. The top-seeded Cougars again extended the lead to 14 in the second half, but the Buﬀs got within eight after an inside bucket by Elijah Malone. Houston responded with a pair of back-breaking 3-pointers from Milos Uzan, which once again gave the Cougars a 14-point lead with less than 4 minutes remaining.

CU shot .404 and was outrebounded 35-30.

This story will be updated.