Alec Burks' 33 points lead Colorado to upset of No. 5 Texas

BOULDER, Colo. -- Finishing is starting to become a problem for No. 5 Texas.

For the second time in three games, the Longhorns frittered away a big first-half lead and lost a Big 12 road game, this time 91-89 at Colorado on Saturday.

The Buffaloes stormed back from a 22-point first-half deficit and overcame a 48-33 halftime hole behind Alec Burks' 33 points and Levi Knutson's 21.

Fast Facts

• Alec Burks scored 33 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to rally Colorado from a 22-point first-half deficit.

• Texas lost its second straight road game.

• Colorado passed last year's Big 12's win total of six and its 18 wins are the most since winning 20 in 2005-06.

• Colorado beat the Longhorns for the first time in seven meetings.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

"The second half we didn't execute and I think they played harder than us and they wanted it more, it seemed like," Longhorns forwardJordan Hamilton said. "We didn't run plays, we didn't screen. We went away from what we were doing in the first half."

For the Longhorns, it was eerily reminiscent of a 70-67 loss at Nebraska a week earlier that prevented Texas (24-5, 12-2 Big 12) from ascending to the top of the college basketball rankings.

This latest loss dropped Texas into a tie for first place in the Big 12 with Kansas (No. 2 ESPN/USA Today, No. 3 AP), which beat Oklahoma 82-70.

"It's not like we lost a ton-load of games. We've only lost two games," Hamilton said. "... But I think it's good for us. We've just got to get back to the drawing board. We're not as good as we thought."

In beating their third Top 25 opponent this season, the Buffaloes (18-11, 7-7) regrouped at halftime and put on a second-half show in pushing the pace and giving first-year coach Tad Boyle his biggest win yet.

"I didn't yell and scream. I probably should have," Boyle said of his halftime message. "I didn't know what to expect coming out at halftime. But our guys, they delivered."

"A sense of urgency kicked in," Buffaloes senior Cory Higgins said.

And everything started going Colorado's way.

"It seemed like they had more freedom in the second half. Transition 3s, just driving, like playing open gym, really," lamented Longhorns forward Gary Johnson. "That seemed like the kind of team they turned into in the second half."

The Longhorns? They suddenly looked like the kids who entertained the crowd during a timeout by donning oversized uniforms and shoes and trying to score a basket.

"I really think it's very simple: the team that played for 40 minutes won the game," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "I didn't feel like we had a real sense of urgency from the get-go.

"We didn't play with purpose, that was the problem. We got a lead early in the game and I've seen them evaporate quickly, but you can certainly help the cause by not making them defend and simply not executing. We didn't. We simply didn't execute."

While the Buffs were storming back behind Burks, who scored 24 after halftime, including 11 during a 14-0 spurt, the Longhorns were going 1 for 17 from the field during a brutal 25-possession stretch.

When it was over, the Buffs had built an 81-70 lead on Austin Dufault's tip-in with less than 3 minutes left.

But Texas, led by 21 points each from Hamilton and J'Covan Brown, didn't go down quietly.

Brown hit three free throws with 38 seconds left to make it 85-80. After Knutson's two free throws, Hamilton's 3-pointer with 30 seconds left pulled Texas to 87-83.

Higgins stepped on the baseline on the inbounds, turning the ball over with 29 seconds left, but Hamilton was long on a 3-pointer and Burks corralled his 10th rebound.

He missed his eighth free throw, however, before making one for an 88-83 cushion.

Hamilton's long 3-pointer made it a two-point game with 18 seconds left. Burks was fouled again with 14 seconds remaining and this time he made both for a 90-86 lead.

Hamilton misfired a 3-pointer and Higgins hit one of two foul shots, and Cory Joseph hit an uncontested 3 at the buzzer as the student section at the record fourth sellout at the Coors Events Center this season stormed the court.

The Buffs tied their school record with their 14th win at home and ended a six-game skid against Texas, which led 43-21.

Colorado outrebounded Texas 43-39 and outshot the 'Horns 53 percent to 42 percent.

"Mentality," Boyle said. "We don't have better athletes. We don't have more size. We just battled them. And that's the competing I was talking about at halftime. ... Shows you what we're capable of.

"It's a marquee win, goes to the top of our resume."

And to the bottom of the Longhorns', right alongside that loss at Nebraska.

"I think it's human nature when a team gets up and thinks it's going to be easy," Barnes said. "If I were coaching against us, I would tell them that if they could get a lead there is always a chance to come back because we haven't proven yet that we can sustain it."

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

Nebraska's Brandon Richardson free throws help send No. 2 Texas packing

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Count Texas among those very impressed by Nebraska's upset of the No. 3 Longhorns.

Brandon Richardson hit a pair of free throws with 7.2 seconds left to seal the Cornhuskers' 70-67 win on Saturday. Nebraska hadn't beaten a team ranked in the top three since knocking off No. 3 Missouri 98-91 in the 1994 Big Eight Conference tournament.

After Texas' 3-point attempt fell short at the buzzer, Nebraska students stormed the court and hoisted players on their shoulders.

"Man, what a great game," Nebraska coach Doc Sadler said. "How can you not be excited? It's a great day for us."

The Cornhuskers' second win over a Top 25 opponent this season broke Texas' school record Big 12 winning streak at 11 games. Nebraska downed then-No. 13 Texas A&M 57-48 on Jan. 29.

Texas coach Rick Barnes said this one wasn't a fluke.

"There's no question Nebraska deserves all the credit because they were a terrific team today," he said. "Doc Sadler is one of the great guys in this business, and it couldn't have happened to a better guy. If this helps them to the NCAA tournament, then it would be great for him. The fans were great, and they definitely deserved to win the game."

Richardson led Nebraska with 15 points, 10 in the second half. Toney McCrayadded 14.

Jordan Hamilton and Brown each had 18 to top Texas. Cory Joseph had 13.

Nebraska (18-8, 6-6 Big 12), which trailed by seven points at halftime, took a 64-53 lead on Lance Jeter's driving layup with 2:35 left. But the Cornhuskers made just six of 11 free throws in the last two minutes to help Texas get back in it.

"We made it much tougher than we could have," Sadler said. "They made some plays. You're not going to just go beat teams like that.

"We just needed to make some free throws."

Texas (23-4, 11-1) went on a 12-1 run, making seven of nine free throws and adding a pair of baskets. Alexis Wangmere's free throws tied it 65-65 with 1:07 remaining.

Richardson sank a pair of foul shots with 43.5 seconds remaining to put Nebraska back in front, and Drake Beranek made one of two with 24.7 seconds left.

Texas' J'Covan Brown made two of three free throws with 12.6 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one, but his 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.

Hamilton said he was confident Texas could come back, even though the Longhorns were trailing by double figures with less than two minutes to go.

"There was never a doubt in my mind," he said. "I think (Nebraska) shot a great percentage in the second half. They played really hard. The crowd got into it. They got loud. We missed some shots, I missed some easy shots, and some wide open looks, even in the first half. That was the outcome."

The Cornhuskers were every bit as confident, even when they were down at halftime.

"It was as positive as we've ever been in the locker room," McCray said. "Nobody was rattled, nobody was discouraged or nothing like that. It was almost like we was up. I don't want to sound stupid, but I didn't even know the score. We knew it was going to be a 40-minute game."

Nebraska hit seven of its first eight shots in the second half and took a 40-38 lead on Andre Almeida's tip-in with 16:29 remaining. It was the first time Texas had trailed in seven games.

The Huskers got back-to-back layups from Richardson, and Almeida's left-handed hook made it 50-42 with 11:39 left. Nebraska's biggest lead was 11, the last time after Jeter's layup.

The burst came after Sadler changed Nebraska's offense and put centers Almeida and Jorge Brian Diaz on the blocks to get them one-on-one coverage and open up driving lanes.

"They were not ready for me and Brian on the post," Almeida said. "I don't know when was the last time we've run that offense. We tried it one time, and it worked. The second time it worked. We just kept going with it."

Nebraska hit 56 percent of its shots in the second half against Texas, which had held Big 12 opponents to 36.4 percent shooting before Saturday.

The Longhorns, who entered having made 49 percent of their shots in conference play, sank only 36 percent against Nebraska, which packed the lane and kept Texas from running in transition.

Nebraska dominated the paint, outscoring Texas 38-14. The Cornhuskers also held a 39-34 edge in rebounds.

"They totally dominated the second half of the game. They got whatever they wanted inside," Barnes said. "When you get beat 38-14 in the lane, you will probably lose some games there. We didn't have a great day shooting the ball.

"We just weren't very good, and they spread the court out and took advantage of that."

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press