“At times we’ve been mislabeled as a ‘soft’ team,” KU senior Kenny Gregory said after the Jayhawks’ 85-75 victory over Colorado on Monday night at the Coors Events Center.

“This was good for us tonight. We played hard, gave them some hard fouls.”

The hardest foul of all was Nick Collison’s. He drilled Jose Winston, getting called for an intentional foul in the second half after the tiny point guard sailed out of bounds and hit his head on the floor.

“It’s just a tough foul. I think Winston put a little extra into it,” Gregory said.

Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo

Colorado cashed 18 of 25 free throws in the physical game to KU’s 13 of 18.

“I personally didn’t think it was that big a deal,” KU point guard Kirk Hinrich said of Collison’s foul. “It was one play in a very physical game. Nick was going for the ball and didn’t want him to score.”

There was some trash talking between players after the foul.

“I don’t even remember what people said,” said KU soph Drew Gooden, who had words with D.J. Harrison when Harrison barked at Collison.

“I’m used to it being from California. I’ve heard all the words before.”

Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo

Collison and Winston slapped palms as Winston recovered on the bench after his tumble. After the game, Collison and Winston chatted a bit.

“I apologized for him getting hurt,” Collison said. “I let him know we were trying to win a game.

“Colorado played their hearts out. I think the teams had respect for each other,” Collison added. “They were really good. Coach (Neil) Dougherty said they were Colorado’s best team since 1990. It’s their best shooting team.”

CU hit seven of 21 threes, the Jayhawks six of 16.

“We had so many guys hit big shots on the offensive end,” Collison said. “

Jeff Boschee had 21 points, followed by Kenny Gregory (16), Collison (15), Eric Chenowith (12 with eight boards), Gooden (10) and Hinrich (nine).

“I love Ricardo’s team,” KU coach Roy Williams said of Ricardo Patton’s Buffs. “Both teams played extremely hard in a great college atmosphere.”

It was played before a record crowd of 11,363 fans.

LaFrentz in the house

Denver Nuggets forward Raef LaFrentz attended and sat behind KU’s bench.

“It’s great to be back watching KU play,” ex-Jayhawk forward LaFrentz said. “There’s nothing like the atmosphere of a college game. I miss it every day.”

Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly also was on hand to work on a piece on Eric Chenowith.

Stats, facts

Jeff Boschee has hit multiple threes in five of his last six games. … KU trailed at half for the third time this year. KU also trailed against DePaul and Wake Forest. … Kenny Gregory has scored in double figures in every game he’s played. … Gooden had his seventh double double of the year, the 16th of his career. … Hinrich tied a career high with 11 assists and has 30 in three games. … KU has won nine games in a row, best streak since Jan. 24-March 13, 1998.

David Harrison attends

David Harrison, the 6-foot-10 younger brother of CU junior D.J. Harrison, attended on an official recruiting visit. Harrison, who attends Brentwood Academy in Nashville, Tenn., has narrowed his college choices to Colorado, North Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

Harrison’s dad is an assistant football coach at Vandy.

Working on the mind

Colorado coach Patton brought in a sports psychologist to speak to his Buffs on Sunday night.

Dr. Joe Carr spent a whopping five hours with the Buffs at Coors Events Center, stressing “communication and becoming closer teammates.”

Patton is big on motivation, sometimes having the Buffs hold sleepovers at the Center.

“I thought the players were very receptive. It’s part of the continuation of the nurturing process of doing more than just teaching basketball,” Patton said.