Game only downer for CU coach Tad Boyle

By Matt Tait     Feb 20, 2011

First, he received an unusually warm ovation from the Allen Fieldhouse crowd. Then, he caught a glimpse of himself in his No. 33 Kansas University jersey from the early 1980s during the Jayhawks’ intro video that accompanied Saturday’s starting lineups.

Although that was about the point at which the welcome-home moment ended, current Colorado coach — and former KU player — Tad Boyle said he appreciated the gesture, even if it was followed by an 89-63 drubbing.

“It was nice being back in Lawrence,” Boyle said. “I mean, this is a special place. Outside of the game, it was nice. But what makes it nice is that people here appreciate college basketball.”

Saturday, Kansas treated everyone in the building to a clinic on how to play the game. A big reason why the Jayhawks played so well stemmed from their still-lingering disappointment over how poorly they played Monday night at Kansas State. Boyle said the Buffs were ready to face an angry bunch of Jayhawks and were hoping to hang with them long enough to make a game of it.

But that never happened.

Kansas opened with a 7-0 run, pushed the lead to 22-11 by the 10:35 mark of the first half and had firm control at 48-31 by halftime.

“We just knew that they were gonna be dialed in,” Boyle said. “We had a backdoor play called, and we couldn’t get into it the first three times down. We couldn’t even make a pass. We ran into a juggernaut today. My hat’s off to KU. They played awful well…. They were just too much for us today. They beat us in every facet of the game.”

CU played better in the second half. The Buffs’ defense cooled Kansas down, dropping the Jayhawks’ field-goal percentage from 56 in the first half to 48 in the second but still 52 for the game. At a loss to describe how his team played better in the second half, Boyle again deflected the credit to Kansas.

“I think they just missed shots,” Boyle said. “Sometimes, the only team that can beat Kansas is Kansas. They’re a very good basketball team.”

The intro video, including the footage of Boyle, who played at Kansas from 1982-85, actually was KU coach Bill Self’s idea. While at Oklahoma State, Self played against Boyle.

“I told Tad to watch the video because he was gonna be on it,” Self said. “I thought they’d have an action moment rather than him running off the court. But that was probably hard to find in the archives. We played a long time ago.”

Added Boyle, when asked about being included in the video: “That just shows you the class of KU people and the KU fans.”

“It makes you feel good as a former player, but my job is the coach of the Colorado Buffaloes right now, so I don’t get caught up in that. But the fans of Kansas are nothing but class.”

Being back in town reminded Boyle of that. And just in time, too. With CU headed to the Pac-10 next season, Boyle’s first trip to Allen Fieldhouse as a head coach was likely his last for a while.

“Yeah, it’s a little nostalgic, there’s no question,” he said. “This is a special place for basketball. It’s an opportunity I know our players really look forward to, and, as coaches, we do, too. We certainly don’t relish going through days like this and getting your teeth smashed in. But you want the opportunity to play against the best and coach against the best, and that’s what you get when you come to Allen Fieldhouse.”

Saturday’s victory was KU’s 28th straight against CU in Allen Fieldhouse and 17th consecutive win against Colorado overall. The Jayhawks now lead the all-time series with the Buffs, 121-39.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.