Without Bill Self, No. 19 Kansas hangs on to beat Colorado
Melvin Council Jr. had 18 points and seven rebounds in No. 19 Kansas' 75-69 win over Colorado on Tuesday without coach Bill Self, who did not travel with his team to Boulder, Colo., after an illness that required him to be hospitalized Monday.
Self mentioned in a statement Tuesday that he was "feeling much better" after receiving IV fluids.
Kansas assistant Jacque Vaughn, a former Jayhawk standout who has experience coaching in the NBA, served as the acting head coach.
Tre White finished with 17 points, 15 rebounds and four assists for Kansas (14-5, 4-2 Big 12). Darryn Peterson added 16 points and six rebounds.
Isaiah Johnson led Colorado (12-7, 2-4) with 19 points, and Barrington Hargress added 17 points.
The Buffaloes, coached by former Kansas player Tad Boyle, are on a four-game losing streak.
The Jayhawks have won three straight and four of their last five games.
Peterson made consecutive 3-pointers and Council had another in a 9-0 stretch that put Kansas ahead 13-5.
The Jayhawks never trailed the rest of the game.
Colorado cut the lead to one point four different times in the first half before the Buffaloes trailed 40-38 at halftime.
Kansas built a seven-point lead twice in the first nine minutes of the second half only to have Colorado rally back both times.
Colorado cut the lead to 60-59 with 5:50 left after Alon Michaeli made a layup and 3-pointer on consecutive possessions.
Council answered with two layups, including the second one following a steal in which it appeared on television replay that he was standing out of bounds when he tipped the inbound pass.
The two baskets ignited an 11-0 run for Kansas while Colorado missed 11 consecutive shots from the field.
Council had eight of the 11 points in the run, including two free throws to cap it, giving Kansas a 71-60 lead with 1:07 left.