Richard Roby tried to extend it, but the University of Colorado's foundational first season under men's basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik concluded Friday in a fashion not totally unexpected.

Presented plenty of opportunities to advance, the No. 12-seeded Buffaloes nonetheless bowed out of the Big 12 Conference tournament with a 54-49 loss to No. 4 seed Oklahoma, squandering their chance to become the first CU team to reach the Big 12 semifinals.

Roby, a 6-foot-6 senior, scored a game-best 18 points (50 in two tournament games) and overtook Donnie Boyce (1,995) as the school's career scoring leader. Roby finished with 2,001 points, becoming the first CU men's player to reach 2,000.

"When I look back on it in a few days . . . it will be a great feeling. Right now, it's hard to really sink in that this is (my) last game in a Colorado uniform," said Roby, who contributed 10 rebounds and recorded his 11th career double-double.

Bzdelik acknowledged Roby's ability but said the player's greatest attribute is "that he cares - and that's a great quality."

It is one Bzdelik hopes will become common at CU. His first team finished 12-20, losing five games by six points or fewer, another by seven and two more by nine. But close was not comforting - the 20 losses this season and last (7-20) marked the first time in almost two decades CU has suffered back-to-back 20- loss seasons.

"Seeing all these close games this year, games we were in, we've got to come in next year knowing we can win - not just hoping we can be able to play with other teams," freshman guard Cory Higgins said. "We got closer and closer to that (as the season progressed). . . . We expected to win these last two games."

Overall, the program's accomplishments under Bzdelik "far exceeded where I thought we'd be," athletic director Mike Bohn said. "People say, 'Well, it didn't show up on the scoreboard.' Well, that's right. It hasn't shown up on the scoreboard as much as we'd like, but you start looking at the things that happened."

He pointed to facilities improvements, a record opening- game crowd at the Coors Events Center (8,372, against New Mexico), charter flights for the team, a win Thursday as a No. 12 seed (a tournament first) and Roby's accomplishment.

Bzdelik wants his second CU team to feature more outside accuracy overall, but especially from the post players, as well as to be deeper and more attuned to his system.

Joining eight returnees will be three roster players - transfers Casey Crawford and Kyle Wright, academic redshirt Jeremy Williams - and possibly as many as seven newcomers. Blinn (Texas) Junior College signee Javonte Clanton is not expected to be among them, with an official announcement expected next week.

"Whenever (CU) takes the court, we expect to win," Bzdelik said.

Oklahoma 54, Colorado 49

COLORADO (12-20) - Jackson-Wilson 1-4 0-0 2, King-Stockton 0-2 0-0 0, Hall 5-13 0-0 12, Higgins 3-6 5-7 11, Roby 7-15 2-5 18, Thorne II 2-8 0-0 6, Coney 0-1 0-0 0, Knutson 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 18-52 7-12 49.

OKLAHOMA (22-10) - T.Griffin 3-8 4-4 10, Longar 4-12 3-4 11, Crocker 4-9 2-4 12, Johnson 3-7 1-4 8, Davis 2-8 0-0 6, Neysmith 0-0 0-0 0, Leary 0-2 0-0 0, Godbold 1-5 0-1 3, B.Griffin 2-7 0-2 4. Totals 19-58 10-19 54.

Halftime - Oklahoma 26-21. Three-point attempts - Colorado 6-25 (Hall 2-5, Roby 2-7, Thorne II 2-7, Coney 0-1, Higgins 0-2, Knutson 0-3), Oklahoma 6-23 (Crocker 2-6, Davis 2-7, Johnson 1-4, Godbold 1-4, Leary 0-2). Fouled out - Jackson-Wilson, King-Stockton. Rebounds - Colorado 37 (Roby 10), Oklahoma 46 (B.Griffin, Longar 9). Assists - Colorado 10 (Hall, Higgins, King-Stockton 2), Oklahoma 11 (Davis, Godbold, Leary 2). Total fouls - Colorado 21, Oklahoma 15. A - 18,897.

No. 6 Texas 66, Oklahoma State 59 D.J. Augustin wiped out the Cowboys' halftime lead with a single shot. A few minutes later, the quick and crafty point guard had obliterated all the hard- earned momentum of the Cowboys (17-15) in lifting the Longhorns (27-5) to victory.

No. 5 Kansas 64, Nebraska 54 Brandon Rush scored six points in a 15-4 run, and the Jayhawks (29-3) overcame their worst half this season, erasing a shocking nine-point lead by the Cornhuskers (19-12).

Texas A&M 63, Kansas State 60 Dominique Kirk hit five three- pointers and had 19 points, and Josh Carter hit two free throws with seven seconds left to help the Aggies (24-9) hold off the third-seeded Wildcats (20-11).

brooksb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5466

Men's Big 12 schedule

At the Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.

All times Mountain

Quarterfinals

FRIDAY'S SCORES

Oklahoma 54, Colorado 49

Texas 66, Oklahoma State 59

Kansas 64, Nebraska 54

Texas A&M 63, Kansas State 60

Semifinals

TODAY'S GAMES

Texas vs. Oklahoma, noon

Kansas vs. Texas A&M, 2:20 p.m.

Women's Big 12 schedule

At Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Mo.

Semifinals

THURSDAY'S SCORES

Texas A&M 65, Iowa State 53

Oklahoma State 75, Texas 72

Championship

TODAY'S GAME

Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State, 5 p.m.