After a hot start to the season, the University of Colorado men’s basketball team has cooled down with three straight Big 12 conference losses, including being edged out by the sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks last night, 82-78 (via ESPN). Playing before a sold-out crowd at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, the Buffs put up a strong game, with guards Alec Burks scoring 25 points and Cory Higgins contributing 19, notes the Kansas City Star.

The matchup was the last Big 12 showdown between the schools in Boulder, since CU is joining the Pac 10 next year. And while the defeat drops Colorado to 14-7 and 3-3 in the conference, the Denver Post’s Woody Paige says the Buffs are “for real” this season, holding their own against powerhouse rivals and drawing 30,000-plus fans to home games. “I think we’ll have a bunch more sellouts this season,” CU athletic director Mike Bohn tells Paige. “[Coach] Tad Boyle and the players have been incredible. We were so close, and we’re close.”