Andre Roberson's lockdown defense on Jacob Pullen hastened Purple Reign's TBT exit

WICHITA — Jacob Pullen and Andre Roberson's paths did not cross often in their Big 12 playing days.

Pullen, Kansas State's all-time leading scorer, was an All-America senior for the Wildcats in 2010-11, when Roberson came into the league as a Colorado freshman. So, who knew that when they reconnected on Saturday in the opening round of The Basketball Tournament at Koch Arena that their matchup would play such a large part in determining the outcome?

Pullen, playing for K-State's Purple Reign alumni team, hit four straight 3-pointers in a 14-point first quarter, all from long range. Then Team Colorado's Roberson locked down defensively and all but took Pullen out of the game.

Pullen still led Purple Reign with 17 points but was limited to three free throws over the last three quarters as No. 5 seed Team Colorado held on for a 71-67 victory. Roberson finished with nine points, a team-high nine rebounds and a steal.

"I said it to the media in Colorado, Andre Roberson is the best defender in TBT," Team Colorado coach Zach Ruebesam said. "There's a reason he was chasing Steph Curry around screens for eight years (in the NBA). Jacob Pullen made his first four (3-point) shots, I believe, and finished 4 of 12.

"He is elite defensively."

It was a disappointing return to TBT for Pullen, who missed last year's tournament but hit a dramatic game-winning 3-pointer to win a first-round game for the team then known as Purple & Black. He thought he had it going in the opening quarter against Team Colorado when he swished his first four attempts from well beyond the arc and had a fifth just rim out.

"Sometimes I get hot, and I can still do that," Pullen, 34, said with a smile. "But as I get older, I wear down faster."

Pullen, who recently completed his 12th professional season, mostly overseas, admitted that Roberson's defense was a factor as well.

"Dre guarded me in college and he sent me home in the Big 12 (Tournament) senior year," Pullen said of the 6-foot-7, Roberson, an eight-year NBA veteran. "We have a great relationship as far as competitiveness, and I'm always happy to see him, glad he's back on the court, he's healthy, and he's always been a good player.

"Chasing me with his size and length is always going to bother a few shots."

Roberson, whose Colorado team beat K-State all three times in 2010-11, including the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, downplayed his defensive effort.

"We've seen him back in the day, in the Big 12," he said. "We had our battles then, so I was familiar with him.

"He made a couple early, like four in a row. He's a good player. I just tried to do what it takes to win."

Pullen, who scored a school-record 2,132 points in his K-State career, was just Roberson's latest victim. In 2017, with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was named to the NBA all-defense second team.

"Jake went on a run on his own in the first quarter, but Andre did a great job on him," Purple Reign coach Jordan Henriquez-Roberts said. "He's an all-defensive first team in the NBA for a reason."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.