Boulder, Colo. ? Kansas University’s men’s basketball team is 4-0 with Darnell Jackson and 5-4 without him.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve been a good-luck charm,” the 6-foot-8, 250-pound sophomore forward said. “You play hard, you win.”

An easygoing big man off the court and a bruiser on the court, Jackson is hoping to help out in a lot of ways tonight at Colorado.

Tipoff between the Jayhawks and Buffs is 8 p.m. in Coors Events Center.

“I sat out Hawaii. I didn’t go to New York,” said Jackson, who was serving an NCAA suspension and remained in Lawrence when the Jayhawks suffered two losses against one victory at the Maui Invitational and lost to Saint Joseph’s at the Coaches Vs. Cancer event at Madison Square Garden. He also missed a home loss to Nevada.

“Now, I get to go to Colorado,” Jackson said. “It should be a lot of fun. I’m a big kid on the road. I like to play around a lot, get everybody into it, get everybody comfortable.”

The Jayhawks are making their Big 12 Conference opener against a team that is 10-2 overall, but 0-1 in the league. CU flopped in its league opener Saturday at Texas, falling hard, 89-64.

“Colorado has some good outside shooters, a quick team, an experienced team,” KU senior Christian Moody said of the Buffs, who have eight scholarship seniors and 10 seniors total.

“Roby is a great player,” Moody added of sophomore Richard Roby, who averages 15.8 points and 5.2 boards per contest. “He was great as a freshman. He’s playing well this year, too.”

The team’s other double-digit scorer is Chris Copeland (12.6).

“They’ve only had one bad score, the Texas game,” KU coach Bill Self said. “They are quick inside, not physically big but run down the ball. They are a good team. We’re (also) dealing with altitude and our guys playing their first true road Big 12 game.”

Last year, about half of Coors Events Center was full of KU fans. This year, with the game not on a weekend, KU support might be down a bit.

Either way, CU coach Ricardo Patton expects a dogfight.

“We knew all along Kansas’ young players were very talented,” Patton said. “They played extremely well and got off to a quick start against Kentucky.

“When guys first come in, obviously they sometimes read the press clippings and they have been the star on their given team : then when they come in they have to learn how to play with other quote-unquote superstars,” Patton added, asked why young players sometimes needed time to grow.

Of his team’s lopsided loss at Texas, Patton said: “Looking back at the Texas game, we did not do a good job offensively of playing together. We saw, on numerous occasions, where we would come down and make one pass and somebody would jump up and shoot the basketball. Our dribble penetration was one individual as opposed to penetrating and pitching and doing different things.

“So we didn’t have great ball movement on the offensive end. And defensively, we did not pressure Texas as hard as they pressured us.”

¢ Shawn Jackson update: Jackson’s mom, Shawn, has been back in the hospital in Oklahoma City as she continues to recover from her injuries sustained in a car wreck last spring. Darnell Jackson said his mother had been suffering from headaches.

“She got sick, and they put her in the hospital. I went back home two weeks ago to see her,” said Jackson, still grieving the death of his grandmother after injuries sustained in that same wreck. “To see my mom not doing well now … a lot has been on my mind.”

¢ Sutton praises Buffs: Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton is a believer in the experienced Buffs.

“I’ll be surprised if Colorado doesn’t finish in the top half (of the Big 12 standings), and maybe in the top three or four,” Sutton said. “They are going to win a lot of games.”

The Buffs are hoping for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003. Patton, whose contract expires after next season, may need to reach the postseason to impress new athletic director Mike Bohn.