F olks who know about such things say it's good to have goals.

Here's a modest one from this corner: Be around long enough to witness another Colorado basketball victory in Lawrence, Kan.

Saturday, the drought hit 25 years. Given the fact that yours truly is knocking on the door of 50, here's hoping that streak doesn't double up.

The last time the Buffaloes won a game in venerable old Allen Fieldhouse, Tom Apke coached the Buffaloes, Ted Owens was on the bench for the Jayhawks and Jay Humphries had CU folks hoping for a bright future.

It's probably no coincidence that CU's last win in Lawrence also coincided with Owens' last year in Lawrence. The next season, Larry Brown was turning KU's fortunes around, Humphries couldn't carry the Buffs by himself, and CU has been 0-for-Allen Fieldhouse since.

Interesting side note here: the same season that Colorado last won in Lawrence, a young coach by the name of Mike Krzyzewski brought his Duke Blue Devils to Boulder, a team that included young freshman Johnny Dawkins as part of an outstanding recruiting class. The Buffs won that one, too.

But a year later, Krzyzewski's team won the rematch at Cameron Indoor, and the Blue Devils have been a national power ever since.

The Buffs? They are now on their fourth coach since Apke and CU fans are still waiting for anything resemblingconsistent success to find a home in Boulder.

We bring this up only as a reminder that turning a basketball program's fortunes around does not have to be an impossible task, nor a lengthy one.

CU's last win in Lawrence proved to be simply a symptom of KU's struggles under Owens. In his last last four seasons at KU, he produced just one winning conference record.

Brown came in and immediately took Kansas to the NCAA Tournament, the start of a five-year stretch that included five consecutive NCAA berths, a Final four appearance in 1986 and a national title in 1988, his last season.

Krzyzewski, meanwhile, took four seasons to get the Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament -- but since then, they've simply been one of the best programs in the country.

Which brings us back to the Buffs.

Today, it's hard to think about CU being an NCAA Tournament contender, especially on any kind of regular basis. But we're going to tell you the same thing about Jeff Bzdelik that we told you about Dan Hawkins two years ago.

He's the right guy for the job. He will win. He will recruit well, he will build a solid foundation -- and a couple of years from now, CU fans will have a reason to be getting excited in March.

And it won't be spelled NIT. ...

Meanwhile, it's too bad that CU fans won't get to see Bob Knight one last time. When Texas Tech comes to town on Wednesday, it will be Pat Knight on the bench for the Red Raiders.

We'll miss the elder Knight -- and not for reasons you might think.

We'll miss Knight because he never, ever crossed the line when it came to NCAA rules.

Say what you will about his temperament, his penchant for controversy, all those things. But in a day and age when coaches such as Kelvin Sampson leave one school in the NCAA lurch (Oklahoma), then immediately dig another hole at their next stop (Indiana), remember that Knight never had a sniff of trouble from the NCAA.

In that regard, Knight has always been a man of integrity -- and he won. Surely that's worth something in terms of a man's legacy. ...

And finally, just when it looked like the CU women's tailspin had hit hopeless proportions, Kathy McConnell-Miller's squad knocked off Texas on Saturday, getting a huge game from Bianca Smith in the process.

Just six weeks ago, the Buffs had an 11-game winning streak and a national ranking, and McConnell-Miller seemed to be positioning herself for a contract extension. Then came a protracted slump that included a six-game losing streak heading into Saturday's tilt vs. the Longhorns.

But, unless the Buffs prove Saturday's tilt wasn't a one-game aberration, we're betting those contract talks may still have to go on hold for a year.