What's new
AllBuffs | Unofficial fan site for the University of Colorado at Boulder Athletics programs

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Prime Time. Prime Time. Its a new era for Colorado football. Consider signing up for a club membership! For $20/year, you can get access to all the special features at Allbuffs, including club member only forums, dark mode, avatars and best of all no ads ! But seriously, please sign up so that we can pay the bills. No one earns money here, and we can use your $20 to keep this hellhole running. You can sign up for a club membership by navigating to your account in the upper right and clicking on "Account Upgrades". Make it happen!

2023 NCAA Tourn. Thread-6 seed//20 ranked WOMEN'S Bball (Sweet 16 game in Seattle vs. 2 seed/ 3 ranked Iowa; Friday, Mar. 24th, 5:30 PM MT; ESPN)

AztecBuff

Club Member
Club Member
Moderator
Even though we don't even know who the Buffs may start off playing in this year's tourney, figured I'd start this thread now as the Buffs are a "sure thing" to be selected with their current #23 NET ranking and great season to date, and the NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for ESPN tomorrow (Sunday) evening at 6:00 PM MT.

I plan on continuing to use this thread throughout the tourney, so have the shell below for further info I plan to provide once the 1st (and hopefully later) round(s) opponent(s) and game are announced.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Webpage where I assume the full tournament bracket will become available as it's announced tomorrow - https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/basketball-women/d1/2023

Re an NCAA article (https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketbal...omens-basketball-selection-show-date-schedule ) on this year's Championship, some information, including the rough schedule and location for the later round games -

"
The 2023 NCAA DI Women's Basketball March Madness bracket will be revealed during the Selection Show at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 12 on ESPN.

The 2023 championship will have 68 teams in the field. The First Four games are Wednesday and Thursday, March 15-16. First- and second-round games will be played Friday, March 17, through Monday, March 20. The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 are March 24-27 in Greenville, S.C., and Seattle, Wash.

The 2023 Women's Final Four games are Friday, March 31, in Dallas, Texas. The national championship is Sunday, April 2.
...
"

Go Buffs!!!
________________________________________________________________________________________________

More on the opponent(s):

1st round opponent - Middle Tennessee:
Roster
- https://goblueraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Stats - https://goblueraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2022-23
Schedule - https://goblueraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule
Their preview article -
2nd round opponent - Duke:
Roster
- https://goduke.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Stats - https://goduke.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/
Schedule - https://goduke.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule
Their preview article -
3rd round opponent - Iowa:
Roster
- https://hawkeyesports.com/sports/wbball/roster/
Stats - https://hawkeyesports.com/sports/wbball/cumestats/season/2022-23/
Schedule - https://hawkeyesports.com/sports/wbball/schedule/
Their preview article - ________________________________________________________________________________________________

Media and game information links:

Host of 1st 2 rounds (Duke's) Tournament central -

1st round (Vs. #11 seed Middle Tennessee):
NCAA Homepage for the game
- https://www.ncaa.com/game/6143377
Live video - Game is being shown live on ESPNews. For those whose Cable/ Satellite/ Cord Cutting subscription includes access to that channel, assume the game can also be streamed on the ESPN App or at https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/39b7ad0b-901f-4c85-a6a8-e3e2a32e2a9b . (If there are any issues with the detail link, the general Watch ESPN link is https://www.espn.com/watch/ .)
Live Stats - https://www.ncaa.com/game/6143377

Live audio - In addition to being available on 850 or 630 AM and maybe 94.1 FM in the Denver/ Boulder area and maybe other stations in the Buff radio network, a free audio stream for the games will be available at:https://cubuffs.com/watch/?Live=2804&type=Live.
Games notes -
2nd round (Vs. #3 seed Duke):
NCAA Homepage for the game
- https://www.ncaa.com/game/6143403
Live video - Game is being shown live on ESPNU. For those whose Cable/ Satellite/ Cord Cutting subscription includes access to that channel, assume the game can also be streamed on the ESPN App or at https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/bb655ac9-7a72-45bb-933b-7f0c8434df4a . (If there are any issues with the detail link, the general Watch ESPN link is https://www.espn.com/watch/ .)

Live Stats - https://www.ncaa.com/game/6143403

Live audio - In addition to being available on 850 or 630 AM and maybe 94.1 FM in the Denver/ Boulder area and maybe other stations in the Buff radio network, a free audio stream for the games will be available at:https://cubuffs.com/watch/?Live=2805&type=Live.
Games notes - _________________________________________________________________________________________

In Seattle:

3nd (Sweet 16) round (Vs. #2 seed Iowa):

NCAA Homepage for the game/ Live Stats
- https://www.ncaa.com/game/6143416

Live video - Game is being shown live on ESPN. For those whose Cable/ Satellite/ Cord Cutting subscription includes access to that channel, assume the game can also be streamed on the ESPN App or at https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/b4ac3bae-076e-48c8-8a2e-02618833091b . (If there are any issues with the detail link, the general Watch ESPN link is https://www.espn.com/watch/ .)

Live audio - In addition to being available on 850 AM and 94.1 FM in the Denver/ Boulder area and maybe other stations in the Buff radio network, a free audio stream for the games will be available at https://cubuffs.com/watch/?Live=2809&type=Live.

Games notes - https://cubuffs.com/documents/2023/3/22/NCAA_3.pdf
 
Last edited:
The women had to wait until the last region was announced, but have been placed in a region led by #1 seed Stanford.

The Buffs have been named a #6 seed, and will be playing Middle Tennessee in the 1st round at Duke University.
 
Per the bracket I linked to in the original post, the Buffs will be playing its 1st game on Saturday, March 18th.

Time is still to be determined.
 
Yes - IF Duke, a #3 seed, defeats #14 Iona in their 1st game.
This could be great for us. Playing so many tough teams in the PAC-12 and ranked teams on the road should prepare us well for this. We will be an underdog which is good for this team.

No matter what happens, I hope that Sherrod and Miller both decide they are coming back. Next year we need to be hosting the first two rounds.
 






Article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2023/3/12/...-headed-to-back-to-back-ncaa-tournaments.aspx

"
Women's Basketball March 12, 2023 Seth Pringle, Assistant SID

Colorado Headed to Back-to-Back NCAA Tournaments​

The Buffaloes were selected as a sixth seed on Sunday


BOULDER—The No. 20 Colorado women's basketball team will enter the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed in the Seattle 4 Region. The Buffaloes will play the No. 11-seeded Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Saturday, Mar. 18 in Durham, N.C.

"I was excited to see our name pop up," head coach JR Payne expressed as CU wasn't announced until the final portion of the broadcast. "We waited so long for a couple of our players asked, 'Are you sure we're in?' I was like, 'Yes. We're in, don't worry.' I am excited. I was born in Tennessee. I have a lot of family in Tennessee and grew up hearing about Middle [Tennessee]. I have a lot of family members that went to school there. I know they're really good. I have yet to watch them this year, but they're good. We're excited."

The selection to the field of 68 marks CU's second consecutive trip to the Big Dance. The last time the Buffs made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament was the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons.

"This is the second year in a row we have gone to the tournament and we knew we were going to be in it, but we're just excited to get back and get a second chance," junior Frida Formann explained. "This year I think we have just shut out any outside noise and just work on our thing. I'm so happy that it worked out well in the end for us. It is also not a coincidence that we are in the tournament because we have been working hard and have a really good team."

The Buffs draw the No. 6 seed for the fourth time in what is now 15 trips to the NCAA Tournament. CU is 3-3 all-time as a sixth seed. The last time CU was a sixth seed was in the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

"There's a bunch of talks over the weeks," sophomore Aaronette Vonleh said of CU's projected seeding. "You never know where you're going to end up. I mean, six is still pretty good. Middle Tennessee, I don't know much about them, but we just have to be ready to play whomever we get matched up with."

Colorado (23-8) enjoying its best season since the 2012-13 campaign. The Buffs' 23 wins this season bested last season's 22 and are the most since the 2012-13 season (25). CU scored its best finish in the Pac-12, closing the year third in the conference with a 13-5 record. The Black and Gold made its second consecutive trip to the Pac-12 semifinals in Las Vegas, before bowing out to eventual tournament champion Washington State.
...

The postseason trip will be CU's third in a row. Colorado used the 2021 WNIT as a building block and graduated to the NCAA Tournament last season. The last time CU had three consecutive postseason berths were the 2012 WNIT, 2013 NCAA Tournament and 2014 WNIT.

Colorado is 17-14 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has advanced to the Elite Eight three times, the last coming in 2002. CU's last NCAA Tournament win came in the second round of the 2003 tournament against North Carolina (86-67) in Boulder.

Middle Tennessee (28-4, 18-2 C-USA) won both the C-USA regular season and tournament championships and finished the year ranked No. 25 in the AP poll. The Lady Raiders have won two of the last three C-USA titles. MT enters the tournament on a 10-game winning streak and is eighth in the NCAA with a scoring margin of +17.2.

The Pac-12 landed seven teams in the field of 68. Stanford earned a No. 1 seeding in the Seattle 4 Region, while Utah got slotted as the No. 2 seed in the Greenville 2 Region and is joined by Washington State (5). UCLA (4) and Arizona (7) are both in the Greenville 1 Region while USC (8) landed in the Seattle 3 Region.

Game time and ticket information will be released on Monday.

Buffs Hand Out Season Awards
Before the Buffs learned of their NCAA Tournament fate, the team held its annual banquet.

Sherrod took home the team's Most Valuable Player Award. Sophomore Kindyll Wetta earned the team's Defensive Player of the Year, while Offensive Player of the year honors went to Miller. Miller also claimed the Lisa Van Goor Rebounding Award. Junior Tameiya Sadler was awarded the Crystal Ford Adams Scholar-Athlete Award. Vonleh claimed the Weight Room Award and was the team's Newcomer of the Year. Charlotte Whittaker was honored as this year's Ceal Barry Pride Award winner.
"
 
Wait, Wazzou got a higher seed than CU but had was 35 in the NET to CU’s 23? And UCLA got a #4 seed but was #22 in the NET?

This committee doesn't seem to be nearly as reliant on NET as the other sports I'm more used to looking into at tournament time (especially women's soccer and volleyball) that seem to be much more reliant on the (I believe much less precise) RPI.

It looks like Oregon women's basketball didn't get selected at all tonight even with a 19 NET. (I don't think I've ever heard of a volleyball or soccer team not get selected if they had that good of an RPI.)
 
Last edited:
Well, no excuse for me not to go.

Has anyone seen any ticketing information? I can't seem to find any.

Haven't see anything CU-specific (tickets in a specific fan section) yet. (Assume info should become available soon after game times are announced, which is supposed to be sometime today.?.)

Per Duke's selection announcement article (https://goduke.com/news/2023/3/12/w...-faces-iona-in-ncaa-first-round-saturday.aspx ) -

"
With Duke selected as one of the 16 host sites, general public tickets will go on sale this week beginning Monday, March 13 at 11 a.m., ET at goduke.com/tickets.

Game day parking will open two (2) hours prior to the first game of each session. There will be no charge to park during the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. General parking will be available in Science Drive Garage (GPS Address: 3100 Cameron Blvd.).
"
 
This committee doesn't seem to be nearly as reliant on NET as the other sports I'm more used to looking into at tournament time (especially women's soccer and volleyball() that seem to be much more reliant on the (I believe much less precise) RPI.

It looks like Oregon women's basketball didn't get selected at all tonight even with a 19 NET. (I don't think I've ever heard of a volleyball or soccer team not get selected if they had that good of an RPI.)

Oregon was in the last 4 out according to an article on ESPN last night.

The more upsets in the conference championships there are, the lower you go
 
1st look by Brian Howell/ Buffzone at Friday's matchup - https://www.buffzone.com/2023/03/13...-buffs-begin-learning-about-middle-tennessee/

As he notes, looking at the matchup, at least based on evaluation numbers available, the Committee did not do the Buffs (or Middle Tennessee) any favors in this one, especially for a #6 seed (although of course ANY matchup in the tournament will be a challenge):
  • I assume this will be the only 1st round game where both teams are ranked in the current AP Media poll, with CU ranked #20 and Middle Tennessee #25. (Middle Tennessee is NOT ranked in the Coaches poll, but are receiving the 28th most votes, or just one spot behind where WSU is ranked, who is a #5 seed.)
  • In the NET rankings, the Buffs are #23, while Middle Tennessee is #28.
Overall, it's interesting to me that this committee just seemed to very much do its own thing, especially compared to what I'm used to seeing in other sports:
  • As I mentioned earlier, it didn't select Oregon at all, even with a #19 NET, so NET obviously wasn't too important of a metric to them. (I know in volleyball, a team with an RPI in the low to mid 30's, especially if in a qualify (usually P5) conference is considered VERY safe to be selected.)
  • Then, I just noticed that it made Gonzaga a #9 seed, even though the Zags are ranked #16 in the latest AP Media Poll and #17 in the Coaches' Poll (which would indicate they should be no worse than a 4 or 5 seed). So, the Committee obviously also didn't see (or care) what others saw/ thought you'd think would be pretty knowledgeable (coaches and media who follow teams throughout the year) about the relative team quality of Gonzaga. (There could be other instances similar to Gonzaga's. I just happened to notice thier situation when looking at the rankings and bracket.)
 
1st look by Brian Howell/ Buffzone at Friday's matchup - https://www.buffzone.com/2023/03/13...-buffs-begin-learning-about-middle-tennessee/

As he notes, looking at the matchup, at least based on evaluation numbers available, the Committee did not do the Buffs (or Middle Tennessee) any favors in this one, especially for a #6 seed (although of course ANY matchup in the tournament will be a challenge):
  • I assume this will be the only 1st round game where both teams are ranked in the current AP Media poll, with CU ranked #20 and Middle Tennessee #25. (Middle Tennessee is NOT ranked in the Coaches poll, but are receiving the 28th most votes, or just one spot behind where WSU is ranked, who is a #5 seed.)
  • In the NET rankings, the Buffs are #23, while Middle Tennessee is #28.
Overall, it's interesting to me that this committee just seemed to very much do its own thing, especially compared to what I'm used to seeing in other sports:
  • As I mentioned earlier, it didn't select Oregon at all, even with a #19 NET, so NET obviously wasn't too important of a metric to them. (I know in volleyball, a team with an RPI in the low to mid 30's, especially if in a qualify (usually P5) conference is considered VERY safe to be selected.)
  • Then, I just noticed that it made Gonzaga a #9 seed, even though the Zags are ranked #16 in the latest AP Media Poll and #17 in the Coaches' Poll (which would indicate they should be no worse than a 4 or 5 seed). So, the Committee obviously also didn't see (or care) what others saw/ thought you'd think would be pretty knowledgeable (coaches and media who follow teams throughout the year) about the relative team quality of Gonzaga. (There could be other instances similar to Gonzaga's. I just happened to notice thier situation when looking at the rankings and bracket.)
None of it adds up. 1-1 against Utah, finished 1 game back, they get a 2 seed. Swept UCLA and WSU regular season, finished above both in the conf standings. They're both higher seeds. And as a reward we get a top 25 team.
 
None of it adds up. 1-1 against Utah, finished 1 game back, they get a 2 seed. Swept UCLA and WSU regular season, finished above both in the conf standings. They're both higher seeds. And as a reward we get a top 25 team.
I agree with you. Hard to understand how they put us where we are. But to their credit, we also got blown out by USC at home, got blown out by Utah on the road, got blown out by Arizona on the road. And then we really didn’t compete against WSU in the pac 12 tourney. still an exciting season with some great wins and I can’t wait to see what happens next year!
 
CU has a shot at making it out of Durham IF:

• They continue to play disruptive defense (I see you Jaylyn Sherrod) and

• They hit the boards hard (Thank you Quay Miller - you've been good at this all season) and

• Quay Miller gets her shooting mojo back (she was a reliable 3 level scorer for much of the season) and

• They are more proficient at scoring in the half court when the shot clock gets below 12 seconds or so.

Take away one or two of these and the could lose to MTSU on Saturday.
 
CU has a shot at making it out of Durham IF:

• They continue to play disruptive defense (I see you Jaylyn Sherrod) and

• They hit the boards hard (Thank you Quay Miller - you've been good at this all season) and

• Quay Miller gets her shooting mojo back (she was a reliable 3 level scorer for much of the season) and

• They are more proficient at scoring in the half court when the shot clock gets below 12 seconds or so.

Take away one or two of these and the could lose to MTSU on Saturday.
.....and I'd probably have Wetta on the court a disproportionate amount of time. If folks here think that CU got too low a seed, you could sure make the same argument on behalf of MTSU if you check into its season and indivdual games. They beat Louisville (23-11), Memphis (20-10) and Houston (15-16), much higher pedigree programs than MTSU.
 
Last edited:
.....and I'd probably have Wetta on the court a disproportionate amount of time. If folks here think that CU got too low a seed, you could sure make the same argument on behalf of MTSU if you check into its season and indivdual games. They beat Louisville (23-11), Memphis (20-10) and Houston (15-16), much higher pedigree programs.
while we are all disappointed by the #6 seed, it’s time for them to show on the basketball court that the committee got it wrong by winning the first game and then beating Duke on the road. This could be a great motivator.
 

Youre The Best GIF by Rhino Records


Awesome Buff. Please come back next year!
 
.....and I'd probably have Wetta on the court a disproportionate amount of time. If folks here think that CU got too low a seed, you could sure make the same argument on behalf of MTSU if you check into its season and indivdual games. They beat Louisville (23-11), Memphis (20-10) and Houston (15-16), much higher pedigree programs than MTSU.
Agreed on the mtsu seeding, kinda insult to injury imo. But we've played and beat plenty of top 25 teams, gotta go do it again, even if the bracket did us no favors
 
Back
Top