Amy Kontras-Imagn Images
JR Payne’s team remains on the bubble.
Following consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances, JR Payne and the Colorado Buffaloes are hoping for another berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Hoping is all they can do after the Big 12 Tournament concluded with TCU cutting down the nets. The Buffs did well in Kansas City as they beat up a bad Houston team, popped the bubbly Arizona Wildcats, and then nearly upset the top-ranked Horned Frogs.
Colorado’s resume would look a lot different if they had beat TCU. The Fort Worth bunch are one of the top 10 teams in the country and that would have been an emphatic win. Payne has a history of season-defining upset wins, but that hasn’t happened this season. It’s the one thing missing from CU’s resume.
Part of that is the Big 12 schedule is a step down from the brutal Pac-12. Another is that the Buffs have been hit hard with injuries, as Frida Formann has missed weeks while Kindyll Wetta and Lior Garzon picked up injuries down the stretch. Even when healthy, this team isn’t as good as it was before — no slight to the women, it’s just the reality when you have to replace three all-conference-level players.
Colorado’s final resume: 20 wins and 12 losses, 2-8 against Quad 1 and 2-2 against Quad 2, 67th in the RPI.
The Buffs are on the fringes of the bubble and there’s nothing more they can do. They needed another big win, or a few more mid-tier wins. Baylor at home, Texas Tech on the road, TCU in KC — they needed one or two of them to build the momentum needed for an at-large bid.
None of this is to point this season as a disappointment. To the contrary, reaching the NIT is a great outcome for this transition season. Payne had to replace Jaylyn Sherrod, Quay Miller and Aaronette Vonleh, as well as veterans Charlotte Whittaker and Tameiya Sadler. Those Sweet Sixteen teams were truly special in their togetherness and fighting spirit. They spent much of this season re-establishing that identity and winning culture that took years for those women to build.
Celebrate this season and these women while they’re here. The Buffs will likely host one or two NIT games those games need to be sold out and raucous. Formann, Wetta and Smith deserve the send off, while Payne and the underclassmen need to roll that momentum into next season and the years beyond.
by Sam Metivier
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