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2025 Big 12 Tourney thread- #9 seed WOMEN'S bball (Kansas City, MO; 1st round game vs. #16 seed Houston, Wednesday, 3/5, 12:30 PM MT, ESPN+)

AztecBuff

AztecBuff

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(I plan on continuing to use and update this thread and post as, hopefully, the Buffs advance in the tournament.)

It's a couple days until Buff women's basketball (18-11 overall; 9-9 in Big 12 play) have their 1st tourney game in their (re-)new conference at the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship as they face off at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center with the #16 seed Houston Cougars (5-24, 1-17) early Wednesday afternoon.
(The winner of Wednesday's game is scheduled to play at the same time (12:30 PM MT) the next day (Thursday) against the #8 seed Arizona Wildcats.)

All tournament games are on the ESPN platform, with all slotted for ESPN+ except for 2 of the 3rd round (Friday) games, which are scheduled to be on ESPNU, and the final which is scheduled for ESPN. (Links and more information about coverage for each CU game will be added as they hopefully advance is further down in this post.)

In the current NET rankings (dated 3/1/25, https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d1/ncaa-womens-basketball-net-rankings), CU is #58, while the Cougars are at #176. (Potential 2nd round opponent Arizona is at #55.)

Go Buffs!!!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A little more on the upcoming opponent(s)

1st round opponent- Houston:
Roster - https://uhcougars.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Stats - https://uhcougars.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2024-25
Schedule - https://uhcougars.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule
Their game(s) preview article - Not available as I type this.

2nd round opponent - Arizona:
Roster - https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Stats - https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats
Schedule - https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule
Their game(s) preview article - Not available as I type this.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Media links:

Big 12's tourney home page, which also feature's its Initial article with bracket and general games' schedule, ticketing and coverage info, etc. - https://big12sports.com/tournaments/?id=1026&path=wbball

Tournament Bracket - https://big12sports.com/documents/2025/3/2//WBB_2025Bracket.pdf?id=7679

Live video:
Vs. Houston - Game is being streamed live for those with an ESPN+ premium subscription, available either on the ESPN app or at https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/b1fa0dc7-a264-4912-83c2-89c7c741b32a .
2nd round vs. Arizona - If the Buffs advance, The 2nd round Game vs. Arizona is also being streamed live on ESPN+, again available either on the ESPN app or at https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/44662d14-a67e-4a72-b59c-873deea19d23.

Live audio- In addition to (if like in past seasons) being available on 630 AM in the Denver/ Boulder area and maybe other stations in the Buff radio network, looks like a free audio stream will be available at. (Left blank if not known as I type this. General link which can be used to find audio streams is https://cubuffs.com/watch/.):
Vs. Houston - https://cubuffs.com/watch/?Live=3045&type=Live
2nd round vs. Arizona - https://cubuffs.com/watch/?Live=3046&type=Live

Live stats: (General live stats links for all tourney games should be at https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/central.php?tid=219 as they become available.) -
Vs. Houston - https://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=583928
2nd round vs. Arizona - https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=583932

Game notes:
Vs. Houston - https://cubuffs.com/documents/2025/3/4/WBB_Notes_3_5_25_Game_30_B12_Houston_.pdf
2nd round vs. Arizona - https://cubuffs.com/documents/2025/3/6/WBB_Notes_3_5_26_Game_31_B12_Arizona.pdf
 
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I don't have a lot of faith for a deep run in the tourney, but on paper, we should beat Houston.

I am doubtful they win any more games unless a miracle happens and Frida can play at full strength.
 
So I will be watching the Big 12 on Espn +, Iowa on Peacock and I just shelled out $5 to watch the Iowa girls' state tournment on PBS.

I've already canceled the add on for the Big 10. Espn + will be leaving my house soon.
 
buffgal said:
So I will be watching the Big 12 on Espn +, Iowa on Peacock and I just shelled out $5 to watch the Iowa girls' state tournment on PBS.

I've already canceled the add on for the Big 10. Espn + will be leaving my house soon.
Click to expand...
This is the type of thing I'm bitching about. Cable was a great product until so many people started cutting the cord that the companies had to start raising prices to maintain revenues, leading to blackouts from carriage negotiations et al.

Now we have a more expensive, less user friendly product than we had before.
 
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That describes it, Nick. I don't know what happened Saturday. After I watched the CU WBB game, I wanted to watch the end of another Big 12 game.

I had not signed out of the app. When I tried the game, it said it was blacked out in my area. Then it said I didn't have an account. So I had to set the account up again. I don't understand how that happens. I was watching a game and then I didn't have an account?
 
Preview for this afternoon's tourney opener, and congrats to Ms's. Formann and Masagayo for the conference recognition - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/3/4/w...le-mentions-buffs-set-for-big-12-championship
(Note - with my travels, the game is scheduled to begin EARLY morning my time, so I probably won't be providing updates unless I happen to wake up in the middle of the night.)

"

Formann, Masogayo Score Honorable Mentions, Buffs Set for Big 12 Championship​

The Buffaloes head to Kansas City for their first Big 12 Championship since 2011

By: Seth Pringle, Athletic Communications

KANSAS CITY – Colorado's Frida Formann and Jade Masogayo were bestowed All-Big 12 honorable mention honors on Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday's start to the Big 12 Championship.

The honor is Formann's third conference honorable mention selection, totaling two from the Pac-12 Conference. It is Masogayo's first all-conference team selection. She was the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2023.

"Jade has been one of the most consistent players in the conference," head coach JR Payne expressed. "Leading the conference in field goal percentage is an incredible thing as a first-year player in the Big 12. I'm really proud of her and all she's done all season long.

"I think it's a testament to Frida's reputation in the conference that she was still named honorable mention, even though she's missed half the season," Payne continued. "I'm proud of what she was able to accomplish while she was playing and hopeful that she'll come back and play a little bit more [this season]."
...

Colorado Set for First Round Against Houston

Colorado (18-11) opens its first Big 12 Championship since 2011 with a rematch against the 16-seeded Houston Cougars (12:30 p.m. MT).

"As a program, we're really excited to just experience the Big 12 Conference Tournament," Payne commented. "It's a new environment at a new place. At this point of the season, everybody should be playing at their best. I think no matter who you play or what round you're playing in, you're going to get everybody's best effort."

The Buffaloes, the No. 9 seed in the tournament, dispatched Houston with an 83-60 win in Boulder back on Feb. 15. Colorado, which played with only eight players in the rotation that day, was led by double-doubles from freshmen Grace Oliver (16 pts, 14 reb) and Erin Powell (11 pts, 11 reb). Ayianna Johnson led the team in scoring with 20 points and Kennedy Sanders rounded out the group with 18 points and five assists.

CU has been the No. 9 seed in three previous Big 12 Championships. The Buffs are 0-3 as the No. 9 seed and 8-14 in 15 Big 12 Championship appearances. Colorado won the inaugural Big 12 Championship as the No. 3 seed in 1997.

Houston enters the tournament on a 12-game losing streak. The Cougars' lone Big 12 win was a 79-76 win over No. 24 Oklahoma State. Houston is 0-1 all-time in the Big 12 Tournament, making its first appearance last season as the No. 13 seed.

The winner will advance to Thursday's second round against eighth-seeded Arizona (12:30 p.m. MT).

Christy Thomaskutty and Eric Frede will have the call on ESPN+.

Cory Lopez and Carol Callan will have pregame coverage across the Colorado Radio Network starting at noon MT.
"
 
I will be watching so many basketball games between now and Sunday.

At least I don't have to watch Mulkey.
 
Goose said:
What the holy hell is this court?
Click to expand...

I had the same question. Ugly, fugly.

So the Buffs had 33 turnovers against the last place team in the Big 12. If they play like this tomorrow, Arizona will run them off that ugly court.

From the radio, sounds like the Buffs still hope to go to the NCAA tournament. This is not a tournament team.

Sara Rose Smith didn't make the trip.
 
buffgal said:
I had the same question. Ugly, fugly.

So the Buffs had 33 turnovers against the last place team in the Big 12. If they play like this tomorrow, Arizona will run them off that ugly court.

From the radio, sounds like the Buffs still hope to go to the NCAA tournament. This is not a tournament team.

Sara Rose Smith didn't make the trip.
Click to expand...
Hopefully they got that out of their system
 
One of their problems all season has been turnovers but 33 was the most in the last 18 years. Not the kind of record you want.

They also foul too much and don't seem to adjust to how the game is being called. Wetta fouled out fairly early in the 4th quarter with an intentional foul. By now, she should know how to stay in the game.

Houston had nothing to lose in this game and that is how they played.
 
Media after today's win:

Article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/3/5/w...ton-in-first-round-of-the-big-12-championship

"

Buffs Outlast Houston in First Round of the Big 12 Championship​

By: Aiden Tank, Athletic Communications

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The ninth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes outlasted 16th-seeded Houston 66-58 in the first round of the Big 12 Championship Wednesday at the T-Mobile Center.

Colorado (19-11) survived the fourth quarter push by Houston (5-25) thanks to big efforts from graduate transfer Lior Garzon, who finished with a game-high 21 points, three 3-pointers, and 6-of-6 from the free throw line to go along with Jade Masogayo's 14 points and six rebounds.

"The message in the locker room was, at this time of the year, you win the game," head coach JR Payne said. "Everybody uses the phrase 'Survive and advance,' and we certainly survived, and we certainly are advancing. There are definitely some areas we want to improve by tomorrow, but there are lots of really great things as well: clutch free throws, big shots, and defensive stops. I thought we contested really well. We hit the three-point line when we needed to. We're going to move on and get ready for Arizona."

The Buffs stifled the Cougars' offense in the first half, holding them to just 20 points on 8-of-32 shooting. Colorado dominated in the paint, scoring 14 in the first half and outrebounding them 27-14.

Colorado got its offense going in the third quarter, scoring 20 points and shooting 100% from the foul line and beyond the arc.

Late in the game, turnovers allowed the Cougars to fight back. The Buffs coughed up 14 of their 33 turnovers. In the second half, Houston scored 22 of its 38 points off CU turnovers. CU's 33 turnovers were the most in a win since Nov. 26, 1980.

"I thought initially, we were just catching and dribbling, which is never great against pressure unless you have a really open seam. I thought we fixed that a little bit, but I think they were really aggressive and athletic," Payne said of the turnovers. "Some of our decisions, as far as passing across the court instead of maybe somebody closer that's open, I thought that that cost us, and we definitely got rattled. I can't hide the fact that we were pretty rattled. But I also think, in some ways, maybe that's a blessing because maybe we now can really focus on that because we certainly will see pressure tomorrow as well."

Free-throw shooting kept the Buffs ahead in the fourth quarter, making 10-of-12 to ice the game. Garzon was 6-for-6 in the fourth quarter from the line and scored 18 of her 21 points after halftime.

"At halftime, I had a talk with myself; the team needs you right now; it's time to step up, take your emotion out of it," Garzon said. "They [coaches] always tell me they don't really care if I miss a shot, just play hard. I feel like in the second half, I went out there confident and time to go like there's no tomorrow. I think that was a big."

With the win, Colorado will advance to play the No. 8 seed Arizona tomorrow in the second round of the Big 12 Championships.
...

"Survive and advance. Let's get the next one. That's the mentality right now," Masogayo expressed.

UP NEXT
Colorado advances to the second round of the Big 12 Championship and will play No. 9 Arizona tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. at the T-Mobile Center.

NOTES
CU improves to 9-14 all-time in the Big 12 Championship…Wednesday was CU's first Big 12 Championship win since defeating ninth-seeded Texas Tech, 71-67, in the first round of the 2007 tournament…Colorado was without Nyamer Diew and Frida Formann (injuries)…Wetta's disqualification was her fifth this season…Wetta had six assists, recording her 15th game with five or more assists this season...21 points for Garzon is her best Big 12 Championship performance in four tournament games (three at Oklahoma St.)…Masogayo recorded her 21st game in double figures…Garzon recorded her 15th double-figure scoring game and her fourth 20-point game…Oliver finished with her seventh game with five or more rebounds (7)…Colorado was +26 in rebounding (48-22), the third-highest rebounding margin in the preliminary round to date…CU's 33 turnovers were the most ever in a Big 12 Tournament game (32, Oklahoma - 2006).
"
__________________________________________________________________________

Box score - https://cubuffs.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2024-25/houston/boxscore/17299







 
I have updated the original threads with the links I could find for tomorrow's game, and links with more info on the Wildcats.

Also, wanted to mention it looks like it was a pretty wild 1st day at the Championships, with the Buffs being the only 1 of 4 higher/ better seeded team to advance. (#'s 12 seeded BYU, #11 seed Kansas and #10 seed Cincinnati all went down in defeat to the #'s 13 (UCF), 14 (ASU) and 15 (TX Tech) seeds, respectively.)
 
The article is a bit misleading about the players we don't have. Sara Rose Smith didn't make the trip according to the radio announcers, so we are down 3 players, not 2.

I watched BYU/UCF. It was a fun game to watch.

They were saying on the radio the turnovers was the most in the last 18 years when actually it is since 1980. Yikes!

Buffs have to stop the turnovers if they want to win. So many of the turnovers were from being careless with the ball. Can't do that.

ETA: I misunderstood from yesterday. Ny Diew is the one who didn't travel. Sara Rose didn't play yesterday, so time will tell on that. Just said Frida is still in the boot, but she is in Kansas City
 
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They figured out a way to win. It wasn't pretty, even in the 4th quarter.
But they didn't fold in the 4th quarter, which they could have done.

Tomorrow, it will be very very difficult to beat TCU. They are an excellent team. Lior Garzone said on the radio the Buffs are a better team than when they played at TCU and she thinks they can win. Hope she is right.

Lots of players got a lot of minutes today. I like that.

We definitely need a big center. That is a necessity.

It's rare to see officials move fouls from one player to another but a 5th foul was called on Wetta and it was reversed. Game might have ended differently if that had not happened.
 
buffgal said:
They figured out a way to win. It wasn't pretty, even in the 4th quarter.
But they didn't fold in the 4th quarter, which they could have done.

Tomorrow, it will be very very difficult to beat TCU. They are an excellent team. Lior Garzone said on the radio the Buffs are a better team than when they played at TCU and she thinks they can win. Hope she is right.

Lots of players got a lot of minutes today. I like that.

We definitely need a big center. That is a necessity.

It's rare to see officials move fouls from one player to another but a 5th foul was called on Wetta and it was reversed. Game might have ended differently if that had not happened.
Click to expand...
TCU entered today #8 in NET. Our Buffs were #58 before beating #56 Arizona.

I would think that we need to pull the upset to get back into the Bubble conversation.
www.ncaa.com

DI Women's Basketball Rankings - NCAA Women's Basketball NET Rankings | NCAA.com

Get NCAA women's college basketball rankings from the Associated Press, USA Today/WBCA and NCAA committee.
www.ncaa.com www.ncaa.com
 
buffgal said:
It's rare to see officials move fouls from one player to another but a 5th foul was called on Wetta and it was reversed. Game might have ended differently if that had not happened.
Click to expand...
Kudos to them to get it right. It's 100% not a foul by Wetta
 
Media after the win over the Wildcats, W #20 for the season.:
(Yesterday, the Buffs were the only higher seeded team to get the win; today they were one of 2 lower seeded teams to advance. The other lower seeded team to advance today was #14 seeded Texas Tech, who won 75-64 over #6 seed Utah. On the bright side, at least the regular season ending loss to the Red Raiders isn't looking as bad with every win they get in the tourney.)

Note - As also noted below, tomorrow's game against the #1 seeded Horned Frogs is scheduled to be its 3rd straight to begin at 12:30 PM MT.

Article - https://cubuffs.com/news/2025/3/6/womens-basketball-buffs-march-on

"

Buffs March On​

Colorado defeats Arizona to advance in the Big 12 Championship

By: Seth Pringle, Athletic Communications

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Big efforts from unlikely sources helped the ninth-seeded Colorado women's basketball team take down eighth-seeded Arizona, 61-58, in second-round play of the Big 12 Championship at the T-Mobile Center on Thursday.

Redshirt freshman Kennedy Sanders and freshman Tabitha Betson helped Colorado down the stretch, erasing a 10-point second-half deficit. Sanders totaled 12 of her 14 points in the second half, while Betson poured in 10 of her season-high 16 points in the final 20 minutes and led the team with seven rebounds.

"Obviously, you can look at what these players did. As young as they are today, their future is really bright," head coach JR Payne expressed. "It's not just basketball play. The character of that group is very, very high. They're competitive, they're great teammates, and I think this young group is going to be good for a long time."

The Buffs never led by more than four points and only held the advantage for a total of 3:47 on Thursday. Lior Garzon hit a mid-range jumper and was fouled on the play late in the fourth quarter but couldn't convert the 3-point play as the Buffs held a 58-56 lead. The CU defense held Arizona to just 1-for-6 shooting in the final three minutes, and Kindyll Wetta and Betson came through at the free-throw line to secure the Buffs' second win in as many days.

"I'm so excited," Payne said after the win. "I'm so proud of our team. [A] total team win. We had so many different key plays from different players at different moments. Whether it was Kennedy hitting a 3, Tabitha making a game-winning free throw, Grace [Oliver's] rebounds, Sara-Rose [Smith] coming in and playing injured, or Kindyll [Wetta] playing with four fouls. Honest to goodness, I could name every player on the team and what they did to contribute to today's victory.

Colorado outscored Arizona 21-10 in the fourth quarter and shot a team-high 53.3% in the final 10 minutes to prevail with its 20th win of the season. The Buffaloes have now hit 20 wins in four straight seasons for the first time since 2000-01 to 2003-04.

Garzon finished the day with nine points, doing all her scoring in the final quarter. Sara-Rose Smith, who did not play Wednesday against Houston, closed with seven points and four rebounds.

"I think we have shown our resilience all year long with injuries, people being out, different lineups and playing out of position, having to go for maybe eight minutes a game to 35 minutes a game. It's a very, very resilient group. I think that's the biggest strength of our team," Payne added.

Arizona (19-13) had two players in double figures, with Skylar Jones leading the way with a game-high 17 points.
...

"It's super exciting," Betson exclaimed. "It's my first time in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, so it means so much to win and get on this roll now. How much I love the team. I'm so excited and happy to play with this team, and I love playing with them, so it means so much. I'm just trying to keep this going and get another win."

UP NEXT
The Buffs will play their third game in three days, taking on top-seeded and eighth-ranked TCU on Friday (12:30 p.m. MT).

NOTES
CU improves to 10-14 all-time in the Big 12 Championship…Colorado has won two conference tournament games for the second time under JR Payne (2021-22)…It's just the fourth time CU has won at least two games in a conference tournament since 1997 (1997, 2015, 2022, 2025)…Thursday was CU's second win this season after having to overcome a deficit of 10+ points (trailed by 16 vs West Virginia on Dec. 21)…Betson has now twice led the team in scoring and is the only freshman to be the leading scorer for CU this season…CU has won the last three games against the Wildcats and improved to 23-10 all-time.
"
______________________________________________________________________________________________

Box score - https://cubuffs.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2024-25/arizona/boxscore/17485







(Note - for the below press conference video, there's a long period of dead air. The conference actually begins at around the 40 minute and 30 second mark.)
 
Carol Callan said before the game started yesterday that she thought the Buffs needed to win 2 more games after the ugly win over Houston and the loss against Texas Tech in the regular season. So this game is a must win. Against Hailey Van Lith. Who we will not be able to guard.

I'm hopeful they can pull of an upset. This would be an upset.
 
I was impressed with how the team played today even in a loss. If they had made their free throws, it might have turned out differently. They fouled out TCU's big girl, Sedona Prince, but missed the two free throws.

The young players got to play a lot of the game. JR said after the game Sara Rose is really hurting. I know by this time of the season, all players have some kind of injury.

The team went for a long stretch in the 3rd quarter where they didn't score, but then held TCU scoreless early in the 4th quarter.

Just couldn't get over the hump. For a while in the 3rd quarter, it felt like they were going to get blown out. That did not happen.

I guess we hope for a WNIT bid now?
 
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