LAST WEEK
Men
Women
Holy ****.
I thought the ball went in. Seriously, I saw the shot go up, I saw it hang in the air for roughly 3 days, and I thought the ball went in. It wasn't until the girlfriend started celebrating that I realized my eyes were lying to me and that the Buffs had won. It honestly didn't sink in to me until about 3 hours later. We decided to go out to Pasquini's to grab a pizza and celebrate when a woman stopped me on the street seeing my CU shirt and asked me if the Buffs won. It was at that point that I smiled and said "Yes, they're PAC-12 champions."
I can't imagine what it was like for everyone at the game. I can't compliment C-Unit, CU Express, CU cheer, the band and everyone else there enough. You guys were amazing, and honestly the team couldn't have done it without you. So on behalf of the fans that couldn't make it, thank you.
Before I move on, I do have to brag a little bit, and offer kudos to 7 of you as well. First, in last week's
"This Week in BasketBuffs", I said:
The bracket laid out great for the Buffs. We avoid UCLA and Stanford until the championship game. Oregon makes me nervous, but if the team can find it's mojo, can anyone rule a Buffs win out? I'm not saying our chances of sweeping the tournament are good (I'd put them at less than 5%), but with the way this season has gone down, and the way the "top" teams other than Oregon are faltering down the stretch, I don't think you can rule it out either.
Even saying that, I didn't really believe it too much. In fact, in the poll, I picked us to lose to Oregon. But seven of you didn't. Seven of you picked the Buffs to win it all. Whether it was blind optimism, homerism, or just pure brilliance, I salute you.
As for their opponents in the tournament, I don't hate the draw. UNLV is not a bad match-up for us. They like to run, which will actually help us. Our offense is at its worst when we're slowing it down, so being forced to run should work to our advantage. The key is going to be getting back on D. Honestly, I agree with KenPom in saying we have a 34% chance of winning -- and it might be a touch low. The game is winnable if the Buffs can play D and control the game.
And after last weekend, anything is possible for the PAC-12 champions.
Unfortunately, the women couldn't pull off the huge upset of Cal, but they hung close and have locked up an NIT bid. It was an up and down season for the ladies, but it was a success no matter what anyone says, and I'm proud of them as well. Both teams made me very proud this year and deserve to be saluted.
NCAA TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
| Colorado
Offense
| Colorado
Defense
| UNLV
Offense | UNLV
Defense | D1
Average
| eFG%
| 49.3%
| 47.0%
| 53.2% | 46.1% | 49.0%
| Turnover %
| 19.1%
| 18.8%
| 19.6% | 21.0% | 20.3%
| Off. Reb %
| 29.4%
| 28.5%
| 32.8% | 30.0% | 32.1%
| FTA/FGA
| 43.0
| 32.5
| 35.8% | 33.4% | 36.4
|
|
| Baylor
Offense
| Baylor
Defense
| SDSU
Offense | SDSU
Defense | D1
Average
| eFG%
| 52.6%
| 47.2%
| 53.8% | 49.9% | 49.0%
| Turnover %
| 20.6%
| 21.4%
| 15.7% | 19.3% | 20.3%
| Off. Reb %
| 37.7%
| 32.8%
| 30.6% | 28.4% | 32.1%
| FTA/FGA
| 36.5
| 31.7
| 39.9 | 29.5 | 36.4
|
|
| Offensive
Efficiency
| Defensive
Efficiency
| Pace
| Colorado
| 103.2
| 93.5
| 65.6
| D1 Average
| 100.9
| 100.9
| 66.1
|
|
