Buff Fans Should Look to Arizona and Lute Olson for Inspiration

Not all that long ago, the Colorado Buffaloes Men's Basketball program was the mostly forgotten little brother to the mighty CU Football program. Over the years, heck, over the decades, the CU hoopsters were a model of mediocrity. Not that they were lacking in excitement, mind you. On occasion they played top 20 teams very tough when they cam to Boulder. On the road, though, especially in conference play, the Buffs were frequently a guaranteed a big fat L in the loss column.

Those who are new to rooting for the Buffs have been spoiled by the excellence of head coach Tad Boyle. In his four years at the helm in Boulder, the Buffs have won 92 games. For you non-math people, that's an average of 23 wins per year. To put that number in the proper perspective, remember that in the more than 100 years that Colorado played basketball before Boyle arrived, they had exactly FOUR twenty win seasons. Boyle has had the same number in only 4 years.

The most dominant team in the Pac-12 for the last 30 years has been the University of Arizona. Indeed, most younger people seem to think that Arizona's basketball excellence goes back a LONG, LONG time like Kansas, Kentucky, or North Carolina. But it is not true. It was the arrival of Lute Olson in 1983 who turned Arizona into a basketball powerhouse.

Like Colorado, the University of Arizona had a long history of mediocrity in college basketball. Before the arrival of Lute Olson, the Wildcats were one of the worst teams in the entire country. Arizona did not make it to the Big Dance in Olson's first season in Tucson. The same can be said for Tad Boyle's first team at Colorado.

The next three years, Arizona and Colorado have in common three trips to March Madness and three early losses in the tournament (only the 2012 CU team got past the first game). For Arizona, they were the first three of 23 CONSECUTIVE trips to the Big Dance. Included in that 23 year run were a national championship, a runner-up, 4 trips to the Final Four, 7 spots in the Elite Eight, and 11 appearances in the Sweet 16.

The last team that won fewer than 20 games for Lute Olson was the 1986-7 team which finished only 18-12, but still made it to the NCAA tournament. The next year the Wildcats went 35-3 and made it to the Final Four.

Why the history lesson? Many fans of Colorado took the 3rd straight defeat in the opening round (Round of 64, maybe? I refuse to call it the 2nd round) as a sign that bad things are ahead for the Buff basketball program.

The truth is that this is the early stages of the the Golden Era for Colorado basketball. Earlier this year we were ranked in the top 15 in the country! A couple of injuries changed everything, and the Buffs limped into postseason play with one of the youngest teams in the country.

Next year the Buffs  youngsters will be a year older and a year stronger. New blood is coming in as well. Count on 20 wins again, and maybe considerably more. Also count on the Buffs to be in the NCAA tournament once again. And if the University of Colorado knows what is in the best interest of the school and fans, they will do what is necessary to keep Tad Boyle the head coach at Colorado for a long, long time.

Colorado Buffs Embarrass Themselves at the Big Dance in Orlando

Although it is only halftime as this is written, it is perfectly safe to say that the CU Buffs are "one and done" at this year's Big Dance. Now, getting to March Madness for the third year in a row is something for the Buffs to celebrate. More importantly, right now, the Buffs should be celebrating that most fans back home in Colorado DID NOT see their atrocious performance against Pittsburgh because the game was started at 11:40 in the morning Colorado time.

HALFTIME SCORE: PITT 46, COLORADO 18

No, that is not a typo. The Buffs were behind by 28 points in the first 20 minutes of the game to a team seeded lower than Colorado. Boyle should send 5 guys (or maybe 4 guys and a girl) from the C-Unit out to finish the game in the second half, because they couldn't do any worse than his scholarship players.

I don't know if Colorado planned any extra-curricular activities in Orlando, but if they did they should cancel them. Or, at the very least, make sure that none of the players wears CU apparel out in public. That way they might be able to avoid the finger pointing and laughter that might be hurled their way. No worries, though, since they would not be able to catch anything hurled their way anyway... not if their play today was any indication.

For those of us fans who were unfortunate enough to be able to watch the first half, it was like going  back in time to watching the 2012 CU football team. The game against Fresno State springs to mind.

Thank goodness we can now focus our attention on the Spring practices of Mike MacIntyre's Buff football team. After winning four games last year, hopes are high that the Buffs will win at least six games this year and become bowl eligible for the first time since 2007. In any case, after today, CU football and men's basketball fans can't face another defeat until at least September.

And, hopefully, it will be much longer before either team gets destroyed as badly as the Buff got today.

Happy Vernal Equinox! It's a beautiful time of year to be doing something besides watching sports on TV.

CU Buffs Draw Pitt Panthers for the Big Dance of March Madness

Colorado basketball fans did not have to wait long to find out where and who they would be playing in the Big Dance. Right after it was announced that the Florida Gators were overall #1 seed in the tournament and #1 in the South bracket, the CU Buffs were announced as a #8 seed, and the potential next victim to the mighty Gators.

Florida must first face the stronger of two sacrificial lambs -- the winner between Albany and Mt. St. Mary's. In case anyone thinks an upset might be in the making, history is certainly not on their side. A #16 seed has NEVER beaten a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

For Colorado to get a crack at the Gators (who will be playing a mere 112 miles from home), the Buffs must first defeat the Pitt Panthers. CU and Pitt will face off Thursday (March 20th) at the Amway Center at 11:40 AM Mountain Time (1:40 PM Eastern Time) on TBS.

Fortunately for the fans of both CU and Pitt, the games will be played in Orlando, Florida, which has the widest array of densely packed tourist attractions in the world.

Fans can look forward to Disney World, EPCOT Center, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, Wet 'n Wild, Gatorland, Aquatica, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, and Ripley's Believe it Not. If Florida DOES manage to lose their first game, they will most likely become a permanent addition at Ripley's.

Tad Boyle has done an amazing job of turning Colorado into a bonafide basketball school. Indeed, if Spencer Dinwiddie had not had his season ended by injury, Colorado might very well be entering the tournament with a #3 or #4 seed instead of a #8. This will be the third straight trip to the tournament for Colorado, who was snubbed in 2011 and relegated to the NIT.

The Pac-12 has now moved into the upper echelon of basketball conferences. Their 6 selections were only bettered by the 7 of the Big 12. Two years ago, the Pac-12 had only two teams named to the tournament.

The Buffs will be led into the tournament by All Pac-12 center Josh Scott and playmaking fireball Askia Booker. With Dinwiddie out, Booker is the ONLY upperclassman on the team who gets significant playing time.

The youth of the Buff team bodes well for the future of the program. For this year, many fans would be happy with one win in Orlando. The Buffs, however, are looking for more. Playing top-10 teams is nothing new to them, and their RPI going into the tournament is among the top 10% in the country. They may go down, but they will go down swinging. Now that they have become a team that is expected to make the tournament, they know it is time to move past the point where they are just happy to be there. They are there to compete and to win.