CU's Basket Buffs Lay a Big Fat Egg against Oregon State

After Tad Boyle's team put a whipping on the 19th ranked Oregon Ducks on Thursday, the volume of the music accompanying the Buffs' victory parade to March Madness got turned way up. Someone apparently forgot to tell them there was one more game to play before the end of the regular season. The result of this oversight was the Pac-12's last place Beavers strolled into the Coors Events Center and took down the Buffs 64-58.

Although Tad Boyle has done an excellent job of building the Buffs into a consistent 20 win team, which is a remarkable accomplishment considering that the history of CU basketball is that of a .500 team over the 110 years of the program, the fact remains that Colorado is viewed around the country as primarily a football school. And over the last half dozen years, CU has been looked at as a mediocre football school at best and the worst in the NCAA in football this past season.

What's the point? The point is that Colorado does not yet have a history of basketball excellence to fall back on when they stumble into the end of the season. Last year, the Pac-12 only had TWO representatives out of the 68 teams in March Madness. Colorado earned one of those by winning four games in four days to claim the conference tournament championship. Arizona earned the other one because, quite simply, they have been to the tournament every single year except one since 1984. Those on the NCAA Selection Committee have Arizona penciled in every year because they have been a top tier school for almost 30 years.

Outside of the Pac-12, little thought is given to the Buffs as a basketball school. Most college basketball fans around the country equate the Pac-12 with TWO schools, Arizona and UCLA. The Bruins have 18 Final Four appearances and 11 NCAA championship banners. Arizona has 13 Sweet 16 appearances in the last 25 yeas and one National Championship. By comparison, while Colorado has 3 tournament appearnces in the last 16 years, it was another 28 years, all the way back in 1969, to get to the Buffs' prior appearance. To make the math simple, that's four trips to March Madness in 44 years.

Since joining the Pac-12, Colorado has done a remarkable job against the top teams in the conference. Their downfall is when they follow victory over top 20 programs with losses to teams at the bottom of the standings. Those losses say as much to the tournament selection committee as the big wins. Until Colorado establishes the reputation of being a good basketball program year in and year out, they are going to have to scratch and claw to keep their name in the running when it comes time for the tournament.

These Buffs need to decide what they really want. When it comes time for Spring Break, do they want to hang out on the beach? Or do they want to DANCE? They Pac-12 tournament starts this week in Las Vegas, and the Buffs' first round foe is this very same Oregon State team. Which Buff team will show up for that game? We will see. But one thing is certain, CU fans and the NCAA Selection Committee will all be watching.

CU Buff Hoopsters Fight Back, Demolish Oregon Ducks

Deep inside, Tad Boyle must be smiling this morning. Following the 16 point loss to Cal this past weekend, and the news that Andre Roberson (the number one rebounder in the NCAA) would not be able to play, CU found itself facing the daunting task of hosting the the Pac-12's first place team, the Oregon Ducks. In danger of slipping onto the dreaded "Bubble" of teams hoping to get into the NCAA's postseason showcase, how did Boyle's Buffs respond to the challenge? They handed the Ducks their tail feathers with a 76-53 drubbing at the Coors Events Center.

The win was important for several reasons as they get ready to end the regular season by hosting Oregon State this weekend. It puts the Buffs in the position to be on a roll when the Pac-12 tournament gets started in Las Vegas next week. Boyle's team swept through the tournament last year with four wins in four days to earn the conference's automatic tourney berth. The Buffs would love nothing more than to stretch that streak to eight games and secure the best possible seeding to the Big Dance.

The big win also allowed the Buffs to avoid the prolonged malaise that engulfed the team following the overtime loss at Arizona to begin the year. That game was notable for having a game winning three-pointer by Sabatino Chen waived off by officials despite video showing time on the clock when the ball left his hands. Arizona went on to win the game in overtime. The emotional loss put the Buffs into a tailspin which saw them lose four of five games to dig themselves into a big hole at the beginning of conference play.

The Buffs have fought back to now hold the number five position in the conference heading into the final game of the regular season. Following the blowout of the Ducks, CU has to hold serve against Oregon State, who is tied for last place in the Pac-12 with Washington State. A win against the Beavers and a couple of wins in Vegas will give the Buffs the chance to continue their string of 24 win seasons under coach Boyle. March Madness indeed!

The good news for the Buffs heading to Las Vegas is that they hold a 4-3 record against the top four teams in the conference, and they also tend to play very well at neutral venues. Another positive for the Buffs is that their fans, led by the famed C-Unit, travel very well and have the reputation as the loudest and rowdiest fans in the conference. As the saying goes, "VEGAS BABY!"

A New Dawn for Colorado Buff Football

It's a new dawn in the land of the Golden Buffaloes. After the longest and darkest night in the history of the Colorado football program, a light has begun to show on the horizon. The view outside is beautiful and so is the weather. The flatirons loom above campus and snow in the hills and high country complete the wondrous sight. Yet another of the more than 300 days of sunshine we enjoy every year, without the high heat of the desert or the crushing humidity of the south.

As an old coach here once said, the University of Colorado and Boulder have EVERYTHING that money can't buy. It is stunningly gorgeous. The town itself is the fittest in America, and Boulder is also the most highly educated city in the US. World class skiing and snowboarding, cycling and mountain biking, hiking and mountain climbing, hunting and fishing, tubing and camping are all right here. And CU itself is a world class school.

What has been missing for much of the last decade is a decent football team. Those of us who were fortunate enough (or, as some would say, old enough) to watch Bill McCartney take a program in shambles and build it into a national powerhouse have longed for the school to regain the glory. The new man in town, the new Big Man on Campus, appears to be the man the Colorado faithful have been waiting for. He's sincere, he's knowledgeable about the game as the son of a college coach, he's trained at the side of coaching great Bill Parcells, and most importantly, he and the staff he has assembled have done the job before. And since he has been able to do it before, he has a plan to do it again.

To be more specific, Mike MacIntyre and his staff know how to turn around a program. They took a very down program at San Jose State and turned it from a team with one win in a season into a team that won 11 games last year and came up just short of downing Pac-12 champion Stanford. And this turnaround happened in only 3 years. More importantly for those involved, the new Coach Mac has done it the right way. He stresses academics and accountability. It is the discipline that young men need to succeed in life. He stresses stength and knowledge both on and off the field. And he and his staff of assistants excel at teaching their young men how to do things right.

The Universty of Colorado is my family university, and I am proud that no one in Boulder is willing to sacrifice our community and our reputation by being willing to lower our standards and expectations. Coach MacIntyre goes after young men who are not only good athletes but also good students and citizens. I am glad that he won't be willing to dismiss a prospective recruit's multiple arrests or horrible grades just because he runs a 4.3 forty yard dash. Being fast can only help you in life if you know where you are going.

As a fan for 30 years, since I arrived in Boulder to marry my sweetheart and attend CU, I look forward to watching these young men represent themselves and my university with honor and integrity. And I look forward to them learning that you can win at the highest levels without sacrificing those values. Go Buffs!

Buffs' Chance to Dance Takes a Smack to the Face at Cal

Colorado marched off to the Bay Area with the chance to cement their place in the field for March Madness. They took care of business at Stanford on Wednesday, but once again to fell prey to physical play like that suffered by standout freshman Josh Scott at the hands of Arizona State. The Buffs responded to Cal's smothering defense by shooting a mere 23% from the floor. The were also outrebounded by 13 and fell by 16 points to the tenacious Bears, 62-46. It was the second largest loss by the Buffs this season, trailing only the 36 point shellacking by Kansas early in the season.

Unless Tad Boyle's team can pull off another four wins in four days at the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas next week, CU's presumed spot at the NCAA's Big Dance seems to be slipping away. The Buffs get to finish the regular season at home this week, but one of those games will be against Oregon, the Pac-12's number one team right now. And to make that challenge even greater, those Oregon Ducks are hell bent on revenge after CU pulled off a one point upset last month in Eugene.

Although fans in Colorado seem convinced that CU will get an at-large selection to the NCAA's, the facts about their record are beginning to loom large. Since the Buffs completed the 2012 portion of the season with a 10-2 record, they have only gone 9-7 in 2013. Unless they successfully hold off the Oregon schools this week, chances are that Boyle's team will be heading to Las Vegas as the Pac-12's #6 seed. Some people might be impressed with that, but none of them are on the NCAA Selection Committee.

Just like last year, the Buffs only chance to get in to the Big Dance might very well be predicated on winning four games in four days to earn the Pac-12's automatic tourney spot. It was only two years ago when the Buffs gathered at their coach's house to watch their presumed selection, only to have the entire field announced without hearing their name called. Unless this year's team goes on a serious winning streak to end the season, the Buffs may have to settle on a consolation trip to the NIT. This is not to say that the Buffs don't deserve a trip to the Big Dance no matter how they end the season, but the selection committee makes wallflowers out of hopefuls every year.

Some point out that Colorado's RPI of 29 is good enough to ensure their selection, but others challenge the relevance of the tool. After all, CU's RPI is 16 points higher than Cal's, yet the final score of yesterday's game showed Cal 16 points better on the court. And last year, the only two Pac-12 teams to get in were Colorado (with the automatic berth) and Arizona, with an at-large berth. With the NCAA's obvious bias against teams west of Kansas, how many teams can the Pac-12 really hope to get into March Madness? The clock is ticking until we all find out.