Bracketology: Colorado Buffaloes face long odds to reach March Madness
Colorado Buffaloes head basketball coach Tad Boyle has taken his team to the NCAA tournament in three of the last four years. But if he’s going to match that feat this year, he’s going to have to work some magic.
The Buffs got off to a strong start at 10-3 this season, including a big win over national power Xavier. But when conference play started, the team didn’t look the same. Soon, a 7-game losing streak had the Buffs at 10-10.
Colorado seems to be righting the ship, winning four of its last five games, but it may be too little, too late. In his latest Bracketology tournament predictions, Joe Lunardi of ESPN does not have Colorado in the field. He doesn’t have the Buffs as one of his first four teams out. In fact, he doesn’t have them as one of the next four teams out. That’s not a good sign, as Lunardi’s picks are usually pretty accurate.
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Colorado currently sits at eighth place in the Pac-12 conference with a 4-8 conference record. The team is 14-11 overall. Lunardi only has five teams—Arizona, Oregon, UCLA, USC and California—from the Pac 12 in his field of 68.
For Colorado to join the party, the margin for error is slim.
The Buffs have six games remaining, including two winnable contests coming up against Washington State and Oregon State. Washington State (11-13), defeated Colorado by two points in overtime in the first meeting between the schools this year.
After the regular season is over, the Buffs may have to buckle down and win the Pac-12 conference tournament in order to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, that may be the only way Colorado gets into the field this season.
Colorado and Washington State tip off at 6:30 p.m. MST on Sunday at the Coors Event Center in Boulder. To say it’s a must-win game for the Buffs would be a slight understatement.
