Colorado Buffaloes
Pac-12 (21-11, 10-8)
Colorado brought back all five starters heading into the 2019-20 season looking to build off of a run to the quarterfinals of the NIT. The Buffaloes have reaped the benefits of having such an experienced team all year long. They have defended their home court very well and picked up multiple signature wins along the way that’ll set them up nicely for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Big Wins: 12/21 vs Dayton (78-76), 1/2 Oregon (74-65), 2/1 at USC (78-57)
Bad Losses: 12/10 Northern Iowa (76-79), 1/5 Oregon State (68-76), 2/27 at California (62-76)
Coach: Tad Boyle
Why They Can Surprise:
Colorado is going to be battle tested from a schedule perspective as they opened the season with a win over Arizona State over in China that did not count in the conference race. They also beat Clemson on a neutral floor in Las Vegas, and an excellent Dayton team in Chicago just before Christmas. This is a pretty balanced team that can take over a game from the perimeter with McKinley Wright IV, Tyler Bey, and D’Shawn Schwartz. Rebounding margin is another strength of this team defensively as the Buffaloes are outrebounding teams by a margin of 5.5 rebounds per game. Also, in the NCAA Tournament every possession matters and Colorado has done a nice job of taking care of the basketball as they are only committing 13.3 turnovers per game. If the Buffaloes get a solid draw, they have the ability to cause some havoc in the postseason.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Putting teams away has been an issue at times for Colorado as they blew leads at home against Oregon State and UCLA. They also blew a 14-point lead at Oregon as the offense went ice cold in the final five minutes and the Ducks closed the game out on a 15-2 run. If the Buffaloes run into a team that is dominant on the boards like Arizona was back on January 18th in Tucson when Colorado lost to the Wildcats by a score of 75-54, they could be in trouble. The lack of NCAA Tournament experience with this current Buffaloes squad is something to keep an eye on especially during the opening weekend where upsets can happen at the drop of a hat.
Probable Starters:
McKinley Wright IV, Junior, Guard, 14.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.0 apg
Shane Gatling, Senior, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 1.2 apg
Tyler Bey, Junior, Guard/Forward, 13.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg1.2 bpg
D’Shawn Schwartz, Junior, Guard/Forward, 9.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Evan Battey, Sophomore, Forward, 8.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg
Key Role Players:
Lucas Siewert, Senior, Forward, 7.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Maddox Daniels, Junior, Guard/Forward, 3.2 ppg
Daylen Kountz, Sophomore, Guard, 3.0 ppg
Eli Parquet, Sophomore, Guard, 2.6 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 71.0 (182nd in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 63.7 (34, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.9 (171, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.2 (77, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.6 (138, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.6 (65, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.8 (85, 3)
Rebound Margin: 5.5 (35, 2)
Assists Per Game: 13.5 (142, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.3 (190, 7)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2019 | NIT | First Round win over Dayton |
| 2019 | NIT | Second Round win over Norfolk State |
| 2019 | NIT | Quarterfinal loss to Texas |
| 2017 | NIT | First Round loss to UCF |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Connecticut |
| 2015 | CBI | Quarterfinal loss to Seattle |
| 2015 | CBI | First Round win over Gardner Webb |
| 2014 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Pittsburgh |
| 2013 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Illinois |
| 2012 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over UNLV |
| 2012 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Baylor |
| 2011 | NIT | First Round win over Texas Southern |
| 2011 | NIT | Second Round win over California |
| 2011 | NIT | Quarterfinal win over Kent State |
| 2011 | NIT | Semifinal loss to Alabama |
| 2006 | NIT | First Round loss to Old Dominion |
| 2004 | NIT | First Round loss to Oregon |
| 2003 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Michigan State |
| 2000 | NIT | First Round loss to Southern Illinois |
*all team stats through 3/8
