Both teams beat their opponents, however, and made their way into the bracket to face their new opponents.
Meanwhile, the CU women’s team earned a five-seed in the side of the women’s bracket that is being compared to The Hunger Games.
The Buffaloes had been projected as a four-seed that would get to host games in Boulder. Instead, they’ll head to Manhattan, Kansas. Still, three Colorado teams will be part of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball tournaments in 2024 and, they’ll have a shot to dazzle their opponents in the big dance.
The women’s national championship game is Sunday, April 7, in Cleveland, and the men’s champion will be crowned on April 8 in Glendale, Arizona. Currently, the odds that the CU men will win the title sit at +12,000, according to DraftKings. The Colorado State Rams men are listed at +18,000, despite having the same seed and beating CU head-to-head earlier this year.
Before they can think about raising banners, the three teams will have to make it past their first opponents.
CU Women Get Tough Tournament Draw
The CU women will kick off their tournament bid on March 22 in Manhattan, Kansas, against Drake at 7 p.m. on ESPNews. Drake won the Missouri Valley Conference Championship and its regular season title with an impressive 29-5 record. The team is led by Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Katie Dinnebier who is one of just two players in Division I this season to average at least 18 points, 6.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.After being one of the strongest teams all season, the Buffaloes struggled with inconsistency and had a patchy end, finishing with a 22-9 record and losing in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament to Oregon State. However, last year the team made it to the Sweet Sixteen on the backs of incredible performances from its returning stars, and that’s possible again this year.
Fifth-year guard Jaylyn Sherrod has earned some WNBA draft talk and was selected to the All-Pac-12 team for the second time this season along with center Aaronette Vonleh, who earned her first selection.
Payne has continually called her roster "fearless," emphasizing their “blue collar” mindset and grit.
“We have a lot of people that are capable of having twenty-plus points on any given night, but no one cares who has the shine or who gets the shots or the rebounds," Payne said. "They're very tough and totally fearless, like they don't care who they play, when they play, where they play. They just love to compete, and it's just a really incredible group to coach.”
The group will need to be tough, because if they beat Drake it won’t get easier from there.
For CU to make it to the Final Four, they might have to beat Iowa star and projected number-one WNBA draft pick Caitlin Clark and upend Lousiana State University and Angel Reese again. If both Iowa and Colorado make it to the Sweet Sixteen they will match up just as they did last year. If Colorado comes out of that matchup alive, they could meet LSU again in the Elite Eight.
But this isn't the type of team that thinks too far ahead.
“We just prioritize trying to be great today, and that's it,” Payne told Westword last December. “If we can do our jobs and play with a competitive spirit, really push each other to be our best, then we feel like the end of the season takes care of itself.”
Vanquishing a tough Drake team is the first step.
CSU Rams Aim to Upset Texas Longhorns
After originally being projected as a nine-seed, CSU went down in the semifinals of its conference tournament and ended up falling to a ten-seed in a play-in game. The Rams then crushed Virigina, 67-42, on March 19 in a convincing victory.CBS Sports College Basketball Insider has dubbed the midwest region the Rams are in the “Region of Tension.” Now the Rams will face off against the University of Texas Longhorns on March 21 at 4:50 p.m. on TNT.
CSU is led by guard Isaiah Stevens, who earned All-Mountain West First Team honors this season. Nique Clifford, who transferred from CU this season, was selected to the third team, all-conference. Stevens is dealing with a left calf strain that may be diminishing his typically high production. Usually, the guard would notch over 16 points and seven assists per game. However, against Virginia he only scored five points with four assists.
Luckily, Clifford stepped up with 17 while Patrick Cartier and Joel Scott supplied 12 and 23 points, respectively. With a variety of athletes who can rack up the points, CSU could knock off seven-seed Texas.
The Rams have a slightly better field goal percentage than the Longhorns with 48.9 percent to their 47.6 percent. The teams are extremely close in most statistical categories, though Texas is a little better in the air on offensive rebounds and blocks. Texas is led by Max Admas, who averages 17 points , three rebounds and four assists per game.
Colorado State fans should have plenty of hope that this could be an upset.
CU Men Look to Stampede Over Gators
After its loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 Conference Championship on March 17, Selection Sunday was stressful for Buffs fans who had to wait for CU to be announced as the very last team to make the cut. The 68th out of 68."[Saturday] was a crushing defeat for us because we went to Las Vegas to win a championship," head coach Tad Boyle said. "We came up short but now we have new life. That's what March is all about, it's March Madness. It's just nice to be a part of it."
The madness worked out for CU on March 20, however, as the team eked out a gritty win over Boise State. Trisan da Silva, the Buffaloes' star forward, held Boise star Tyson Degenhart to just six points while scoring twenty of his own. He'll need to keep up the strong play at both ends of the field for the Buffaloes to have a chance against their next opponents, The University of Florida Gators.
The teams will face off on TBS at 2:30 p.m. on March 22.
CU edges Florida out in nearly every statistical category other than rebounds and blocks, but the numbers on both the offensive and defense glass are a concern. The Buffaloes have dealt with injuries throughout the season but have a talented roster. Cody Williams, brother of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Jalen Williams, is a projected top-ten NBA draft pick this season and made the Pac-12 All-Freshman team. Standout point guard KJ Simpson is on the All-Pac-12 First Team.
Florida has a pair of sharpshooters in Walter Clayton Jr. and Tyrese Samuel, who both average about 17 points per game. CU has a much better record than Florida over the second half of the season, but the two were very even overall, with CU registering a 25-10 record and Florida earning a 24-11 mark.
