The Buffs and Tad Boyle are back in the Big Dance. But their march through March Madness is going to have to start the long way ’round.
CU (24-10) will face Boise State as one of the NCAA Tournament’s “First Four,” a battle of two 10 seeds in Dayton who were two of the last at-large teams to earn berths. The winner gets 7-seeded Florida in Indianapolis on Friday.
It’s the Buffs’ first NCAA tourney bid since March 2021.
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The Buffs were one of a handful of teams expected to sweat it out on the NCAA tourney “bubble,” with surprise automatic berths being grabbed over this past weekend by Oregon (Pac-12) and North Carolina State (ACC) only adding to the tension — and shrinking the at-large slots up for grabs.
CU’s March Madness resume had been among the most divisive by national experts in recent weeks. The Buffs’ tourney bona fides appeared to reach a consensus after the Buffs reeled off eight wins in a row and reached the Pac-12 title game this past Saturday, where they fell to the Ducks. Proponents pointed to CU’s excellent rating in both the KenPom.com (No. 26 in the country) and NET (No. 25) metrics, while doubters cited the Buffs’ lack of Quad 1 victories (4-5 vs. Q1 opponents), its overall strength of schedule rank (No. 81) and non-conference strength of schedule rank (No. 262).
Even the country’s two leading bracketologists, CBS’ Jerry Palm and ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, were split on Boyle and the Buffs in their final bracket projections. Palm pegged CU as one of his “last four schools out,” while Lunardi had the Buffs among his “last four in.”
(This is a developing story. Please check back with DenverPost.com for further details.)
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