Pac-12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

After an incredible season that saw the Buffalo finish third in the conference, earn a 5-seed in the tournament and finish as the eighth-ranked team in KenPom’s overall rankings. The achievements were largely made on the backs of the senior-heavy roster, with McKinley Wright IV leading the way. Head coach Tad Boyle will have the difficult task of replacing five roster spots but is at least backed with a solid recruiting batch to offer the necessary depth.

What should make a return to form doable is the style of play Boyle likes to play. The Buffs have had a top 50 KenPom adjusted defense the last three seasons and show no signs of wanting to change that. Senior Evan Battey will be a major part of that, serving as the leader of the team and top returning scorer and rebounder averaging 10.1 and 5.3 respectively.

Joining Battey in the frontcourt is sophomore Jabari Walker, who showed incredible upside in his freshman season. In just 14.2 minutes per game, Walker averaged 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds. What is most intriguing is seeing what Walker’s shooting numbers do as his volume no doubt increases this year. On 44 attempts, he shot 52% from behind the arc. He will be asked to take a big step to help recoup some of the points lost from last season.

Eli Parquet will also make a major impact on the defensive end as a returning All-Defensive-Team honoree. Parquet is a ballhawk on defense and as a combo guard adept at taking on the best guard on the opposing team. He’s also skilled on the offensive end, shooting 41.8% from outside last year.

Colorado has the pieces to reload rather than rebuild, and could very well make back-to-back tournament appearances. If that happens, it’s time to refer to Colorado as one of the top programs in west coast basketball.