With a roster that features two seniors and four juniors, Colorado Basketball hoped to build on last season’s NIT appearance and make it all the way to the Big Dance this year. Unfortunately, things have not gone as planned this season and the team is now hoping to duplicate last year’s result and receive another invitation to the NIT.
Sure, a championship performance in the Pac-12 Tournament would result in an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but that may not be a realistic expectation for a team that is currently one game above .500 overall and currently sits in 9th place in the Conference. After back-to-back quality wins over the California Golden Bears and the Stanford Cardinals, the Buffaloes have lost three out of their last four games and have lost the momentum that those victories gave them. Meanwhile, their next opponent, the UCLA Bruins, has won seven games in a row and currently sits in 1st place in the Pac-12.
The Colorado Buffaloes are in 9th place in the Pac-12. It will take a total team effort for them to upset the Conference leading UCLA Bruins.
Although Colorado will enjoy the advantage of being the home team on Sunday, very few pundits give them any chance of emerging victorious against UCLA. If they are going to prove the doubters wrong, the Buffaloes are going to have to rely on their veteran leadership, as well as implement some strategic changes that can give them an added advantage. Let’s take a closer look at the steps the team must take in order to upset their Pac-12 rival.