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Big 12 Basketball: Ranking all 16 programs after adding Arizona, ASU, Colorado and Utah

By Joey Loose

Apr 3, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (0) shoots the ball against Baylor Bears guard Matthew Mayer (24) and guard Jared Butler (12) during the second half in the national semifinals of the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (0) shoots the ball against Baylor Bears guard Matthew Mayer (24) and guard Jared Butler (12) during the second half in the national semifinals of the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Colorado Buffaloes forward Tristan da Silva Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Colorado Buffaloes forward Tristan da Silva Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /

12. Colorado

While the Buffaloes have been a quietly solid program in recent years, there’s no Deion Sanders magic for the basketball program. His impact may have single-handedly gotten Colorado back into the Big 12, but it’s not going to rub off on basketball. Tad Boyle was actually already the Buffaloes head coach when they departed the Big 12 for the Pac-12 in 2011, but a lot of things have changed since then.

First off, the Buffaloes have been solid in recent years, making five trips to the NCAA Tournament in their decade-plus in the Pac-12, including in their first three seasons. Unfortunately, they’ve had just one trip to the Big Dance in the last seven years even though they’ve usually been a 20-win program in this conference.

Things are certainly different, but Colorado actually finished below .500 in five of their final seven seasons in the Big 12. We’re talking about the late 2000’s here, so these seasons certainly aren’t relevant, but this history might just repeat itself. Boyle has this program in a much better direction than back then, but let’s not forget the outside factors.

Colorado has made little headway in recent years playing in the Pac-12 while the Big 12 has been a significantly better league. With better regular opponents, it’s certainly possible that the Buffaloes could’ve earned an additional trip or two to the Big Dance, but it’s going to be a tough transition back to this league. Will there be an uptick in recruiting in Boulder in their new league?

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