12. Colorado (8-2)
Last season, Colorado had a fond goodbye to the Pac-12 by winning a pair of NCAA Tournament games led by a strong offense that put up 100 points against Florida in the first round of the Big Dance. Tad Boyle took over the Buffaloes back when they were in the Big 12 in 2010 and now leads them back into the league this season, though the situation is much different for this team.
Most of that talented roster is gone and new pieces are trying to continue that success. Julian Hammond III isn’t a new piece, though he’s become the leading scorer after coming off the bench mostly to start his career. Center Elijah Malone and former Washington State forward Andrej Jakimovski each average at least 12 points per game in their new programs while a flurry of underclassmen populate the bench, including Top 100 recruit Sebastian Rancik from Slovakia.
Frankly, Colorado’s entire nonconference schedule was built on their overseas trip to the Maui Invitational and they didn’t waste the opportunity. They finished 6th place in the event, but scored a second-round upset win over Connecticut, then ranked #2 in the nation. The Buffaloes also lost by double-digits to Michigan State and Iowa State and their most notable wins outside of Maui came recently to Colorado State and South Dakota State at home.
While not exactly building the resume of a champion, you can’t deny that that win over the Huskies stands out and it’s the kind of victory that the other teams in the bottom half of the Big 12 lack right now. The Buffaloes can be overwhelmed by stronger teams and played horrific interior defense in Maui, but sit among the Top 50 in 3-point shooting and can hang with any team when those shots are falling. It’s not quite the same offense as last season, but is there potential for more upsets from this squad?