Colorado University Athletics
Boyle's Buffs Still In Conference Title Hunt
February 15, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — A week ago, the Colorado Buffaloes were reeling from a two-loss road trip and stuck in a tie for fifth in the conference standings, with a three-game gulf between them and the league leaders.
Seven days and two wins later — along with a pair of Oregon losses — that gulf has been narrowed considerably. Now, the Buffs find themselves tied for third and just one game out of first place.
Such is life in the Pac-12, where Colorado — and as many as five other teams — are still harboring legitimate hopes of staking claim to the league title with just three weeks left in the conference season.
The current Pac-12 logjam has Oregon and Arizona atop the conference with 9-4 marks. Right behind are Colorado and Utah at 8-5, with USC and Cal just another half-game back at 7-5. The first four teams have five conference games remaining; the next two have six.
“It's still right there,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said Monday. “We don't get a crack at Oregon, but we get a crack at Arizona, we get a crack at USC. We've got five games left; it's about taking care of the next one and putting yourself in position,””
Three of Colorado's five remaining games are on the road, beginning with Wednesday's 9 p.m. game at USC (ESPNU) followed by another 9 p.m. game Saturday, at UCLA (Fox Sports 1). After that, it's the final homestand of the year, with Arizona and Arizona State visiting Boulder, before the final week of play, when CU's only game is a road trip to Utah.
Making the next two weeks a little more interesting is the fact that despite the games being at the tail end of the schedule, the Buffs haven't played any of their next four opponents. But the only one on Boyle's mind right now is USC, maybe this year's biggest Pac-12 surprise. The Trojans were picked 10th in the media preseason poll but have put together an impressive season — and Monday morning, checked in with a No. 24 NCAA RPI.
“They don't have any weaknesses,” Boyle said of a team that boasts six players averaging double-digit scoring. “That's what makes USC so dangerous. They've got a lot of guys that can hurt you.”
The Trojans have put together an impressive season, particularly at home, where they're 14-0. They beat league co-leader Oregon in their first encounter with the Ducks and swept rival UCLA, a rarity in the annals of the series. But after moving up to No. 23 in the AP poll last week, they dropped a pair on their Arizona trip and dropped back out of the rankings.
RESUME´ UPDATE: After home wins against Washington State and Washington, the Buffs moved up several notches in the NCAA RPI, checking in at No. 25 on Monday.
That, though, is good enough for only sixth-best among Pac-12 teams, as the conference had six teams in the RPI top 25. Along with CU, the list also included Oregon (4), Utah (16), Arizona (22), Cal (23) and USC (24).
The six teams in the top 25 is the most of any conference in the nation, with the Big 12 and ACC next with five each. Seven Pac-12 teams are in the top 50 RPI, nine in the top 68 and 11 in the top 100.
Along with the strong RPI, other metrics of Colorado's NCAA Tournament resume´ still appear solid. The Buffs' strength of schedule currently sits at 40th in the nation, and CU has a 7-7 record against top 100 teams, with two wins over top-25 RPI teams (Oregon and Cal).
Meanwhile, “bracketologists” are still projecting the Buffs as a solid tournament team. CBS Sports' Jerry Palm has Colorado as a No. 7 seed in his latest projection while ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Colorado at No. 8.
Overall, Palm has seven Pac-12 teams in his bracket: Oregon (3), Utah (4), Arizona (5), USC (6), Colorado (7), Cal (7), Oregon State (8). Lunardi's latest projection included six from the Pac 12: Oregon (3), Arizona (6), Utah (6), USC (7), Colorado (8) and Cal (8).
SCOTT UPDATE: Boyle said senior big man Josh Scott, who missed the last two games with an ankle injury, is getting better but is still "day to day."
"I'll know Wednesday," Boyle said when asked of Scott's availability for the USC game.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
