Colorado University Athletics
For Boyle's Buffs, Next Step Is Tournament Wins
March 15, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Four NCAA Tournament berths in five years is an unprecedented stretch of success in Colorado basketball history. It has created a culture around the program in which NCAA berths are the expectation, not the exception.
By any objective measurement, it is a significant step forward.
Now comes the next step — not only advancing to the tournament, but advancing in the tournament, something that is still something of a rarity in recent CU history. The Buffs will have their next chance Thursday when they meet Connecticut in an 11:30 a.m. South Region game (TNT) at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
Heading into this year's tournament, the Buffs have appeared in 13 NCAA Tournaments and posted a 10-15 record over the years. Just two of those victories — a 1997 win over Indiana and a 2012 victory over UNLV — have come in the last 40 years, and three of CU's all-time wins have come in third-place or consolation games (games no longer played in the tournament).
CU head coach Tad Boyle is 1-3 in NCAA Tournament games. His first tournament squad knocked off sixth-seeded UNLV in its opener, then lost to Baylor. In the Buffs' next two appearances, Colorado lost to Illinois and Pitt.
Boyle's teams have also never been seeded higher than eighth — but that's still the highest seeding for any CU team since the NCAA began national seeding in 1979.
“The whole thing at Colorado I talked about six years ago (when he was hired) was to build a program that can have sustained success,” Boyle said earlier this week. “I don't know where the cutoff in terms of sustaining it, but I think we're approaching it and we want to continue it.”
But Boyle and athletic department officials also know the program needs to continue building on that foundation — and the next blocks are some tournament wins and higher seeds in the future.
“The next step for us is to win a few games in the tournament,” CU athletic director Rick George said. “We've been to the tournament. Tad's been four times now. It's great to be there, but now you've got to win games.
“Once you get in the tournament, it doesn't matter what your seed is. You take all that off. You just go play basketball. I've said this all year: our team's as good as any in the country. I believe that today and hopefully over the next few weeks they'll show that.”
Eight players on the current roster were on hand for CU's last tourney appearance, a 77-48 first-round loss to Pitt in 2014. Four of those players were also on the roster in 2013, when CU lost to Illinois in the tourney opener.
The Buffs do not want to earn the reputation as a “one and done” program.
“We're not just happy to be here,” Boyle said. “That's what I want the message to be to our team. We want to advance and it's not going to be easy, but in the big scheme of things four tournaments in five years is something they can't take away from us.”
“The good thing about this team and being an 8-9 game again is we've got a lot of guys that were playing against Pitt. Guys that were freshmen and sophomores are juniors and seniors. They understand what can happen if you're not ready to play and we can draw on that experience. It wasn't too long ago that we lived it. We don't want to be in that situation again. We want to advance and play whoever awaits us that next game.”
CU senior Josh Scott is one of those players who played in both of CU's last two tournament appearances. He'll leave Boulder as one of the few Buffs to play in three NCAA Tournaments, as well as one with his name sprinkled liberally throughout the record book.
It's a legacy of which he's justifiably proud — but also one he says is not finished.
“I'd like to go out as a winner,” Scott said. “Coach Boyle talks about perspective all the time. I've been to three NCAA tournaments and I don't think a lot of Colorado players can say that. In that terms, I have left a legacy here — but there's still more to be written.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
