Buffs Head To Texas With NIT Final Four Berth At Stake
March 26, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
AUSTIN, Texas — The level of competition and the stakes have gone up a notch for the Colorado Buffaloes.
After two home wins over mid-major programs in the first two rounds of the NIT, the Buffaloes will take their postseason show on the road Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game against Texas (ESPN2) at the Frank Erwin Center. A win will send the 23-12 Buffs to New York's Madison Square Garden for next Tuesday's NIT semifinals; a loss will send them home for the remainder of their spring break.
Also at stake: a chance for a 24th win, which would match the most by any team in CU history. Currently tied for third on CU's all-time list, this year's team could move into a tie for first, matching the 2010-11 and 2011-12 teams that both won 24 under Boyle.
But the 18-16 Longhorns — no doubt be the Buffs' stiffest NIT test yet — stand in the way. Considered to be an NCAA Tournament team for much of the year until a 1-4 collapse down the stretch of the regular season dashed those hopes, Texas finished sixth in the Big 12 with an 8-10 conference mark to become the highest-finishing team in its league not to earn an NCAA berth. Insult was then added to that injury when Oklahoma, which finished below the Longhorns in the Big 12, earned an NCAA berth.
But after their 1-5 faceplant at the end of the season (Texas lost to Kansas in the first round of their conference tournament), the Longhorns were given a No. 2 seed in the NIT and have bounced back nicely. They knocked off South Dakota State, 79-73, in the tourney opener, then took a 78-76 overtime win from Xavier in the second round.
"I've watched them on film," said CU head coach Tad Boyle, who admitted to doing a bit of advance scouting even before the Buffs had dispatched Norfolk State, 76-60, in their Monday night second-round game in Boulder. "They're a talented team. … They've got some talented guys we've seen on the AAU circuit. They've got some good players. We've got some good players."
The Longhorns are indeed talented, but also inconsistent. Texas this season beat North Carolina, Purdue and Kansas — all NCAA Tournament teams — but also lost to Radford and VCU, and was swept by in-state rivals TCU and Texas Tech.
But they are now playing well, especially with 6-foot-4 guard Kerwin Roach II back in the lineup. The often-troubled but talented senior was suspended for the last five games of the season in which Texas went 1-4, but returned in time for the conference tournament and NIT. In UT's win over Xavier, he had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and he leads the Longhorns in scoring for the season, averaging 14.8 points per game.
The Longhorns aren't, however, a one-man show, as they have a big front line as well, including Dylan Osetkowski, a 6-9, 250-pound forward who averages 10.7 points and 7.1 rebounds. The Longhorns won't, however, have 6-11 forward Jaxson Hayes in the lineup. A projected NBA lottery pick, Hayes is out with a bruised knee.
The 'Horns have also been getting some good minutes recently from 6-9 forward Jericho Sims, who played high school ball in Minnesota against Colorado's McKinley Wright.
After surviving an opening-round scare against Dayton, the Buffs took care of business against Norfolk State. Colorado led by 20 at the half, then survived a mini-run by the Spartans in the second half before regaining control.
Still, the Buffs weren't at their best, and Boyle expects them to sharpen up their game in time for Wednesday's matchup.
"The one thing about our guys is they've responded to adversity," Boyle said after Monday's game. "I don't want to say we were terrible tonight, we weren't. We just weren't ourselves. We weren't as sharp as we needed to be. Wednesday night we know we're going to have to be better than we were tonight and sharper, more crisp. Texas is good, they've got good players. It's going to be a heck of an opportunity."
Despite Monday's mini-step back, the Buffs have been playing their best basketball of the season over the last six weeks. CU has won 12 of its last 15 games, and has been getting solid performances from a variety of players.
Monday, CU had four players in double figures, including freshman Evan Battey, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Sophomore forward Tyler Bey just missed his 17th double-double of the season, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds, sophomore D'Shawn Schwartz added 11 points and freshman Daylen Kountz chipped in 10.
But the Buffs have also been logging a lot of minutes lately, thanks to what amounts to an eight-man rotation. Sophomore point guard McKinley Wright IV, who faces shoulder surgery as soon as the season is finished, has played at least 32 minutes in CU's last 14 games.
Still, the chance to advance to Madison Square Garden while also knocking off a Big 12 opponent presents a challenge the Buffs relish.
"It will be fun," Wright said. "It will be fun to get this one for the Pac-12. Both are Power Five schools. If we can steal this one, it will be good for us, good for this program, and good for the Pac-12 as a whole."
THE SERIES: This will be the 25th all-time meeting between the former Big 12 rivals, with Texas holding a 14-10 series edge. Colorado won the last meeting, 68-54, in the consolation game of the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y., in November 2016. It was Boyle's second meeting against the Longhorns, and he won the first one as well, a 91-89 win in Boulder in 2011, CU's last year in the Big 12. Texas, however, does hold a 7-2 edge over the Buffs in Austin.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Mike Morgan and Robbie Hummel. KOA will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
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