Buffs Host Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic

BOULDER—Colorado welcomes in Louisiana Tech, Boise State and Wisconsin this weekend for the return of the Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic. CU Events Center will host four games, starting with Boise State and Louisiana Tech on Friday (2 p.m.)

Colorado (5-0) will open its two-game weekend against Louisiana Tech on Saturday (1 p.m.).

The Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic returns after a three-year hiatus. CU knocked off George Mason in the championship games to close out the 2017 edition of the tournament.

This year's tournament format mirrors that of the 2006 Rocky Mountain Classic. The four teams will play two games each, against predetermined opponents. Prior tournaments were played in a traditional bracket set-up, resulting in a consolation and championship game.

CU's games on Saturday and Sunday (Wisconsin) will be the team's second back-to-back in the last seven days. The Buffs put together wins over Samford and Texas Southern to start the week, with those wins coming on the heels of a 69-53 win over Marquette last Friday.

By the close of Sunday, the Buffs will have played five games in 10 days.

"I think we feel really confident about what we're capable of doing," head coach JR Payne said about the team's mentality. "I think we all want to be excellent. We all want to play great basketball and continue to elevate our program and compete for a championship. All those things are in our minds every day. I think we have a pretty competitive group that likes to get after it no matter what we're doing. We're having fun laying and glad we get a couple more [games] at home before we got back on the road."

Louisiana Tech (3-1) makes its first trip to Boulder since the 1995 Rocky Mountain Hoops Classic. The Lady Techsters defeated the Buffs in the championship 65-61. It will be the fifth meeting between the two schools, with LA Tech holding a 3-1 advantage.

Wisconsin (1-4) is coming off a 79-67 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday. The Badgers have lost four consecutive after their season-opening win over St. Thomas. The Buffs got the better of the Badgers the last time the two teams met, with CU getting a 74-57 win in 2019.

Boise State (1-2) will match up against LA Tech (Friday) and Wisconsin (Saturday). The Broncos haven't played in almost a week, having last lost to BYU on Saturday.

The three games of the tournament will be streamed on CUBuffs.com/WatchWBB. CU's game against Wisconsin will be on the Pac-12 Networks (Noon).

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