Colorado
Drake
No. 17 Buffs Ready to Dance
March 21, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Colorado opens the NCAA Tournament against Drake on Friday
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The 17th-ranked and fifth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes will take the floor at Bramlage Coliseum against 12th-seeded Drake to open the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday (5 p.m. MT/ESPNEWS).
Colorado (22-9) aspired to host the first and second rounds at home at the CU Events Center, a sentiment many bracketologists shared in the lead-up to Selection Sunday. Instead, the Buffs saw their names called on the No. 5 line and will open on the road for the third consecutive NCAA Tournament.
"I think that it's just been a privilege and honor to be able to enter the tournament whether we're hosting or playing [on the road]," graduate Quay Miller expressed. "Just being able to keep playing and having everyone we started the season with be healthy enough to be in the postseason with us.
"Obviously, we wanted to host. I haven't experienced that in my years. But I really am just grateful for the opportunity to keep playing with who I've started my season with."
The Buffs have had time to regroup and collect themselves since they were last on the court. Colorado dropped a tightly contested Pac-12 quarterfinal to Oregon State in double-overtime, a result that left the Buffs' hosting opportunity in limbo.
But both Miller and AP All-America honorable mention point guard Jaylyn Sherrod made it a point to talk about playing where their feet are during Thursday's pre-practice press conference. A sentiment that head coach JR Payne also echoed.
"I think that's a core identity of our program," Payne commented. "We're trying to be great every day no matter what we're doing. In the weight room, conditioning in the summer, practicing, big game, don't have a game, our mindset is just to prioritize being excellent each and every day.
"I think it stems from that. So if we're in Manhattan, Kan., or playing Drake, that's all that matters to us. I think our team does a great job doing that."
Colorado had to win two games on the road in last season's tournament to advance to the Sweet 16. That experience is something the Buffs, who have 11 wins away from Boulder, can lean on this weekend.
"We are prepared for anything," senior Frida Formann said on Selection Sunday. "We played so many good teams and been in so many situations. I think no matter what, we are prepared and we've been in really hostile environments before. It's nothing new."
Drake (29-5) enters the tournament on a 14-game winning streak. The Bulldogs won the Missouri Valley Conference championship at the buzzer to earn the automatic bid to the tournament. Drake ranks seventh in the nation in field goal % (48.7) and third in assists per game (20.0). Katie Dinnebier, the team's leading scorer (17.9 ppg) is second in the NCAA in total assists (236) and third in assists per game (6.9).
Cory Lopez and Carol Callan will have the call across the Colorado Radio Network, locally on 850 KOA and 94.1 FM. Pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes before tipoff on the Varsity app.
Friday's winner will advance to the second round and take on either fourth-seeded Kansas State (25-7) or 13th-seeded Portland (21-12) on Sunday. Second round game times and TV networks will be announced after the completion of the first round.
