No. 17 Buffs Continue the Dance in Albany

ALBANY, N.Y.—The No. 17 Colorado women's basketball team resumes the 2024 NCAA Tournament with a Sweet 16 rematch against No. 1-seeded and second-ranked Iowa (1:30 p.m. MT/ABC) on Saturday. It is the second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 for the Buffs and their eighth overall.

The Albany 2 region opened eyes immediately after it was revealed on Selection Sunday. The region is arguably the most challenging route to the Final Four, with Iowa, No. 2-seeded UCLA, and No. 3-seeded LSU all in the region. The Buffs are just one of three schools remaining in the tournament that didn't get a top-4 seeding, joining Baylor (5) and Duke (7).

Colorado (24-9) had to take the long road to Albany, much like the path it took to last year's Sweet 16 in Seattle. CU started the tournament with a neutral court win over Drake and then took down No. 4-seeded Kansas State on its home court. With the win over K-State, CU became the only team in the last four NCAA Tournaments to advance to two Sweet 16s with a true road win.

Much like last year in Seattle, the sold-out crowd is expected to lean heavily toward the Hawkeyes.

"We definitely are anticipating that type of crowd," head coach JR Payne explained. "It felt like that in Seattle last year, and that was the other side of the country.

"So yeah, we're expecting that. It's a great atmosphere always when you're going to play in an environment like that. Very similar to Kansas State last weekend. Very similar to most Pac-12 road games this year, where attendance was through the roof and playing really great crowds in really hostile environments. I don't think it will be any different and it's something that we have enough experience with and we're excited about."

The back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16 are the first for CU since the 2002 and 2003 tournaments, but Colorado doesn't just want to settle for just making it here again.

"I think every coach wants to continue to grow your program," Payne added. "Your players want to continue to prove themselves or outdo whatever they had accomplished the year before. I think this is a great opportunity for that on a big stage against a great team. Of course, we're trying to keep playing as long as we can."

Last year's loss to the Hawkeyes has been used as a reference point in this week's preparations, watching film from last March as a refresher course.

"Of course, we looked and reflected on last year's game just to get a feel for it again," junior Aaronette Vonleh noted. "But we're a much better team than we were last year and I think they arguably probably are too. It is a new game and we're just basing it off this year as much as we are last."

Led by Caitlin Clark, Iowa (31-4) picked up wins over Holy Cross and West Virginia to get to Albany. The Hawkeyes, the 2024 Big Ten champions and last year's national runner-up, have won eight in a row and lead the nation in scoring average with 92.0 points per game. Clark leads the nation with 31.8 points per game but Iowa also has Hannah Stuelke (14.1) and Kate Martin (12.8) in double figures for the season.

"They are the same team, but they also have added some new pieces or added some new dimensions to their game," Payne expressed. "So playing Iowa is very similar in that regard, very similar to what they were, but also added some new things, as well, so similar approach. A little bit of both."

A win on Saturday would punch Colorado's first ticket to the Elite Eight since 2002.

Ryan Ruocco (pxp), Rebecca Lobo (analyst) and Holly Rowe (reporter) will be on the nationally-televised call for ABC. Lance Medow (pxp) and Kim Adams (analyst) make up the national radio crew for Westwood One.

Cory Lopez and Carol Callan will be on the call on the Colorado Radio Network, locally on 850 KOA and 94.1 FM, with pregame coverage 30 minutes before tip.

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Players Mentioned

Aaronette Vonleh