The magic number victories for a college basketball team to enter March Madness are 20. The Colorado Buffaloes have that number as they are 20-8 overall this season, and they are 9-6 in Pac-12 conference play. One would think that would get them in.
Still, there are doubts if they are going to be in or not. There are questions about teams that they have beaten this season. There are people saying the Buffaloes have to do more to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee, which is why there was importance in the Arizona game Saturday night.
The Buffaloes were outclassed by the fourth-ranked Arizona Wildcats in their 88-61 loss. No shame in that. The Wildcats are a national championship team, and it’s hard to believe this loss would hurt the Buffs’ chances of making the tournament.
With 20 wins, the Buffaloes should be in. They are capable of winning two of their final three games on the road, and they can win some games in the Pac-12 tournament. If they can do that, they will definitely be in. Also, the win against the Kansas Jayhawks should help their cause.
Here’s what should impress the NCAA Tournament committee: they were able to win and move forward after losing Spencer Dinwiddie for the season with an ACL injury. It’s never easy to recover after losing their best player to an injury. He led the Buffaloes in scoring (14.7) and assists (3.8) per game.
The Buffaloes should be commended for finding a way to win without their best player. It would have been easy to say woe is me or bad luck. It’s a credit to the leadership of their players and their coaching staff that they persevere.
There’s something to be said about them being rewarded for a team that was able to persevere. It’s something the committee will definitely use their success under consideration. That’s why the Buffaloes will be there on Selection Sunday.
It would be disappointing if the Buffaloes are not in it. There’s nothing they could have done to impress the committee under the circumstances. Beating the Wildcats would have been a cinch, but that shouldn’t be the be all end all. Even if Dinwiddie played in Saturday, they were not beating Arizona.
The Buffaloes are not going to take anything for granted. They feel they have to do a lot more to impress the committee. It’s the right attitude to take since nothing is guaranteed. They should do whatever it takes to win the next three games and win some games in the Pac-12 tournament.
There’s no doubt the fourth-year Colorado coach Tad Boyle will not have his players be complacent of their success. He will coax a lot out of them in getting three more wins in their final three games of the regular season. He knows that’s the only way the committee will be more impressed.
Boyle also feels if the Buffaloes can keep winning, his team could be in good shape heading to the tournament. That means they can go win a tourney or two. That’s why he wants his team being sharp.
Being in the tournament would be a boon for the Buffaloes. It would mean that it’s their third straight year they played in March Madness, and that would be a good selling point to get recruits to play for the program that is on the upswing.
Most importantly, it would be rewarding for the players after grinding it out and finding a way despite losing their best player. It would validate a great season.
That’s why there is going to be angst come Selection Sunday unless the Buffaloes can keep winning the remaining the rest of the way.
It shouldn’t come down to their three games. The Buffaloes have done enough to be worthy of playing in the tournament. There is nothing else they can do. They shouldn’t be in this position of fighting for their playoff lives.
The Buffaloes feel they are good enough where they don’t have to put themselves in a position of being in the bubble. They know they can win all three games. They are counting on getting it done.
If they can win all the three games coming up, it would be an impressive feat in capping off a good season.
Even the committee would be swayed enough to give the Buffaloes a nice tournament seeding.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro at @LightRodWriter.
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
