Coors Event Center reaches 10,000 attendance when CU took on UCLA on Jan. 2, 2015. (Nigel Amstock/CU Independent)
Up and down seasons for the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the University of Colorado have left both teams under .500 heading into the final weeks of their respective seasons, and the Pac-12 tournament right around the corner. Assistant Sports Editor Sam Routhier and sports writer Justin Guerriero debate which team has a better chance at winning their respective conference tournament.
Sam Routhier: With two road games left on their regular season schedule, our women’s basketball team currently sits at 12-15, and are 5-11 in the Pac-12. After picking up two wins in the bookends of their recent four game homestand, the ladies were impressive in all four of their final home games in their win over Washington State, last Sunday’s win over Oregon, and even the first half of their loss to no.7 Oregon State which was tied at halftime. We’ll see how they fare in games at Arizona and Arizona State this weekend, but it feels like this team is peaking at the right time.
I think a big part of that rests on their good luck with injuries this season. After a 2013-14 campaign where it seemed this roster couldn’t stay healthy for consecutive games, the bulk of this 2014-15 season has seen the lineup remain remarkably injury-free (knock on wood!) outside of losing junior forward Arielle Roberson for the season in pre-season workouts. Even when junior forward Jamee Swan had to leave the second half of the Buffs’ loss at Arizona State on Jan. 30 with a leg injury, she was able to bounce back and return the very next game. This has been a long and frustrating season for the Buffaloes, and this team has got to be tired in more ways than one as it heads into its final weekend. But its also as close to full strength as any team could hope to be at the end of a long regular season against a Pac-12 full of quality opponents.
With a starting lineup featuring players who all have postseason experience in some form, be it the Pac-12 conference tournament, the NIT, or even the NCAA Tournament, for Swan and the three seniors, this team knows how to play high intensity postseason basketball. Their playing style certainly lends itself to success in the postseason — defensively minded teams perform well at all levels of postseason basketball when the play inevitably slows down. While head coach Linda Lappe’s team fashions themselves an opportunistic run-and-gun offense, which at their best they certainly are, they’ve also shown themselves capable of scoring out of the half court. Senior guard Lexy Kresl and forward Jen Reese are the foundations of that strength — Kresl can create her own shot, both beyond the arc and when driving the lane and I’m confident Reese is one of the best shooters in the Pac-12 from mid-range. Those are skills that lend favorably to the postseason when teams slow down and play with significantly more intensity and deliberation.
Justin Guerriero: This is a tough one, but I’m going with the men’s team. If the season ended today the Buffs would take on Stanford in the opening round. Keep in mind that the Buffs beat them 64-58 in Boulder back on Feb. 15. For a team that lost starting forward Josh Scott for a significant amount of time and then lost guard/forward Xavier Johnson for a few games, I’m not too disappointed with their 12-14 overall record and 5-9 Pac-12 record. The Buffs’ four remaining games against Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, and Washington State should be a good hint of what to expect in the tournament.
Despite their recent woes in Pac-12 play (win against Stanford withstanding), I think the Buffs are exactly the type of team that can come into this tournament as an underdog and shake things up. Think of Baylor — in 2010, 2012 and 2014 they entered the NCAA Tournament without many people taking them too seriously and ended up taking down some very good teams. I think the Buffs are going to be that wild card team in this years Pac-12 Tournament. Moreover, one recurring theme I’ve noticed in a lot of the Buffs’ Pac-12 losses is the huge amount of turnovers that were surrendered. It’s a simple equation: when the Buffs play undisciplined and sloppy, they lose. However, in their Pac-12 wins they have shown that they can buckle down and play efficiently.
Sam Routhier: Justin my good sir, I can’t deny that when they’ve been on, the men’s team has played some spirited basketball this season, but a key reason why I like the women’s team’s chances in next month’s Pac-12 tournament is experience.
Look at the starting lineup for the women’s team — the backcourt is two seniors, Lexy Kresl and Jasmine Sborov, and the frontcourt is two upperclassmen in senior Jen Reese and junior Jamee Swan. The starter that I failed to mention is sophomore wing Haley Smith, who has more than a season of starting experience after being thrust into a starting role last season as a true freshman when Sborov went down with a foot injury. Smith retained her role in the lineup after the team lost Arielle Roberson in the preseason and has shown significant improvements statistically across the board. As of last Friday, she’s fourth on the team with 9.3 points per game after averaging 3.5 last season, and is pulling down 5.9 rebounds per game this season to top the 2.3 she averaged last season. With four upperclassmen and a sophomore who already plays with multiple seasons of experience, this team knows each other in a way that the men’s team simply does not.
What they also benefit from is a Pac-12 that is heavy on parity. Despite Stanford being the preseason favorite to win the conference, the Cardinal currently sit in fourth behind no.7 Oregon State, Arizona State and Cal. Oregon State has risen to the top of the conference standings this season with an astounding 19-2 record, but as I mentioned earlier, Colorado proved they have the ability to hang with them last week when the Buffalo-Beaver matchup was tied at half. I’ve already mentioned five teams in the conference and I haven’t even gotten to USC, who are ranked sixth in the conference currently but won last year’s Pac-12 tournament. The Buffs are ninth in the conference right now and could move a spot or two up if they win their last two games. No matter their spot in the standings come tournament time, the Buffs will face an opponent who they are capable of matching up to, because there is no team in the conference who can truly dominate Colorado if they show up to play. If there’s one thing you can count on in this upcoming Pac-12 tournament, it will be the close games between supremely competitive and athletic teams.
Justin Guerriero: The men’s squad has the personnel to win games. When everyone is healthy, the starting lineup is deadly. I must admit though, Sam, you’re right about the women’s squad. I watched them in Sunday’s win against Oregon and they played like a well-oiled machine. However, I think that the men’s team has the potential to get some explosive wins in this upcoming Pac-12 Tournament. Without a doubt, senior guard Askia Booker has been the backbone of this Buffs team. He leads the team with 17 points per game and has been very effective from 3 point range. Booker, Johnson and Scott have truly formed a tremendous trio that unfortunately got broken up earlier this season due to injuries. However, I think that all the pieces of the puzzle are in the right spot. The wheels are in motion and the men’s team is itching for this tournament to start.
I also think that this disappointing season might be a blessing in disguise for the Buffs. The players know more than anyone that they really did not live up to expectations this year. For the last few seasons, the Buffs have been a force to reckon with. They won the Pac-12 tournament in 2012 and in 2013 and they achieved the highest NCAA Tournament ranking in school history. So, with this season being an off year, I think the Buffs have some built up fury to unleash on whoever they play in the upcoming Pac-12 tourney. I think the fact that the Buffs very well might not make the NCAA Tournament is a sore subject with these players, especially Askia Booker, who I’m sure would have loved nothing more than to return to March Madness in his final season in a Buffs uniform. I believe the mediocrity of this season might act as a way to lessen the level of pressure to perform that was put on this team. If the Buffs can simply relax and stick to fundamentals, I think they’ll do better in this tournament than most people expect.
As you wisely noted, Sam, the season is not over yet! The men’s team has four remaining games in the regular season. As much as I love the Buffs, I’m going to concede a loss to Arizona right now. However, the remaining three games are definitely winnable. The Buffs could potentially move up at least a slot in the conference. If Cal, Arizona State, and UCLA (the teams right above CU in the Pac-12 standings) completely blow their final four games and the Buffs win the majority of theirs, there would be even more room for some late-season conference climbing. That would match the Buffs up against weaker competition for a first round matchup such as Washington State, who the Buffs beat up back in January, 90-58. These last four games could be crucial and, once again, if the Buffs play smart, limit turnovers and remember fundamentals, good things will happen.
The women’s basketball team will play at Arizona this Friday. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network and tipoff is at 6 p.m. The women’s Pac-12 basketball tournament will take place in Seattle, Washington from March 5-8.
The men’s basketball team will host Arizona this Thursday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and tipoff is at 7 p.m. The men’s Pac-12 basketball tournament will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 11-14.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Sports Editor Sam Routhier at samuel.routhier@colorado.edu and follow him on twitter @samrouthier.
Contact CU Independent Sports Staff Writer Justin Guerriero at justin.guerriero@colorado.edu.
