CU nordic skiers Vegard Kjoelhamar and Matt Gelso receive honors after competing in the NCAA Skiing National Championships in Steamboat Springs on Wednesday. The nordic ski team placed second overall. (Photo courtesy of CU Sports Information)

Despite a strong performance from its Nordic skiers on Saturday, Colorado came up short, finishing second in the NCAA Skiing National Championships.

Denver captured the National Championship for a third consecutive year, as the Pioneers finished out the week with 785.5 points. The Buffs trailed with 71.5 points, with an overall score of 714.

“Everyone on the team’s a little disappointed,” said senior Nordic skier Matt Gelso.

Sitting in third place after Friday’s events, Colorado needed big performances from its Nordic skiers going into the final day of competition at the Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

They got just that, after strong finishes by the women’s team on the final day enabled the Buffs to jump over New Mexico to second place.

On the men’s side, Gelso came in third in the 20k freestyle event. Gelso, crowned the national champion in the men’s 10 km classic on Thursday, recorded a time of 49:23.6 on Saturday.

“I won a national championship and a third place, so I’m about as happy as I could be,” Gelso said in a news release. “I would obviously have liked to have won it, but third place, last race, I had fun. I struggled, but I still hung in there.”

Colorado had two skiers on the podium in the women’s 15k freestyle event. Junior Alexa Turzian finished second with a time of 41:09.0 and sophomore Eliska Haijkova came in third with a time of 41:42.5.

“I’m super psyched for us as a team,” Turzian said in a news release. “That’s a great finish for us.”

Colorado arrived at the NCAA National Skiing Championship ranked number one, according to Ski Racing magazine. Expectations were high—the last time Colorado hosted the National Championship in 2006, they won.

“We had more than our fair share of bad luck on the Alpine side, which is pretty much why we ended up where we were,” said Colorado head coach Richard Rokos in a news release. “But we made the mistakes that created most of that bad luck.”

But in light of the loss, at least eight Buffs won’t be returning to Boulder empty-handed.

After the event, Gelso and junior Vegard Kjoelhamar were named First Team All-American in the men’s 10km classic. Gelso also received First Team All-American honors in the men’s 20km freestyle.

In her first year participating in the NCAA Championship, freshman newcomer Joanne Reid was named First Team All-American in the women’s 5km classic and a Second Team selection in the women’s 15km freestyle.

Haijkova, named to the Second Team in the 5km, received First Team honors alongside Turzian in the 15km freestyle.

Junior Carolina Nordh received First Team-All American honors in the women’s slalom, while freshman Erica Ghent and junior Katie Hartman were named to the Second Team. Hartman was additionally honored as First Team All-American in the giant slalom.

Hartman and Gelso were two of only 10 athletes named First Team All-Americans in two events.

With all his success, Gelso is left to decide what his future has in store.

“I might ski for another year competitively,” Gelso said. “I’m going to take the next month and decide.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Mark McNeillie at Mark.mcneillie@colorado.edu.

(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)

Three is not a lucky number for the Buffaloes.

Friday saw the end of the third day of the NCAA Skiing Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colo., leaving the Buffs sitting uncomfortably in third place behind Denver and New Mexico.

The Buffs’ total points are up to 504, placing them 31 points behind New Mexico and 85.5 behind leaders Denver.

Senior skier Drew Roberts and freshman Spencer Nelson placed 15th and 23rd in the men’s slalom, respectively, earning CU 42 points.

Junior Gabriel Rivas was disqualified on his first run at Gate 39, contributing zero points on the day to Colorado’s total score.

Three of CU’s women finished in the top 10 in the women’s slalom race, as Carolina Nordh took fifth, Erika Ghent sixth and Katie Hartman seventh, earning  CU a combined 111 points. Hartman had the fifth fastest second run of the day with a time of 41.44 seconds.

With only Freestyle remaining in the NCAA Championships on Saturday morning, the Buffs will need several of its athletes to finish in top positions to catch up and pass Denver in overall points.

Contact Social Media Editor Zack Shapiro at Zack.shapiro@colorado.edu.

(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)

Oh starters, where art thou?

Playing without key singles starters seniors Monica Milewski and Camila Belassi, the CU women’s tennis team dropped their opening Big 12 match 7-0 against the Nebraska Cornhuskers Friday.

Milewski and Belassi, ranked No. 1 and No. 3 respectively, were unavailable for the Lincoln road trip due to undisclosed disciplinary action handed down by head coach Nicole Kenneally.

The Buffs (7-4, 0-1 Big 12) were swept in all three doubles matches and five of the six singles slots by the Cornhuskers (11-1, 1-0 Big 12), who played on their home turf after suffering a loss against Tulsa on Feb. 28.

Sophomore Michala Hedelund Jensen was the only Buff who pushed her match to a third set, but fell in her final set 6-7(5), 6-0, 1-0(5).

Belassi’s absence also affected the doubles starting line-up.

Ranked No. 57 nationally alongside doubles partner Belassi, senior Melissa Esposito instead played alongside junior Abbie Probert. They were unable to garner a win for the Buffs, falling 8-2 in the set.

The loss ends the Buffs’ four-match winning streak.

Colorado continues Big 12 play at Iowa State on 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Esteban L. Hernandez at Esteban.hernandez@colorado.edu.

(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)

A game where the score was tied five times and the lead changed 12 times, proved too much for the 11th seeded Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team to hold on to in the first round of the Big 12 Championship.

Unlike the Baylor team who was missing star freshman Britney Griner, the Buffaloes had all their star players on the court. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to beat the sixth-seeded Bears. The Buffs fell 72-65 to nationally ranked No. 16 Baylor Thursday night at the Municipal Arena in Kansas City, Mo. The loss was CU’s 23rd straight to a ranked opponent.

Colorado’s tournament showing was much more impressive than their last meeting with the Bears. In their February match-up, CU managed only 42 total points and 13 field goals during the game. In this rematch, Colorado put up 39 points and made 14 field goals in the first half alone.

Despite their 39-31 lead at the half, the Buffs began to fall apart in the later part of the second half. Baylor outscored Colorado 41-26 in the final 20 minutes, had four fewer turnovers (eight compared to CU’s 12) and stole the ball six times, twice as many times as the Buffs.

CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller saw the changes that both teams made when they returned from the locker rooms. She said she believes the added ball pressure from Baylor caused her team to turn the ball over more and get less open looks. This pressure prevented the Buffs from getting into the same flow they had during their successful first half.

“From an offensive standpoint there was patience, execution, players making the extra pass and that was the difference offensively in the first half from the second half,” McConnell-Miller said after the game. “We didn’t have enough time in the second half to really execute and get into the flow of our offense.”

The Buffs came out strong in the beginning of the game. A 3-point jumper by junior forward Brittany Spears assisted by freshman guard Chucky Jeffery gave Colorado the early lead. Four turnovers by both teams in less than two minutes finally gave way to a three-point-play by Spears to give the Buffs a 6-2 lead, but it didn’t last for long in the back-and-forth game.

With 7:07 remaining in the first half, Baylor had a seven point lead behind the prowess of junior forward Whitney Zachariason, who finished the game with 17 points, with 15 of those coming from beyond the arc.

McConnell-Miller said that the Buffs’ 2-3 zone defense wasn’t putting enough pressure on Zachariason, and Baylor realized early on just how much of an asset she would be off the bench.

“She got a couple early on and gained some confidence, but as soon as they realized that we were staying in the zone they brought her off the bench fast, and they knew they needed somebody to spread the offense,” McConnell-Miller said of Zachariason.

However, the ever-battling Buffs had the answer to Zachariason in sophomore guard Alyssa Fressle. Her two treys helped narrow the margin to 27-26. CU then went on an 18-6 run to end the half.

Spears, who posted her twelfth 20-plus-point game, leading the team with 24 points and tied a career-high five steals, said the team tried to come into the second half battling as much as they did in the first.

“At halftime we were saying we’ve got to stay focused, don’t be happy with the lead and come out strong,” Spears said after the game.

However, the Buffs seemed to do just the opposite. In the first four minutes, Colorado was 1-for-6 from the field, but still held on to a 43-35 lead. Baylor managed to cut the lead down to three, but a long shot from senior guard Bianca Smith assisted by Spears raised the score to 46-40 with 15:25 remaining.

Five free throws from Baylor once again tied up the score, only to be broken by Spears 12 seconds later. With an assist from Jeffery, Spears scored and raised the Buffs 55-52.

The game remained close for the next five minutes, but shots that just wouldn’t fall and Baylor’s full-court press hurt the Buffs, whose only points in the last six minutes came from free throws. Jeffery’s last free throws helped narrow the margin to three, but it wasn’t enough to stop the enlivened Bears.

“I don’t know if it wore us out, some of those shots we just didn’t make,” Fressle said after the game. “I mean a couple rolled around, my layups, a couple by Chucky, she had a great drive and they just didn’t fall. There is not too much else to say.”

Even though their season is over, the Buffaloes remain hopeful for the years to come. Fressle said that freshmen Jeffery and Meagan Malcolm-Peck in combination with the strong core of the returning, more experienced players will make for a better, more improved team next year.

McConnell-Miller summed up the season by pointing out the team’s mistakes in the last few minutes, but by adding that during the off-season the team will get better because everyone will grow.

“It’s my job as a coach to focus on what we’ve done well, what we need to improve on in the off-season and how they’re going to get better,” McConnell-Miller said. “We’ve all got to grow. I’ve got to grow. The staff has to grow. The team’s got to grow and we’ve got to get better as a result of this season.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Marlee Horn at Marlee.horn@colorado.edu.

It’s rare that a university athletic program makes three athletic teams practice and play on a single parquet court. Right now the University of Colorado makes both of its basketball teams and its volleyball team do just that.

Later this month, CU will take the first steps to remedy what volleyball head coach Liz Kritza and women’s basketball head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller call a scheduling nightmare.

“The practice facility will free up our athletes’ schedules and allow them to progress towards their degrees,” Kritza said.

The new building will include two courts that could be used for basketball or volleyball practice, and a volleyball coaches’ office and locker room. In addition, the 42,817-square-foot addition to CU’s athletic facilities will have a new women’s basketball locker room and an improved equipment room.

The project is estimated to cost between $10 million to $12 million.

Brought about by a clause in men’s basketball head coach Jeff Bzdelik’s contract, CU is required to break ground on a practice facility before the start of Bzdelik’s fourth year.

Kritza said the practice facility is huge for the volleyball program, especially because they are occasionally forced to practice in Carlson Gymnasium when Coors Events Center is scheduled for other practices or events.

“We all want to train our team at the highest level,” Kritza said. “We’re rebuilding. We’re a young team. We need a good consistent block of court time [in order to get better].”

The women’s basketball team feels the same way.

Freshman guard Chucky Jeffery didn’t know about the practice facility when she came to CU, but is excited for the new accomodations.

“It’s definitely good for the program,” Jeffery said.

McConnell-Miller sees the upcoming facilities as conducive to a higher-caliber training environment.

If completed in the scheduled timeline, the three teams will be able to practice in the spring 2011.

“We’re recruiting against the top of the top for high level players,” Kritza said, “[The practice facility] will make us all more competitive.

Contact CU Independent Social Media Editor Zack Shapiro at Zashapiro@colorado.edu

In this file photo, Junior guard Cory Higgins (#11) leaps for the basket during the second period of Saturday's game against Texas Tech. Despite last weekend

After a 9-22 season a year ago, the three straight wins to end the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team’s 2010 season put them on the cusp of a postseason berth.

Then they played like it was 2009 again.

After jumping to an early 18-8 lead, the Buffs were outscored 24-6 over an eight-minute span of the first half and never recovered, falling 82-67 to a Texas Tech Red Raiders team that they romped in Boulder only four days ago.

Junior guard John Roberson led Tech with 19 points, and senior guard Nick Okorie followed up his 34-point performance at the Coors Event Center, with 18 more as his squad avenged their 101-90 loss last Saturday.

The ninth-seeded Red Raiders (17-14) overcame their seven game losing streak with the victory and dominated in almost every phase of the game, including field goal percentage (49-to-42 percent), rebounds (39-to-29), and bench points (30-to-9).

Colorado (15-16) played uncharacteristically sloppy, turning the ball over 19 times and struggling to maintain any sort of rhythm on offense.

Senior guard Dwight Thorne, who was held to five points in his final game as a Buffalo, put his team’s struggles bluntly.

“We just got complacent,” Thorne said afterwards. “We weren’t making the right passes and weren’t being sure in our passes.”

CU freshman guard Alec Burks’ double-double (24 points and 10 rebounds) might have been the lone bright spot for the team, and he said he felt that the team played too selfish a style of basketball.

“I think everybody started staying in place and the ball started sticking,” Burks said. “We weren’t passing, giving our teammates better looks. We were trying to do it ourselves and be the hero. I feel like that was our downfall.”

With the win, Texas Tech strengthened its shot at an NIT bid, assuring itself of finishing above .500 regardless of the outcome of their quarterfinal matchup with top-ranked Kansas.

Meanwhile Colorado’s season is all but over, its 15-16 record eliminating them from qualifying for the NIT.

CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik said afterwards that, despite the setback, he’s proud of the growth his team showed over the course of the season.

“We’ve taken a step forward this year,” Bzdelik said after the game. “And we need to just keep taking steps forward.

“We need to get stronger. We need to defend better. We need to rebound better. We need to go out and recruit and continue to strengthen this basketball team.”

As for Thorne, though he wasn’t able to reap any postseason benefits from his time in Boulder, said he foresees a bright future ahead for his teammates.

“This team is going to be a good team next year,” Thorne said. “I’m the only guy leaving, to have everything pretty much coming back. So I’ll be excited to see where they’re headed…and it’s going to be up.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer David Starcer at david.starcer@colorado.edu.

CU’s Vegard Kjoelhamar and Matt Gelso, from left. Kjoelhamar finished fourth and Gelso won the 10K Classical race. (Courtesy CUBuffs.com)

The second day can be sweeter for skiiers.

The CU ski team moved up from sixth to second place in team standings the second day of NCAA Skiing Championships Thursday, with 351 points. The Buffs trail just the University of Denver, who continues to lead the championships with 420 points.

All six CU competitors in the classic cross-country race finished in the top 20, contributing to the incredible jump the Buffs made in the team standings.

On the men’s side, senior Matt Gelso took the crown as the NCAA classic 10-kilometer champion, with a time of 29 minutes and 25.5 seconds. Senior Vegard Kjoelhamar placed fourth in the race with a time of 29:54.5, and junior Jesper Ostensen finished 20th with a time of 30:49.8.

Gelso is just the second Buff to win the classic race at nationals and earned first-team All-America honors for the first time since his freshman year.

Gelso said he is very pleased that he won this race.

“This was a goal of mine that I made at the end of last year since this is my last year eligible to ski for NCAA,” Gelso said. “I succeeded in that and I have a chance to win another one so I’m pretty excited.”

The women’s side faired just as well in the 5-kilometer classic race. Freshman Joanne Reid took fourth place with a time of 17 minutes and 9.9 seconds while sophomore Eliska Hajkova placed three spots below her at 17:17.4.  Junior Alexa Turzian finished 19th with a time of 18:10.4.

Reid claimed the best finish by a CU freshman in the classic race at the NCAA’s since 2006 and it enables her to earn first-team All-America status.

After the race she said that she wasn’t trying to accomplish anything like she did on Thursday.

“I wasn’t really thinking about place, I just went out there to try my best, and do what I could for my team,” Reid said in a news release.

CU Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said he was pleasantly surprised by Reid’s feat.

“I always have high expectations,” Cranmer said in a news release. “I knew Joanne had the ability to be there, but in a classic race I was thinking top 10, but top four, I was super psyched about that.”

Gelso said both the men’s and women’s teams did well, even if it wasn’t some of the skiers’ best races.

“Some people didn’t quite have the days that they wanted, but I definitely think they’re staying positive and they can have good races on Saturday,” Gelso said.

CU head coach Richard Rokos said both teams gave important performances that have affected the entire team.

“The whole Nordic performance gives the team a second chance,” Rokos said in a news release. “I think we’re in the hunt.”

On Friday, the Alpine skiers will return to the slopes in slalom while the cross-country skiers will hopefully ski for a national championship in freestyle on the final day of competition Saturday.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Kayla Cornett at kayla.cornett@colorado.edu.

(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)

A towering giant who blocks every shot she can. A 6-foot-8 player who can dunk the ball. A woman who gets triple-doubles in her freshman season.

This Goliath of the basketball court stood as a huge obstacle for a road win at Baylor for the Colorado woman’s basketball team.

But now, Brittney Griner isn’t playing because of a different type of shot she took at Texas Tech guard Jordan Barncastle.

The media is calling it the punch heard round the world. After being swung around in the paint by Barncastle, Griner had a flagrant response—a clothesline-like punch straight to Barncastle’s face.

NCAA handed down a one game suspension, after speculation by teams, media and fans alike over what Griner’s punishment would be. Baylor added its own one game suspension for good measure.

Two games might not seem that significant to most viewers at home, but it has a much deeper impact to the Buffaloes. The second game is the first round of the 2010 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, and as it just so happens, the second meeting for Colorado and Baylor.

Colorado enters the tournament as the No. 11 seed, while nationally ranked No. 16 Bears enter at the sixth seed. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Municipal Center in Kansas City, MO.

The last time the teams met, the outcome wasn’t in CU’s favor. The Buffs lost 76-42. In the 34 minutes she played, Griner made 24 points, ten rebounds and 11 blocks.

Griner’s impact on the Bears is as huge as her stature, and the Buffs are hoping that that missing star will be their chance to make it past the first round.

“She kind of gave of us a lot of problems because we couldn’t penetrate,” freshman guard Chucky Jeffery said about the teams’ first match-up. “They kept getting the ball into the middle. So without her there, that’s a big loss for them, but for us, it’ll open up a lot of things. We’re just going to attack, and attack as much as possible.”

The Buffaloes are hoping to attack, and with Griner out, not face another Bear attack. Senior guard Bianca Smith knows that in their last meeting, the team felt worn out from Griner’s smooth skills.

“I think her presence, whether it was blocking shots or getting rebounds or just her emotions, the way she fueled her team, I think was very intimidating, especially for the younger players and even for myself,” Smith said. “We’re so used to being able to get back doors and get layups and get fouls called. When you have a player of her size and her stature in the paint just blocking shots, it’s very difficult to try to stick to doing that and not fall to going outside of your game or fading away or taking bad shots. I think it was hard for us to stick to what we do best at Baylor.”

Head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller noted that at Baylor, her team was mentally affected by Griner’s presence, and in turn, settled for perimeter shots, with the anticipation that they were going to get blocked if they drove into the paint.

But even with her dominant presence, Smith said Griner is no titan.

“I watched her games in high school on television and I knew what she was capable of, but I also saw her lose in the state championship game, so I did know that she’s not Goliath,” Smith said.

Nonetheless, a Griner-less Baylor means more open looks for Colorado. Smith believes that CU will be able to do what they do best on the court and that their offense will be more open for drives and backdoors.

The Bears may be a completely different team without Griner, but that doesn’t mean they have suddenly lost their balance or aren’t one of the nation’s best.

“They’ve all stepped it up, and they know that they’re very different on the floor without her and everybody’s role has changed,” McConnell-Miller said. “They’re a great team with Griner and they’re a great team without her—just a very different team.”

After watching Baylor’s 70-54 loss to No. 18 Texas, McConnell-Miller has noticed where these differences are occurring.

She said Baylor was effective and intense offensively, driving to the basket and making it to the free throw line. However, she said that although their defense was playing smaller and more aggressively, they weren’t playing to their strengths.

Colorado, on the other hand, is trying to play to their strengths and treat the tournament as something brand new.

“I think as a team we look at it as a whole new game, like a whole new season,” Jeffery said. “Whoever wins, wins. Whoever loses, loses. We’re just trying to come out with a good focus.”

In Jeffery’s first tournament appearance, she hopes to be consistent and play the best basketball she’s played all year. At the other end of the spectrum, senior Smith hopes to play her best, as she knows that these games will be her last in a CU jersey.

“I think it means a lot because it could be my last in my Colorado uniform,” Smith said. “So I’m kind of looking forward to winning as many as we can out there and staying as long as we can so that I can keep playing.”

Even with the thought of her final games as a Buffalo in the back of her head, she isn’t going to let emotions take over her focus on the game.

“I think that I’m just trying to stay focused on the task and trying to win the game, not necessarily worrying about my individual issues,” Smith added. “I’m just trying to stay positive and focus on the scout and get as many victories as we can, maybe winning the championship.”

McConnell-Miller is hoping that adjustments the team has made and the strengths of their guards, such as Jeffery and Smith, can take them all the way to the championship round.

“Offensively I think we’re just a little more cohesive,” McConnell-Miller said. “I think we’re driving more. We’re getting more open looks on the perimeter, as opposed to the quick hits or the two guard hits that we run. On the defensive end, we know what our limitations are. We realize that our strength is in our guard. For us to score, we need to have four guards on the floor.”

Most importantly, the Buffs need to play for the full 40 minutes. If they keep their focus during the game, Smith believes their chances are good.

“We have to play hard for 40 minutes,” Smith said. “We have to stick to what we do best and execute our offense and then not have any lulls in games where we have four or five minutes where we fall apart and stop executing. I think if we can execute for 40 minutes and play hard for 40 minutes we can hang with any team in the tournament.”

Contact CU Staff Writer Marlee Horn at Marlee.horn@colorado.edu.

(CU Independent graphic/Adam Milner)

Talk about the same old story. 

Events for the first day of the 57th Annual NCAA Ski Championships kicked-off with the giant slalom for the men and women on Wednesday as the Buffs topped the same spot they finished after the first day of competition only four years prior, when the Buffaloes also hosted the event. 

During the tournament, the Buffs rallied back to win the National Championship, despite not bringing in a full team, which they accomplished for this season’s Championship. 

“It’s great to look back to 2006 and see how we rallied, but we were hoping to learn from our past mistakes,” said CU head coach Richard Rokos. “We repeated the same mistakes again, and it’s inexcusable. The strategy was to finish without making mistakes and to finish the two runs. We made mistakes today, and those cost us 70 points, if not more.” 

The women’s team started the morning with junior Katie Hartman taking third place with a time of 1:55.86. Freshman teammate Erika Ghent took 12th place with a time of 1:57.90, and junior Carolina Nordh placed 25th with 1:59.04. 

A frequent skier at Steamboat Springs, Hartman said the venue is like a second home. 

“I know I didn’t have a great finish here two weeks ago, but that’s ski racing, it happens,” Hartman said. “You can’t dwell on that. I was just excited to be back here. It was exciting.” 

Men’s Giant slalom proceeded afterward, experiencing slightly different results. 

Junior Gabriel Rivas placed the highest for CU at 16th place with a time of 1:51.04, while freshman Spencer Nelson followed at 21st place with a time of 1:51.46. Senior Drew Roberts was unable to clinch a top 30 spot, settling for 31st with a time of 1:58.81. 

With only two of the eight events completed today, the team stands in sixth place with 142 points. The women scored 87 of those points, with the men snatching up 56. 

The University of Denver sits atop the competition in first place with 239 points, a significantly higher number than second place Utah’s 196.5 points. Vermont came in third place with 178.5 points. 

The Championship continues tomorrow as the Buffs compete in the Classical Nordic events in Steamboat Springs. 

Contact CU independent Staff Writer Gina Yocom at Gina.yocom@colorado.edu.

Despite a conference season full of parody and an expected seven-team contingent heading to the NCAA tournament, there is still one clear-cut team to beat in the Big 12.

No. 1 Kansas (29-2, 15-1 Big 12) enters the 2010 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament as a likely lock for a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, even if they don’t emerge as the tourney’s victor.

That being said, it’s going to take a spectacular effort to knock off the Jayhawks, a team that could win its second national championship in three years.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys (21-9, 9-7 Big 12) did just that two and a half weeks ago, beating Kansas 85-77 in Stillwater, Okla., behind a 27-point, 8-rebound performance from Big 12 Player of the Year James Anderson.

The Cowboys’ junior guard is the player to look out for, averaging 22.9 points a game over the regular season, and assuming seventh seeded OSU gets past tenth-seeded Oklahoma, they should have a good chance of pulling an upset in the quarterfinals.

The team awaiting them would be second-seeded Kansas State (24-6, 11-5 Big 12) a team who, like their in-state rivals, was in-line for a number one seed until back-to-back losses to finish the season, including an 85-82 OT home loss to lowly Iowa State (15-16, 4-12 Big 12).

The Cyclones will look to pull off another upset in their first round game, when they face off against sixth-seeded Texas (23-8, 9-7 Big 12).

Defending Big 12 champion Missouri (22-9, 10-6 Big 12) is the fifth seed and will face twelfth seeded Nebraska (14-17, 2-14 Big 12) in their first round game.

And in the opening game of the first round, Colorado (15-15, 6-10 Big 12) will get a rematch with the Texas Tech (16-14, 4-12 Big 12) team they beat 101-90 in their regular season finale. The game tips off at 10:30 a.m., with the other first round games to follow.

Coach Jeff Bzdelik, who spent numerous seasons in the NBA before his move to the college game, drew comparisons to his preparation come playoff time.

“Immediately after the game, I’ll watch the Texas Tech game and I’ll make an edit,” he said. “And I’ll ask, ‘Can we do this differently? Maybe this will work better than it did today.’”

The question is: Does CU have to change anything from what they did on Saturday that was successful in netting them the win?

“You make adjustments; sometimes you make adjustments for the better and sometimes for the worse,” Bzdelik said. “Just have to evaluate the film and see perhaps what you can do better schematically that might help you. Sometimes you don’t do a thing.”

As for the players, they recognize both the advantages and disadvantages of playing the same opponent twice in five days.

Junior guard Cory Higgins, who dropped a team-high 30 in Saturday’s game, played the role of team leader in addressing his squad’s deficiencies.

“We have to stop somebody,” Higgins said. “ We gave up 90 points. They were getting too many easy buckets, and it’s the same old things; rebounds, we need to tighten up on the defensive end. We can’t let them score 90 points again and expect we are going to score 100 because that doesn’t happen.”

Junior forward Casey Crawford, who was held to two points (on two free throws) in his second start of the season after combining for 30 in his previous two games, epitomized his team’s new sense of confidence in the upcoming game plan.

“We know how they guard and their matchups, so we know how they are going to play us,” Crawford said. “They’re probably going to change some things a little bit because we beat them [on Saturday], but we have a good idea of how to stop them and how to beat them.”

If the Buffs can beat the Red Raiders for a second time, they get to face the top-seeded Jayhawks for a third time this season in the quarterfinals. And if they want to assure themselves a date in any postseason play, they may have to do what they couldn’t in Boulder on Feb. 3: finish the deal with a win.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer David Starcer at David.starcer@colorado.edu.