While most CU students were relaxing over the holiday break, the Buffs’ varsity athletes were hard at work.
The men’s basketball team kicked off the holiday season with a stretch of eight consecutive home games. After finishing their non-conference season with wins against CSU Bakersfield, Texas Southern and New Orleans, the Buffs earned their first Pac-12 victory against Utah on New Year’s Eve.
The CU men's basketball team gathers before their game Thursday night against the Arizona State. The Buffs swept past the Sun Devils 69-54. (CU Independent/Annie Rumbles)
The Coors Events Center magic continued the following week as Colorado held off two more conference opponents, Washington and Washington State, in Boulder. The victories made CU the only undefeated Pac-12 team at that point in the season, but when the Buffs took to the road last week their streak came to a close.
The Buffs lost two straight games to California and Stanford, both currently tied for the No. 1 spot in the conference. Against Stanford, the Buffs let a 42-42 tie, with 17:01 remaining, turn into a 84-64 loss.
With the losses, Colorado’s record fell to 11-6 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-12. The Buffs return to the Coors Events Center this week, taking on Arizona State on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Arizona on Saturday at 4 p.m.
The women’s basketball team also struggled towards the end of the break after starting their season strong. The Buffs were on a 12-game winning streak, including a conference victory against Utah, before falling to Washington on the road Jan. 5. The Buffs pulled out a win against Washington State that same weekend, but like the CU men, they struggled the next week in California.
The Buffs dropped games against both California and Stanford last week, falling to Stanford by more than 20 points. The losses put CU’s record at 13-3 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-12. The CU women head to Arizona next, battling Arizona State on Thursday at 11 a.m. and Arizona on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
The basketball Buffs are not the only ones who have been busy this break. This January, the defending national champion CU ski team has already competed in the RMISA Alpine Qualifier and three separate invitationals across Colorado.
Most recently, the Colorado alpine skiers held onto their second-place spot in the at the Denver Invitational in Winter Park this Saturday, while the classical skiers earned second at the CU/Spencer Nelson Memorial Invitational in Steamboat Springs. The slalom team competes next on Jan. 15 in Winter Park, a continuation of the Denver Invitational.
Track and field is also off to a promising start, as senior Emma Coburn was named the 2011 Mile High Sports Magazine’s Collegiate Athlete of the Year for her performances during the 2011 season. Coburn is ranked No. 1 in the recently released 2011 U.S. Track and Field New Rankings for the 3,000 meter steeplechase, an event for which she competed in the 2011 IAFF World Championships.
The Buffs begin their indoor season with the Potts Indoor Invitational this Thursday through Saturday. The meet will take place at the Balch Field House on CU’s campus. The schedule of events can be found at this link: http://www.cubuffs.com//pdf8/731956.pdf.
Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Caryn Maconi at Caryn.maconi@colorado.edu.
