Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball face crucial two-game stretch

Buffs need a successful January in order to make March Madness a reality

Ron Chenoy, USA Today

In ESPN’s latest Bracketology report, Joe Lunardi has the Colorado Buffaloes (12-5, 3-3 Pac-12) as one of the last four teams to qualify for the NCAA men's basketball tournament. This prediction can be viewed as somewhat of a wake-up call for a team that was ranked in the top 25 early in the season and features multiple players with NBA aspirations.

This is a crucial point of the season to forecast where the team is headed. There is time for this very talented group to position themselves for a long tournament run. However, the upcoming games will be vital in determining if Tad Boyle’s squad has what it takes.

On Thursday night, Colorado faces the Oregon Ducks at CU Event Center. The Ducks (13-3, 5-0 Pac-12) came back from being 18 points down to defeat Cal on Saturday. They have keys wins over Georgia, Michigan, USC and UCLA. However, they've yet to defeat a top 25 team with a 99-91 loss to then No. 17 Alabama on Nov. 25. Oregon also has six players averaging double-figures in a solid rotation of 10+ every game. 

The Buffs will need a maximum defensive effort to slow down the Ducks. Colorado will need a solid crowd environment to lift them to victory.  

On Saturday, CU’s matches up with Oregon State. The Beavers have lost four of their last five games, but feature one of the best guards in the conference in Jordan Pope. The sophomore is averaging 18.1 points and four assists per game. In each of his last four games, he scored 20 points or more and is a major threat from behind the three-point line.

If Colorado can win these next two games, they should at least get some top 25 votes in next week’s rankings. From there, the team will go on the road for a round of critical games in the Pacific Northwest against Washington and Washington State, along with Utah. But it's one game at a time for the Buffs.