JR Payne and Colorado are set up to contend into March

Buffaloes has their sights set on moving past the Sweet 16 round

Jason Jones/BuffsBeat

The CU women's basketball team surged to a historic Sweet 16 run last year that ended in a 10-point loss to Iowa and Caitlin Clark. What JR Payne and her team learned from the deep tournament run was they're built to a contender. 

“To be down twice by double digits against Iowa and to be able to fight back and continue to never wilt, never hang our heads and just keep playing, stay the course was awesome,” Payne said after the defeat. 

Payne also understood CU would have a lot of returning talent with a good chance of being on the nation stage again. ESPN's bracketology currently has the 3rd-ranked Buffs as a No. 1 seed going into the final month of the regular season. In a national landscape where the masses are focusing on Clark’s scoring feats, Dawn Staley coaching antics at South Carolina, or the ongoing saga surrounding Angel Reese and the rest of the LSU team, most of the country is failing to notice Payne’s team. 

Colorado has quietly amassed a 15-2 record and pushed ahead of the rest of the Pac-12 team. The Buffs dethroned top-ranked LSU to start the season and left the reigning national champions looking extremely vulnerable. The only losses this CU team has on the 2023-24 campaign came at the hands of two top five programs, and one came outside the continental US with No. 4 NC State in the Virgin Islands and No. 5 UCLA at home respectively.

How did Colorado put themselves in the conversation? An even balance of good coaching, defined roles on the roster, and veteran leadership. Payne is underrated for her talents and should be talked about among the like of Geno Auriema, Kim Mulkey, Vivian Stringer, and Tara VanDerveer.  

As of the roster, the Buffs don’t have to have any one player leading the team in order to win games against good opponents. Jaylyn Sherrod is an outstanding leader, but they're also deeper than you think. Payne is getting significant contributions from some unexpected places, too. It's also uncommon compared to a majority of team around the country. 

Sherrod is quick, strong and fearless. Her production varies, but the Buffs aren't make or break if she has an off night. In the handful of games where she did not score heavily, its because it wasn’t needed. Colorado won those games somewhere between a 17 and 40 point margin. Furthering the point that Sherrod's production can be felt in other ways past a point total. 

These Buffs have won games from the PG position (Sherrod, Wetta), from shooters (Frida “3da” Formann, Sara-Rose Smith), as well as front court dominance (Aaronetta Vonleh, Quay Miller, and Brianna McLeod). There is veteran leadership everywhere on this team. From Sherrod to Miller to Formann, there is leadership both vocal and by example all over the court. Even the transfers Vonleh and Smith have seamlessly fit in with the culture of the program and their contributions are noteworthy. 

With the wins stacking up, it means higher attendance at the CUEC. The January 19th matchup against UCLA was not only the first sellout in a long time, it was the largest crowd to watch a women’s Colorado Buffaloes game ever.

The Buffs are legit right now. Get to know this team because in a month they could be a significant contender as we get ready for NCAA Tournament time.