Big 12 Tournament preview: How do the Buffs fare against the top teams?

Colorado striker Hope Leyba commands the ball against Arizona (Photo by Kainoa Hiatt).

The Colorado Buffaloes (14-2-3, 8-1-2 Big 12) find themselves matched up against the UCF Knights (11-2-5, 5-1-5 Big 12) in the first round of the Big 12 Championship tournament.

Following a stellar regular season, the Buffs are the third-best team in the Big 12 and the 11th-best in the nation. 

Striker Hope Leyba found the back of the net 19 times, which is the second-most in the country. The junior’s 19 goals are the most by a Buff in a single season. Colorado’s other forwards, Jace Holley and Emerson Layne, combined for another 29 goal contributions. CU’s three-headed monster looks to cause problems against the Knights.

Two-time Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year Jordan Nytes was once again a brick wall in net this season. The shotstopper only conceded 12 goals, and also broke the record for most clean sheets as a Buff.

The Knights only lost once in conference play, but also split points five times. Their only Big 12 loss came against the Arizona Wildcats, whom the Buffs took care of thanks to Leyba’s record-breaking goal.

UCF only scored 26 goals during the season, but striker Liz Worden was phenomenal all season. She accumulated seven goals and another eight assists. The Knights’ defense only let in 12 goals all season, but has only kept one shutout in their last five tries.

A look around the bracket:

No. 1-seeded TCU

The TCU Horned Frogs (15-2-1, 9-1-1 Big 12) claimed the top seed in the Big 12 following their 2-0 win against Houston. The Horned Frogs will also have home-field advantage in the first two rounds as all games are played in Fort Worth.

TCU’s lone conference loss came at the hands of the Buffs. Against Colorado, the Horned Frogs were flustered and let in three goals, the most conceded by them all season.

TCU was unbeaten against ranked teams during the regular season despite facing four teams ranked in the top 15.

Forward Seven Castain led TCU’s high-flying attack. The senior scored 12 times and assisted another three. She was named Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week following a hat-trick performance in TCU’s win against the No.14 Kansas Jayhawks.

The Horned Frogs are set to face the eighth-seeded BYU Cougars in the first round of the tournament. 

No. 2-seeded West Virginia

The West Virginia Mountaineers (13-2-3, 8-0-3 Big 12) were invincible in conference play. Their defense was the backbone of the team, keeping 10 clean sheets during the season.

Their offense, led by forward Taylor White, scored 36 goals. White had double-digit goals to go along with eight assists. The senior had a five-game stretch where she scored multiple goals three times.

WVU’s two losses came at the beginning of the season against No. 15 Virginia and No. 14 Penn State. The Mountaineers have not lost since Aug. 24.

West Virginia is set to face the seventh-seeded Kansas Jayhawks. In their meeting earlier on in the season, the Mountaineers drew 2-2 with the Jayhawks.

No. 4-seeded Texas Tech

The Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-2-3, 7-1-3 Big 12) find themselves as the fourth-best team in the Big 12 following a tie against UCF despite being named a consensus top-five team in the nation on Oct. 21.

Texas Tech’s only conference loss came against the Buffs. Despite only letting in 13 goals all season against Colorado, the Red Raiders conceded three times.

Forward Taylor Zdrojewski bagged 15 goals and assisted another three. The junior had five games where she scored two goals, including a game against the Jayhawks that saw her have three goal contributions.

Despite being ranked high for most of the season, the Red Raiders only crossed paths with three ranked squads and were only able to beat one of them.

Texas Tech is set to face the fifth-seeded Baylor Bears. In their first Big 12 matchup of the season, the Red Raiders beat the Bears 1-0 following a Peyton Parsons goal.

No. 5-seeded Baylor

The Baylor Bears (12-3-3, 7-3-1 Big 12) finished as the fifth-best squad in the Big 12 following a dominating win against Oklahoma State.

The Bears handed the Buffs their only conference loss following a 2-1 game that went down to the wire. 

Forward Tyler Isgrig led the team in goals with nine, and also tallied another seven assists. The senior finished the season off hot; she has at least one goal contribution in the last four games. 

Baylor’s most impressive win was against No. 14 Kansas. Three different players scored against the Jayhawks, and the backline did not concede a single goal.

Baylor is set to face fourth-seeded Texas Tech. If the Bears were to make a run to the final, they would have home-field advantage as the championship game is held in Waco.

No. 7-seeded Kansas

The Kansas Jayhawks (12-4-3, 6-4-1 Big 12) find themselves as the seventh-best team in the conference despite being the reigning champion.

Last season, the Jayhawks won the whole thing as the sixth seed. In the finals, they knocked off No. 1-seeded TCU to claim the trophy.

Kansas was 7-0-2 before losing 3-0 to Baylor, but after that, was 5-3-1. In the final game of the season, the Jayhawks lost 2-1 to Colorado. 

The Jayhawks have scored 39 goals, but have also conceded 23 goals, which is the second most among teams in the tournament.

Kansas is set to face second-seeded West Virginia.

No. 8-seeded BYU

The BYU Cougars (9-6-3, 4-5-2 Big 12) claimed the final spot in the tournament on decision day following a win at Utah.

In their matchup against the Buffs, both teams scored two first-half goals en route to a 2-2 tie. 

BYU holds no wins over any of the teams in the tournament and has let in the most goals among the eight teams.

The Cougars are led by Ellie Walbruch, who has eleven goals. The junior had 68 shots, which is more than double the next closest player on the team. 

BYU is set to face top-seeded TCU.

The Buffs appear to be in a good spot. They have wins over three of the teams in the tournament, and had it not been for a goal that was called offside, they would have beaten four. 

Colorado’s Big 12 Championship campaign begins in Fort Worth against UCF on Monday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MT (ESPN+).