Colorado’s seniors live bittersweet NCAA Tournament dreams
- Harrison Simeon
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Everywhere Jade Masogayo and Anaëlle Dutat looked, they saw ghosts.
There were people they loved, but who wouldn’t be around much longer. The Colorado Buffaloes’ season ended Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament via the Illinois Fighting Illini, forcing their seniors to face graduation.
They had magnificent final years, building on accolades that started elsewhere and found ways to CU. They entered it already with tenures to be proud of, but shared a goal that’d eluded them: March Madness.
In the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Championship, Masogayo — then a sophomore at Missouri State — wondered if maybe, just maybe, her contest of Anna Miller’s game-winning shot for Drake could have been better than the one she watched from the bench. Instead, her Bears fell one win short of the tourney.
And upon joining the Buffaloes, it might as well have happened again. On the outside looking in entering 2025’s Big 12 quarterfinals, she scored a career-high 22 points in a loss to top-seeded TCU. Masogayo controlled the controllables, yet it left unfinished business. Colorado was the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament.
After so much teeth-gritting, she would have been warranted to find an easier March Madness path through the transfer portal. Her first go-around in Boulder was frustrating, and more prestigious programs wanted her. Still, that business wouldn’t end anywhere else.
“I wish I committed here in the first place,” Masogayo said after Saturday’s loss. “Especially the coaching staff, I will never forget what they’ve done for me these past two years.”
Coach JR Payne found her amid heartache, so Masogayo returned the favor. She led the recruitment of a phenomenal portal class, including Dutat. She mentored Logyn Greer to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team, and friendship drew Tabitha Betson back to CU after a departure from the program last summer.
Tasked to galvanize 10 newcomers for the second straight season, the Buffs had much more success from that player-led process. They racked up four ranked wins, won eight of nine in conference play and were Big Dance-bound after a historic run to the Big 12 semifinals.
Yet when most of those teammates underperformed against Illinois, Masogayo seized her long-awaited opportunity. In a dry spell leading up to the dance, she braved a young, intimidating Illini frontcourt for 15 points and five rebounds.
“Jade will do absolutely anything for her teammates,” Payne said. “She’s one of the most unselfish players I’ve been around.”
Individually, Masogayo earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors, but that became an afterthought. Even winning was secondary. Losing stung, but simply because it meant her time with this team was over.
“This was the best basketball I’ve ever played, but not even basketball-wise, just this group of people,” Masogayo said. “That’s why it hurts so bad, because I just wish I had another year with this group.”
Out on the wing, Dutat had suffered losses in the Atlantic 10 championship, semis and quarters at Rhode Island before CU offered a reset for her final season. It sparked career numbers, but as long as her dream lived, Illinois delivered a killshot in short order.
Dutat joined Colorado with another mission: to end with no regrets. While not at her best on Saturday, she played all but three minutes and brought the Buffs as close to a lead as they did after the first quarter. And of course, CU’s new single-season offensive rebound leader added five more.
She was invaluable in Boulder, and those moments crystallized. Yet she would do anything to run it back, big or small.
“Looking back, I’m pretty happy about how my college year went,” Dutat said. “[But] I wish I had at least one more game with them, one more practice, get together.”
“We could still practice tomorrow,” coach Payne said, consoling her.
Reaching March Madness was a box worth checking with a Sharpie, but it promptly entered the ether. Emotions swirled in Dutat’s head. She wasn’t ready to reckon.
“Not right now,” Dutat said when asked if she could appreciate the tournament berth. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll be more happy about it.”
Colorado’s bond grew exponentially over time, and by the end, Payne put it among the best she’d witnessed in her quarter-century of coaching. Time flew on bus rides in Hawaii, road trips to Kansas and skates on Kansas City’s “big iPad.” Considering the portal-plastered roster, it might be the most impressive.
For the seniors, it’s hard to process stopping now. The wound of a lost season will gape for a bit, but leaving behind those from it will scar.
Yet they danced, ending their college careers on the biggest stage. And as troubling as it will be to remember what happened next, there was no team they’d rather have done it with.
“Any moment I’m with these guys is a great moment,” Masogayo said. “This whole year has been just one great memory.”