Colorado v American: NCAA Tournament first round preview

Colorado's players huddle up during a break against Brigham Young. (Photo by Jacob Hock/Sko Buffs Sports)

The No. 24-ranked and fifth-seeded team, Colorado Buffaloes (22-8, 12-6 Big 12), is on the road to take on American University Eagles (24-4, 15-1 Patriot League), the Patriot League regular season and tournament champion. 

American is quite familiar with the NCAA tournament. This year, they qualified for the Big Dance for the 19th time in program history. On a national stage, the Eagles are 3-17, with the last time winning a tournament match being ten years ago in 2015. 

This will be the third time Colorado and American meet on the court, but it’s been twenty years since their last match. In 2001, the Buffs swept the Eagles in the first round of the NCAA championships. And another sweep occurred, again by Colorado, in 2005 in regular-season play. 

The Eagles have a very strong lineup set by head coach Ahen Kim. Six of their players have earned all-Patriot League selections, which is the most in program history since 2004. They also led the conference in major awards. Deniz Dakak was named not only player of the year but also setter of the year. Sophie Dufour took the title of rookie of the year. Bella Marrero is Libero of the year and the Coaching Staff of the year went to Kim and his assistants.

The Buffs also have a lot to bring to the court in regard to players. Ana Burilovic is the team’s top scorer, ranking fifth in the country in points per set with 5.47. Cayla Payne is another notable player when it comes to Colorado’s offense, hitting .333 on the season and having put up double-digit kills seven different times. Head coach Jesse Mahoney has taken CU to the NCAA tournament three times in his ten years as coach. 

Historically, CU has a good chance in this matchup. However, they have been having a hard time in their last games of the regular season, though, being 2-3 in their final five games and losing their last one at home against the Brigham Young Cougars. The strength in numbers by each team shows the determination of the players.

Colorado will play American on Thursday, Dec. 4th at 1 p.m. MT in Bloomington, Indiana at Wilkinson Hall (ESPN+).