Keys for success in Colorado’s March Madness run
- Xavier Michnewicz
- Mar 20
- 3 min read
The Colorado Buffaloes are in dancing shoes, but their identity remains the same: blue collar never-quit underdogs.
Colorado has hung their hat on that identity all season continually proving doubters wrong. That refuting effort came to fruition last Sunday when Colorado was picked for the NCAA Tournament as a 10-seed.
However, a thin margin of error stands in the way of a deep run or first-round exit. While the identity remains, inconsistencies on the hardwood have kept Colorado from their full potential. Late game disasters, turnovers and scoring droughts are all issues that bring the Buffaloes stampede to a light trot and must be limited in win-or-go-home play.
So, what will be the keys for Colorado to make their March Madness not so maddening?
Trust the trey
A lot of the reason why Colorado prides itself on never giving up has to do with surviving poor shooting nights. Averaging 42.5% shooting from the field, the Buffaloes are 104th in D-I and sit in the bottom half of the Big 12. It doesn’t get better from beyond the arc as Colorado shoots the third worst percentage in the conference and 302nd in the NCAA, connecting on 27.6% of long balls.
In games where Colorado shoots it’s average of 40% from the field, they hold a record of 9-4. But, obviously efficient shooting will win games, the Buffs become lethal when they are able to translate that efficiency to 3-point shooting. When Colorado shoots their average and pairs it 30% from deep they hold a record of 9-1 with its only loss coming in its second game of the season.
That pairing came to actuality against Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament where the Buffaloes shot 40% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc. And Colorado didn’t just win, they handled business. In layman's terms the Buffaloes must shoot well to succeed. But if they want a deep run in March Madness it’ll rely on the trey-ball.
Success starts with backcourt queens
The Buffaloes rely heavily on their guards. At the forefront of that effort is Zyanna Walker and Desiree Wooten’s scoring punch off the bench. Two players who can create their own offense and keep the team afloat when possessions break down. In Colorado's three Big 12 Tournament games, Walker and Wooten combined for 52% of the team’s points.
However, in its loss to West Virginia, Wooten was held to just five points, before nine in the fourth quarter and none in the third. What allowed Colorado to make a comeback from down 12 was other players stepping up and contributing. March isn’t built on perfect shooting nights, and Colorado showed its margin of error grows when that secondary scoring shows up.
So, while Colorado’s strong guard play will need to continue, other players will need to contribute. For a team that prides itself on depth, they have the capability to do so. Against deeper tournament teams, that balance won’t be optional, it'll be required.
Rely on frontcourt balance
The back-court duo of Walker and Wooten average 11.4 and 13.3 points per game, respectively. But, when they don’t hit those marks, Colorado has a record of 1-2 against Big 12 opponents.
The outlier came in the Buffaloes win against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament’s second round. During a rock-fight type of game, Walker and Wooten were held to just 6 and 10 points each.
So, how did Colorado survive? The frontcourt answered. Forwards Anaelle Dutat, Jade Masogayo and Logyn Greer contributed a combined 25 points, nearly half of Colorado’s total. In March when defenses key in on Wooten and Walker, the frontcourt will have to be the safety net.
Colorado takes on the No. 7 seed Illinois Fighting Illini in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. MT on ESPN2.
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