Menu
What's new
By:
Filters
AllBuffs | Unofficial fan site for the University of Colorado at Boulder Athletics programs

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Prime Time. Prime Time. Its a new era for Colorado football. Consider signing up for a club membership! For $20/year, you can get access to all the special features at Allbuffs, including club member only forums, dark mode, avatars and best of all no ads ! But seriously, please sign up so that we can pay the bills. No one earns money here, and we can use your $20 to keep this hellhole running. You can sign up for a club membership by navigating to your account in the upper right and clicking on "Account Upgrades". Make it happen!

NCAA 2024 Tourney game thread - #10 seed MEN's Bball - 1st round game vs. #7 seed Florida (In Indianapolis; Friday, 3/22, 2:30 PM MT; TBS)

AztecBuff

AztecBuff

Club Member
Club Member
Moderator
After a BIG win tonight in a "1st 4" tilt with the Boise State Broncos, men's basketball (25-10 overall; 13-7 in conference play) now heads to Indianapolis to face off against the Florida Gators (24-11; 11-7 in the SEC) this Friday afternoon in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in a South Region 1st round matchup, with the tipoff scheduled for 2:30 PM MT.
(The winner of this game is scheduled to face off Sunday against the winner of the #2 seed Marquette vs. #15 Western Kentucky game, another TBS game which which is scheduled to start before the Buff game, at noon, on Friday.)

The game is being shown on TBS. (Further info and links for media options available near the bottom of this post.)

Note - Not that they matter at all anymore, but CU's and Florida's major rankings/ ratings are/ were the following (Looks like Kenpom and BPI may still be getting updated during the tourney (below do NOT include today's win over BSU yet), while the last NET is still from 3/17.).:
NET (https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings) - CU 25; Florida 29
Kenpom (AKA "Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings"; Not including today's win over BSU; https://kenpom.com/index.php) - CU 26; Florida 29 (Edit - just looked and, with CU's win now included, they've moved up 2 to #24, and Florida's at #28.)
ESPN's "'Basketball Power Index" (BPI; https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bpi) - CU 45; Florida 25

Go Buffs!!!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(CU's preview article is not available as I type this.)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Links with more info on Florida:

Roster - https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Stats - https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats
Schedule - https://floridagators.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule
Their preview article - Initial after selection - https://floridagators.com/news/2024...s-no-7-seed-opens-ncaa-tournament-friday.aspx
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Media links:

NCAA's game page (Has teams' season stats (Both team comparison and individual), assume links to game live stats, video streams, etc.) - https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/game/223

NCAA Interactive bracket - https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/bracket

NCAA's initial article with general tournament information (Dates of the various rounds, hosting cities, etc.) - https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketbal...h-madness-mens-ncaa-tournament-schedule-dates

Live video - Game is scheduled to be shown on TBS. For anyone with a subscription that includes access to that channel, assume it will be viewable the TBS app and webpage, as well as the NCAA's "March Madness Live" app .

Live audio - The game will be available on 850 AM and 94.1 FM in the Denver/ Boulder area and maybe other stations in the Buff radio network. In addition, a free audio stream will be available at https://cubuffs.com/watch/ .

Link to link to live stats (All games) - https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401638608/colorado-florida

Game notes -
 
Last edited:
Florida has 3 6'4-5 guards in Kugel, Pullin, and Richard and Clayton is 6'2. Samuel is their big inside and shot blocker with a lot of experience.

We really need to flip the script on the boards and dominate with our size advantage especially with their center Hangloten hurt.

KJ needs to lock down Clayton and win that battle which he's shown he can do. Need Hadley to shut down Pullin- I'm worried their 3rd or 4th guard has a big game though. Pullin had 17 against us last year as a part of UC Riverside on 8/16. Need to guard the 3 point line.

Guards in March worry me and Florida has good guards but we have a size advantage across the board. Need Hadley to have a huge bounceback game! Think he matches up well for it too.
 
We also have to shoot 3 better. Florida is going to give us some open 3s, we can't miss them like we did yesterday
 
Buffsbball said:
Florida has 3 6'4-5 guards in Kugel, Pullin, and Richard and Clayton is 6'2. Samuel is their big inside and shot blocker with a lot of experience.

We really need to flip the script on the boards and dominate with our size advantage especially with their center Hangloten hurt.

KJ needs to lock down Clayton and win that battle which he's shown he can do. Need Hadley to shut down Pullin- I'm worried their 3rd or 4th guard has a big game though. Pullin had 17 against us last year as a part of UC Riverside on 8/16. Need to guard the 3 point line.

Guards in March worry me and Florida has good guards but we have a size advantage across the board. Need Hadley to have a huge bounceback game! Think he matches up well for it too.
Click to expand...
Interesting that Hadley is cleared to not wear the mask anymore but he keeps it on. Mental confidence thing. Maybe he throws it off and goes off on Friday, but he was not fully himself and we need him to have a good game.
 
4BienemyTDs said:
Interesting that Hadley is cleared to not wear the mask anymore but he keeps it on. Mental confidence thing. Maybe he throws it off and goes off on Friday, but he was not fully himself and we need him to have a good game.
Click to expand...
He got hit twice square in the face yesterday, and no fouls called of course.

Defense has carried us the last 3-4 games. Keep that same intensity and hit 3-4 more threes and I like our chances. I would love it if Cody had an impact, even if it’s just 6-8 points. Maybe a confidence boost would get him on track. I still think he’s overrated but he could be a key piece to a Sweet 16 run.
 
4BienemyTDs said:
Interesting that Hadley is cleared to not wear the mask anymore but he keeps it on. Mental confidence thing. Maybe he throws it off and goes off on Friday, but he was not fully himself and we need him to have a good game.
Click to expand...
He played pretty great defense. Couldn't find a way to get into the offensive flow and he was horrible boxing out on the defensive glass.

The thing with Hadley, though, is that I trust him to play angry so I expect a bounce back.
 
seattlebuff said:
He got hit twice square in the face yesterday, and no fouls called of course.

Defense has carried us the last 3-4 games. Keep that same intensity and hit 3-4 more threes and I like our chances. I would love it if Cody had an impact, even if it’s just 6-8 points. Maybe a confidence boost would get him on track. I still think he’s overrated but he could be a key piece to a Sweet 16 run.
Click to expand...
Michael Irving strikes again!
 
Buffnik said:
He played pretty great defense. Couldn't find a way to get into the offensive flow and he was horrible boxing out on the defensive glass.

The thing with Hadley, though, is that I trust him to play angry so I expect a bounce back.
Click to expand...
It’s clear the guys that Tad trusts and Hadley is one of them.

Would love it if he found some rhythm on offense.
 
4BienemyTDs said:
Interesting that Hadley is cleared to not wear the mask anymore but he keeps it on. Mental confidence thing. Maybe he throws it off and goes off on Friday, but he was not fully himself and we need him to have a good game.
Click to expand...
Last night's announcers commented that there were a number of guys who could do without their masks but, like Hadley, kept wearing them. I think you're right about confidence and it also could be they just want to avoid the pain and missed games they had experienced.
 
it’s been tough to see Hadley’s 3 pt shooting regress back to the mean. if him and Cody both hit a 3 tomorrow I bet it’s a sign we’ll win
 
I will say this again, no matter what happens tomorrow, this team has shown they are among the best ever at CU (obviously, their record proves that) and definitely one of the most exciting to watch. The resilience and sheer guts they’ve shown down the stretch has been absolutely fulfilling to witness. Aside from an insane performance by Dante late in that OR game, we’ve played winning basketball for over a month. Makes me proud to be a Buff! Let’s start another streak tomorrow!
 


Fun watch- Tyler mentioned he wishes he stayed for his senior year looking back! You can never blame a kid for chasing his dream and he was drafted too, I would have done the same thing. Just makes you think, can you imagine that 20-21 team with him....holy cow.
 
Is it just me but doesn’t it seem like when he’s wide open for a shot CW hesitates just a bit to think about it rather than just shooting the ball?
 
DBT said:
Is it just me but doesn’t it seem like when he’s wide open for a shot CW hesitates just a bit to think about it rather than just shooting the ball?
Click to expand...
Absolutely. He’s super tentative. You can see it in his eyes. He’s never not been dominant on a basketball court. He’s 18. Really hope he can drain a couple early tomorrow, get into some rhythm and maybe he becomes the X factor for a Final Four run!
 
Preview for today's game -




Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2024/3/21/boyles-buffs-ready-for-ncaa-matchup-with-florida

"
INDIANAPOLIS — Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes have seemingly been in "survive and advance" mode for the last month.

But there's no rest for the weary. The 10th-seeded Buffs (25-10), winners of nine of their last 10 games — including Wednesday night's 60-53 win over Boise State in the NCAA First Four — face No. 7 Florida (24-11) in a 2:30 p.m. matchup Friday in the South Regional in Indianapolis.

The game will be CU's fifth in the last nine days, with the winner advancing to a Sunday matchup against the winner of Friday's game between No. 2 Marquette and No. 15 Northern Kentucky.

It all means another quick turnaround for Tad Boyle's Buffs, who bussed from Dayton to Indianapolis on Thursday morning in time for press conferences, practice and scouting reports.

"Every one of our guys on the team knows what they need to do," Boyle said Thursday. "It's just getting them mentally and emotionally to the point where we're at the best of our ability when we tip it off against Florida. We feel like we've been in a one-game elimination tournament since the middle of February, so this is nothing new … They'll be ready to go by tomorrow afternoon."

The Buff survived against a physical Boise State squad by putting forth an outstanding defensive effort that proved to be just enough to offset a sub-par offensive performance and a rare thumping on the boards.

The Buffs' 60 points was CU's second-lowest total in a win this season, barely surpassing last week's 58-52 win over Washington State. CU shot just 21-for-48 against the Broncos, including a 4-for-15 effort from 3-point range.

But Colorado held BSU to 34 percent shooting (23-for-67), including a 2-for-18 night from beyond the arc. That was just enough to make up for a 10-rebound edge for the Broncos that included 19 offensive boards.

Friday's opponent will present an entirely different challenge.

The Gators finished sixth in the regular season SEC standings with an 11-7 conference mark before making it all the way to the conference tournament final. They love to run and gun and are averaging just more than 85 points per game, with four of their five starters averaging double figures, led by Iona transfer guard Walter Clayton Jr. (17.1 ppg).

The Gators are also tall and long, even without 7-1 regular Micah Handlogten, who suffered a broken leg in the SEC title game loss to Auburn. Forward's Tyrese Samyuel and Alex Condon check in at 6-10 and 6-11 and are a big reason the Gators have recorded 184 blocked shots this season — tied for eighth-most in the nation and more than twice as many as CU's 76.

The Gators also average nearly 15 offensive rebounds per game (third in the nation) and have outrebounded opponents by six per game (20th in the nation and tied with the Buffs in that category).

"We've got our hands full there," Boyle said. "Florida presents some problems at the rim. Without a doubt, we're going to have to have a better showing on the glass tomorrow than we did last night against Boise."

Gator coach Todd Golden, in his second year at Florida, loves to have his team get out in transition.

"We're fine playing fast," Boyle said. "I love playing fast, without a doubt … The best way to have good transition defense is to take care of the ball on offense and to be efficient on offense so they're taking the ball out of the net. I'd like them to be running after makes, not after misses. If they're running after misses, we'd better get back and shore things up because they will pitch ahead. They are very good in transition but I think we are, too. I'd love an up-tempo game because we haven't had one of those in a while. Our guys would be ready for that."

Colorado All-American candidate KJ Simpson will likely get the defensive assignment on Florida's Clayton.

"Obviously I have respect for him," Simpson said. "He's done great things over there at Florida. He's just a three-level scorer. There's not a shot that he doesn't like. We're going to have to as a team have great team defense and kind of make shots tough for him … It's just going to take guarding as a whole team, honestly."

The Buffs would no doubt like to get their offense cranked back up. After scoring at least 72 points in seven straight games — all victories — Colorado has averaged just 62 points per game over the last three.

But if the offense is still not firing on all cylinders, the Buff believe they can give themselves an edge on the defensive end.

"We know that some nights the ball is not going to go in the hoop," Buffs guard J'Vonne Hadley said. "We know that, understand that, and at the end of the day it comes down to defense and rebounding. Those are the two things that Coach always emphasizes and we believe in. So we have to go out and do those two things."

ON THE AIR: As always, the game will be carried by the KOA Radio network with Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke. TBS will televise the matchup with Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy and Andy Katz.
"
 
SIAP but does a win in a “play-in” game actually count as a legit tourney win?
 
Lets Go Sport GIF by ALL ELITE WRESTLING
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top