One thing is for sure — Big 12 basketball fans will be familiar with at least one aspect of Colorado Buffaloes basketball as they return to the conference.
Coach Tad Boyle was in his first year at the program in 2010-11 when the school announced it would move to the Pac-12 Conference. Boyle has led the program throughout that time and is still at the helm when it returns to its old league this season.
Boyle has won nearly 300 games at Colorado and led the program to some sort of postseason play in all but one season, aside for the 2019-20 season when the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
Boyle and his Buffaloes had a fantastic season in the Pac-12 a year ago, going 26-11 and reaching the second round of March Madness. But change is the watchword in college sports, and much has changed with Colorado entering this season. After all, three of his players were drafted by the NBA in June.
Here’s a preview of the Colorado Buffaloes’ upcoming season.
Odds
BetOnline’s opening odds gave the Buffs +20000 odds to win the national title. The Big 12 coaches picked Colorado to finish 15th in the preseason poll.
Three Players to Watch
F Elijah Malone: Never heard of him? That’s because he played at Grace College in the NAIA ranks, where he averaged 17.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. The 6-10 forward was the NAIA Player of the Year and the Small College Player of the Year — and 24 other Division I schools offered him a scholarship.
G Julian Hammond III: The anticipated point guard, he has experience as a starter and reserve, as he averaged 7.4 points and 2.5 rebounds last year. With most of last year’s top backcourt players gone, the path is open for Hammond to shine.
G Andrew Crawford: A four-star recruit who may get pressed into service right away, the Littleton, Colo., product averaged 19.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists for ThunderRidge High School last year.
Biggest Strength
Boyle’s Steady Hand. If you have to task a coach with trying to take a roster that has nearly completely turned over from vastly experienced at the Division I level to one that is, well, not, Boyle is the coach you want. He cut his teeth at Northern Colorado and turned a four-win program into a 25-game winner in four years. He knows how to get the most out of what he has.
Biggest Weakness
Well … take your pick. Two of the potential starters played college basketball last year but not in Division I. One key contributor was in high school last year. It’s hard to find a returning Buff that scored double figures a year ago. Boyle is counting on talent that was with him last year to take a considerable leap this season. It’s really about the untested depth. There’s talent. But there isn’t much of it that has been tested at this level.
Season Prediction
There was surprise around the Buffs being picked 15th in the league given Boyle’s track record until you see what he lost between the NBA Draft and the transfer portal. Last year’s team was stacked with talent and experience. This year’s team has talent, but the 11 games in non-conference will be crucial to building chemistry. Boyle’s low mark at CU was 16 wins in 2014-15. That feels like the baseline for this team going into the Big 12 Tournament.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
