Buffs Take Aim at UCF In NIT Opener
March 14, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
ORLANDO, Fla. — If you are looking for a common denominator among teams that succeed in the NIT, try this:
They are usually teams with a chip on their shoulders. They don't believe they belong in the NIT and they have oftentimes been snubbed by the NCAA. Those teams take that snub, turn it into motivation and ride that wave to success in the NIT.
"A lot of this tournament has to do with the teams that do embrace it and do play with hunger and a chip on their shoulder to try to prove, 'Hey, we do belong in postseason play and we've got some pride and we want to advance and we are competitors,'" Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "Those are teams that usually win these games."
Not that Boyle's Buffs believe they were snubbed by the NCAA. After an 0-7 start to conference play, they knew they would either have to be nearly perfect over the second half of the conference season or win the Pac-12 tournament to earn a berth.
Neither happened, although the 19-14 Buffs did finish strong, winning eight of their last 11 regular season games before going 1-1 in the Pac-12 tourney.
But Colorado is a team that believes it has NCAA-caliber talent — and the one way to prove that is to make a deep run in the NIT. The Buffs can begin that task Wednesday when they face 21-11 Central Florida in Orlando in their NIT opener (5 p.m., ESPN3).
"We feel like we're worthy (of an NCAA berth), but the only we can prove it is by advancing in this tournament," Boyle said. "People say if you can't advance in the NIT, how are you going to advance in the NCAA? Great point. How do we refute that? You refute that by advancing."
Boyle is quite familiar with such a scenario. In his first year in Boulder, the CU was literally the last team bumped out of the NCAA field. The Buffs turned that frustration into inspiration, riding it to three straight wins and a berth in the 2011 NIT Final Four.
But that 2011 CU team had the advantage of playing at home for its first three games, thanks to a No. 1 seed. If these Buffs — seeded fifth — are to advance, they will likely have to do it on the road.
"With Central Florida and us, it's going to be who wants it more and who embraces it and wants to advance in this tourney," Boyle said. "They're very talented and they're a very capable team, and so are we. It's a good matchup for both of us from that standpoint."
Boyle said he hasn't seen any indication from his players that they aren't excited about the opportunity to extend their season.
"I think we're all very excited," said CU junior George King. "It's an opportunity to keep playing basketball, which we all love. It's also a chance to take out our frustrations on starting 0-7. We believed we were an NCAA-caliber team and this is a good opportunity for us to go prove that."
King has another year ahead in a Buffs uniform. But for senior Derrick White, every game from here on out could be his last for Colorado.
"Only a couple of teams can end the year with a win," White said. "We have an opportunity to do that. The team that usually wins the NIT, they usually have a case that they should have been an NCAA team or we were good enough to play in the NCAA. It's something that's going to be a challenge but it's a good goal to reach for."
The winner of Wednesday's game will play the winner of the matchup between No. 1 seed Illinois State and No. 8 UC-Irvine. Illinois State, which finished with a top-35 RPI and was the regular season co-champ of the Missouri Valley Conference, is one of those teams that is carrying a chip on its shoulder.
"We're not going to worry about that unless we get to that point, then it's going to be who's got the bigger chip," Boyle said.
NIT POSTSEASON FACTS: Colorado makes its 10th NIT appearance and first since the 2010-11 season. Colorado is 11-8 all-time in the NIT, winning the title in 1940. The Buffaloes also have a runner-up finish in 1938, and a third-place showing in 1991. Overall, this will be Colorado's 25th postseason tournament past the conference level. Boyle also extends his school-record streak by coaching the Buffaloes to a seventh-straight postseason appearance. Prior to this seven-year run, no Colorado team had participated in the postseason more than two consecutive years. Colorado is 45-65 in all-time postseason play, including conference tournaments; 22-25 on the national level (NCAA, NIT, CBI).
THE SERIES: Colorado won the only previous meeting with UCF, a 96-87 decision in Boulder in 2007. CU coach Tad Boyle is 6-2 in meetings with UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, with all of the matchups coming when Dawkins coached at Stanford.
BROADCAST: The game will be live streamed on ESPN3 with Drew Fellios and Mark Wise. Denver Sports AM 760 will carry the radio broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
