Buffs ready for Jam challenge
Three games in three days give No. 3 CU early conditioning test
There are a lot of reasons why the Colorado women’s basketball team moved up to No. 3 in the national rankings this week.
This is a program that has been developing for years and currently has a veteran roster that plays dynamic offense to go with a stellar defense.
The Buffs (4-0) are well aware, however, that one of the main reasons they are ranked so high is because a lot of really good teams have lost. As they prepare for the challenge of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands this week, they’ve got that knowledge in the back of their minds.
“It’s a great reminder that anyone can lose,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “We talked before the SMU game (last Saturday) about the ranking doesn’t necessarily mean a lot to us, but it does mean a lot to everyone that plays against you. It doesn’t make them all of a sudden superhuman from the 3-point line, but it heightens their focus, it heightens their intensity, it heightens their desire to win every possession, so we have to be aware that ours also has to be heightened to match that.
“We’ve been in that position for years, so we understand it as well as anybody.”
In fact, the Buffs were in that position on opening night. They came into the year ranked No. 20, but upset top-ranked LSU, 92-78.
The college basketball season is only about 15 days old, but 10 of the top 12 teams in the Associated Press preseason poll have already lost, including four of the top five. And UCLA (No. 4 in the preseason, now No. 2) barely escaped against unranked Princeton.
“That can be us at any given day if we don’t do our best,” guard Frida Formann said.
This weekend will be CU’S biggest challenge of the season to date, with three Power Five conference opponents in three days. The Buffs face Cincinnati (2-1) on Thursday, Kentucky (2-2) on Friday and No. 10 North Carolina State (4-0) on Saturday. NC State began the year unranked, but has a win over preseason No. 2 Connecticut already.
“We’re gonna face a team that beat the No. 2 team in the country and we’re gonna face these