Pac- 12 releases weekly pairings
BOULDER » The road to contending in the Pac- 12 in the league’s first 20- game conference schedule has been mapped out for the Colorado Buffaloes.
On Thursday, the league announced its weekly pairings for the conference schedule, as well as an updated schedule for the December league games added this season.
The December Pac- 12 matchups, which were released nearly 11 months ago, saw some dates reshuffled as teams scrambled to piece together nonconference schedules. However, CU’s two December league games remain unchanged, with the Buffs opening Pac- 12 play at Arizona on Dec. 2, followed by a home date against Washington State on Dec. 5.
In the more traditional portion of the Pac- 12 schedule, the Buffs will play at the Los Angeles schools over the New Years weekend, featuring a road matchup against potential league favorite UCLA, followed by two consecutive home weekends against the Oregon schools and the teams from the Bay Area. The specific matchups, dates, tip- off times, and television information will be announced at a later date.
The Buffs travel to the Pacific Northwest to visit Washington and Washington State before returning home for three straight games, first against Utah, followed by a series against the Arizona schools.
If the Buffs manage to play their way into contention in the league race, they will have to finish the job with three of the final four weekends of the regular season on the road. The Buffs visit the Bay Area the weekend of Feb. 10, followed by a twogame trip to Oregon. Like last year, CU finishes the home portion of the schedule against the Los Angeles schools and completes the regular season at Utah on either March 6 or March 7.
The Pac- 12 tournament is scheduled to begin March 10 in Las Vegas. Until then, the objective will be to play as much of the 20- game conference schedule as possible.
The same COVID- 19 pandemic that cut short the Pac- 12 tourney and forced the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament in March is surging across the nation. One change of note is that the final weekend of Pac- 12 play will feature all of the one- game rivalry matchups on either March 6 or 7 ( a Saturday and Sunday). That could open the door for potential makeup dates to get penciled in earlier that week.
“There’s some things we can control, and some things we can’t control. All we can do is make sure we’re doing the things necessary in order for us to be able to play basketball,” CU assistant coach Rick Ray said. “If our guys start worrying about other things, then we lose focus and we lose the scope of what’s going on. We’ve just been talking about being safe. Making sure we’re following the rules. Wearing masks.”