Buffs are in ‘great place’ mentally
CU awaits Sunday’s reveal of the 68-team NCAA Tournament bracket
On Thursday night, Colorado women’s basketball head coach JR Payne had felt so good about her team’s week of practice that she sent a text to the group to tell them how great they had practiced.
On Friday, the Buffaloes once again had what Payne felt was a great practice.
“Sometimes you don’t know exactly where your head is going to be after a disappointing loss,” Payne said. “But everyone was just in such a good headspace and very competitive, lots of talk. It’s just been really, really good.”
Ranked 18th in the country, the Buffs (229) haven’t played since a heartbreaking 85-79 double-overtime loss to No. 12 Oregon State in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals on March 7. They won’t play again until this next Friday or Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
For the Buffs, though, this full week off from games has been a critical time to balance rest, focus and staying sharp ahead of their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Payne and her staff have traditionally maximized the week off between the conference and NCAA tournaments.
Last year, CU had 15 days between the Pac-12 tournament and the start of the NCAA tourney. The Buffs had sputtered a bit down the stretch, but were rested and ready to go for March Madness and played their best basketball, making a Sweet 16 run.
In 2022, following a 14-day break, the Buffs played well in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but lost to a redhot Creighton team that went all the way to the Elite Eight.
After getting upset in the first round of the conference tournament in 2021, CU had a 16-day break before making a deep run in the Women’s NIT, winning two straight to get to the quarterfinals.
The built-in week off, with no knowledge of the next opponent, allows the Buffs to focus solely on themselves.
“I just think it’s rare that we get to do that,” Payne said. “So much of what you’re doing (all year) is preparing for something — whether it’s the preseason and you’re preparing, putting in offense, putting in defense, preparing to learn different ball screen coverage or different things. Then you get into scouting games, and now it’s preparing for your opponent. It’s just so rare that you truly can practice without any real agenda other than just, ‘Let’s try to get better at these things.’”
CU has had plenty to work on after going 2-6 in its past eight games. Five of the losses were to top 25 teams, but all of those games were winnable.
The Buffs had fourthquarter meltdowns in the loss to Oregon State as well as a March 2 loss to Washington State. They missed their last 10 shots in an eight-point loss at UCLA on Feb. 26. They had a strong fourth quarter at Utah on Feb. 16, but gave up a buzzer-beater to lose the game.
“We did a lot of lategame stuff this week where we didn’t coach them in the situation; they had to coach themselves and talk about time and score,” Payne said.
Communication, execution and attention to detail were all part of the agenda this week, too. Through it all, Payne was impressed with the Buffs’ energy and work.
Next up is Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show, where the Buffs find out the date, location and opponent for the first round.
It’s likely CU will be a No. 4 seed and host games in Boulder next weekend, but the lackluster finish could send them on the road. Either way, the Buffs won’t be a popular pick to go far, given the 2-6 finish. But, Payne came away from this week’s practices feeling very good about her team.
“(This week has) elevated, I guess, my sense of where we are,” she said. “I always have a heightened sense of what this team can do and what we’re capable of and all of those things, but our mindset is in such a great place and I think that means a lot for this group.”
Notable
Senior center Charlotte Whittaker, who rolled her ankle on March 6 against Oregon and played only five minutes the next day against Oregon State, had a light week of work. “She’ll be fine,” Payne said. “We’re just trying to be extra cautious.” … Senior point guard Jaylyn Sherrod, who broke her nose in a Feb. 29 win against Washington, will continue to wear a face mask throughout the postseason. Payne said Sherrod has become comfortable with the mask, adding, “It’s just part of her now.”