BOULDER– On Nov. 1, I talked about what the Colorado women's basketball team could do to re-capture the magic of the 2022-23 season, in which CU made a run to the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003. And just one week into the 2023-24 season, the Buffs have taken this magic and multiplied it.
In the Associated Press poll released Monday morning, Colorado went from being the 20th-ranked team in the country all the way up to No. 5. This 15-spot leap between two weeks, after a 3-0 start that included a massive upset win over then No. 1-ranked LSU to open the season, is the largest in the history of women's college basketball.
No. 5 is the highest the Buffs have been ranked since the conclusion of the 1994-95 regular season, in which they finished at No. 2 and made a run to the Elite Eight.
The experienced, resilient core of Jaylyn Sherrod, Quay Miller, Aaronette Vonleh, and Frida Formann under the leadership of head coach JR Payne have CU off to this tremendous start. They followed up their stunning win in Vegas over LSU with a blowout win over Le Moyne on Wednesday and a hard-fought victory over Oklahoma State on Sunday.
Vonleh leads the black and gold in points (18.3), field goal percentage (74.2%), and rebounds (7.0) through three games, winning Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday afternoon. Sherrod leads in assists (7.7) and steals (3.3), continuing her domination after leading the Pac-12 in both categories last season. Formann has been as explosive as ever, averaging 17.7 points, 2.7 steals, and shooting 45.8% from the beyond the arc to start the season.
Transfers Maddie Nolan and Sara-Rose Smith are already contributing to what coach Payne brought them to Boulder for, aiding the Buffs' three-point shooting and rebounding. Other role players such as Tameiya Sadler (3.0 steals/game) and Kindyll Wetta (Career high-tying 15 points vs. Oklahoma State) have been and look to be effective all over the court, though on most nights it will not show up in the stat sheet.
While Colorado has scored 86 or more points in each of their first three games, their defense has been the true driving force behind the hot start. They average 14.3 steals a night and play with an intensity and pace that has already disrupted the flow of an elite offense like LSU's. They work as a unit to get hands in passing lanes, trap and rotate effectively, and guard the pick-and-roll with ease.
Ball movement and crashing the glass have also been huge strengths for the Buffs as a whole to start the year, averaging 24.3 assists and 40.3 rebounds as a team through the first week.
Five of the top 10 teams in the AP top 25 come from the Pac-12, as despite the No. 5 ranking for CU, they still place third in the conference behind UCLA (No. 3) and Utah (No. 4). Stanford (No. 6) and USC (No. 10) are both off to dominant starts as well, beating previously top 10-ranked Indiana and Ohio State, respectively. Washington State also cracked the AP poll at No. 24.
Collectively, the Pac-12 has gone 28-0 to start the season, the most wins without a loss by a Division I conference to begin a year over the last 25 seasons, per ESPN. The Buffs may be off to as good of a start as they could have hoped, but competing in a loaded Pac-12 will be no easy task.
However, their variety of wins so early in the season bodes extremely well for their chances moving forward. They've played in a road environment against a team of elite caliber (LSU), battled back from mid-game struggles (Oklahoma State), and shown that they can dominate an entire contest (Le Moyne).
"It's been a great week, but it's also been exhausting," said head coach JR Payne following the Oklahoma State game on Sunday.
While the huge leap to No. 5 may ramp up the pressure for CU to play deep into March, all signs are pointing towards this season's team being built for it.
The Buffs now get a break from their mentioned exhaustion, not playing again until Saturday on the road against the SMU Mustangs, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. MST.
Cover photo by Lily Ezrow/Sko Buffs Sports
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