LAS VEGAS — On March 10, 2012, the No. 6 seed Colorado Buffaloes won the Pac-12 championship in their first year competing in the "Conference of Champions." Now 12 years later, the Buffs find themselves back in the championship game with a chance for a storybook ending.
“I think it's appropriate that we’re in the championship game the last year of the Pac-12 and we won it the first year of the Pac-12,” head coach Tad Boyle said. “We’re going to have to play a hell of a game tomorrow to win. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll be ready.”
Coming into this season it was one with high expectations for the black and gold. A top NBA prospect in Cody Williams, KJ Simpson expecting to be one of the best point guards in the country, and Tristan da Silva in his senior year looking to leave a big mark in Boulder. But like any good story, there were obstacles along the way.
Injuries had the Buffs struggling throughout the year. They had some bad losses to conference opponents like California and Arizona State. The Buffs also lost a game to Arizona by 47 points midway through the season.
The Colorado faithful started to turn on their beloved. The hopes of postseason success were fading but now here they are, a matchup with the No. 4-seeded Oregon Ducks to be the last Pac-12 champions in the history books.
With March approaching and the dream of dancing starting to disappear, the Buffaloes turned things around. On February 17, Colorado started a new chapter. They took down the USC Trojans, 92-89, and sparked a six-game winning streak to end the regular season, rewriting the story that was starting to look like a tragedy.
Friday night, it was a close battle against the No. 2 Washington State Cougars to keep the run going and extend the win streak to eight.
“It wasn’t about who was scoring the ball. It was rebounding, defense, and winning the game. That’s all that mattered at the end of the day,” Eddie Lampkin Jr. said.
Saturday night the No. 3 Colorado Buffaloes take on the No. 4 Oregon Ducks in the tournament finals and have the chance to walk out of the Pac-12 the same way they walked in: champions.
“We’ve won eight in a row, I think we’re clicking pretty good, but that doesn’t mean anything. That means absolutely nothing going into tomorrow,” Boyle said. “It’s about tomorrow's game.”
Saturday night is the Buffs' chance to walk into the Pac-12 sunset happily ever after; then it is back for a new once upon a time as March continues and the Big 12 awaits.
Cover photo by Roberto Patrick Gerra/Sko Buffs Sports
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