KANSAS CITY, Mo. – “Give me the microphone,” head coach JR Payne said when asked about her pitch to the NCAA Tournament committee after Friday’s loss to TCU.
While the Buffs finished the Big 12 tournament as a 20-win team, an upset against No. 8 ranked TCU would have certainly put them in the conversation to qualify for March Madness.
The Buffs entered the tournament without their leading scorer Frida Formann and lead bench piece Nyamer Diew, but the team has not been at full strength since their Jan. 4 matchup against Baylor. They have had at least one injury in each game since, and missing contributors began to pile up at the end of the season.
“With two weeks before the next game, we will have Frida Formann back,” Payne said. “Nyamer Diew has been out with a concussion, so she also would be back. Very well could be, would be, our first time we’ve been at full strength in two months.”
Why are those two weeks important? Selection Sunday, when the NCAA committee picks teams for March Madness. While the team has not been healthy for most of the year, the committee could give the Buffs a chance to prove they belong while at full strength.
JR Payne’s recent squads have been successful in March as well. For the past two years, the Buffs have made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the tournament.
“Back-to-back Sweet Sixteen teams, we’ve shown we are a program that knows how to make a run in March,” Payne said. “With this team at full strength, we will be very tough to beat.”
The Buffs were listed on ESPN’s Bracketology as the last team out until their loss to the Texas Tech Lady Raiders in the regular season finale. Right now their NET ranking sits at No. 58, with two quadrant one wins and a pair of quad two victories. Most notably, they beat the No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers and No. 10 Kansas State Wildcats at home this season for their quad-one wins. Their two wins against Arizona, including the one in the Big 12 tournament, are the quad two wins.
The season will not be over for the Buffs if they don’t hear their name called Selection Sunday, however, as they are likely to qualify for the Basketball Invitation Tournament (BIT). Selection Sunday is set for March 16 and will air at 5 p.m. MT (ESPN).
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