Colorado and Oklahoma State are both hoping to find some magic and make a run at the Big 12 tournament this week as they meet in the first round Tuesday night in Kansas City, Mo.
The Buffaloes (17-14), the 11th seed in the tournament, have lost two of their last three games, including an 89-79 home loss to No. 2 Arizona on Saturday night. But Colorado showed some potential, leading by as many as 11 points in the first half before fading away.
“Our guys really battled,” Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle said. “I liked the effort that we played with, the toughness that we played with. That’s a hell of a team that we just lost to. They’re Big 12 (regular-season) champions for a reason.”
Colorado hopes to carry that type of effort into the conference tournament. Isaiah Johnson, who is averaging 17 points per game, has found his offensive rhythm this month with consecutive 20-point performances. He scored 22 points in a victory over Utah on March 3, and then he poured in 28 points in the loss to Arizona.
Similar to Colorado, 14th seed Oklahoma State (18-13) showed life in its 82-75 loss to No. 7 Houston on Saturday. The Cowboys led by as many as 13 in the first half before the Cougars rallied.
Anthony Roy could be primed for a big week for Oklahoma State. He ranks fifth in the league with three 3-pointers made per game. Roy scored 18 points in the loss to Houston and had 27 points in a victory over UCF on March 3.
As a team, the Cowboys have the Big 12’s third-highest scoring offense at 83.9 points per game. Now, the hope is it all comes together for an improbable conference tournament run.
“We played well on Tuesday, we played well tonight,” coach Steve Lutz said after Saturday’s game. “You’ve showed that you can compete with other NCAA Tournament teams, so now you just gotta go do it while you’re in Kansas City.”
The teams met once in the regular season, with Colorado defeating Oklahoma State 83-69 on Feb. 21 in Boulder. Bangot Dak had 17 points and Barrington Hargress contributed 16 points and eight assists for Colorado.
