Colorado Basketball: Tad Boyle says “I believe in this team”

Feb 9, 2017; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle celebrates the win over the Washington Huskies at the Coors Events Center. The Buffaloes defeated the Huskies 81-66. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 9, 2017; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle celebrates the win over the Washington Huskies at the Coors Events Center. The Buffaloes defeated the Huskies 81-66. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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Colorado Buffaloes head coach Tad Boyle isn’t giving up on this season, so fans shouldn’t either.

There is no doubt that watching the Buffs lose their first seven conference games this season was frustrating, but shouldn’t we give the team some credit for not rolling over and dying?

Recently, Boyle said that he “believes in this team” and there is “a lot of basketball to be played”.

Colorado has won four of its last five games and while a couple of those wins came against Oregon State and a weak Washington squad, the team did defeat a top 10 ranked Oregon team that should boost its resume if it can get into the discussion for an NCAA tournament bid.

That bid, however, seems far away right now. With six games left in the regular season, the Buffs have a lot of work to do and may need to win out. Doing so would put them at 20-11 and they would have two victories over Oregon if that were to happen. The tournament selection committee would have to give Colorado strong consideration for the way it finished the season strong.

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However, the more likely scenario is that Colorado will have to win the Pac-12 conference tournament in order to secure an automatic bid. This is something Colorado did in 2012, the school’s first year in the Pac 12. If you recall that season, Colorado finished 19-11 and may have been on the outside looking in once the tournament started. Winning the conference tournament by rattling off consecutive wins over Utah, Oregon, Cal and Arizona took that off the table.

History may need to repeat itself this year if the Buffs are to make another appearance in the field of 68.

But if any coach is going to pull it off, it has to be Boyle, right? He’s won 144 games at Colorado, which already puts him at No. 4 on the school’s all-time wins list.