Colorado will have to run a brutal Big 12 gauntlet to punch a ticket to the Big Dance

Colorado's regular season ended Saturday night with a loss to No. 2 Arizona in a game that stayed competitive until the Wildcats pulled away late in the second half.

Win or lose, Colorado was already locked into the 11 seed for the Big 12 Tournament. They'll face Oklahoma State in Tuesday night's opening round at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

The two teams met once before on Feb. 21 at the CU Events Center, where Colorado cruised to an 83-69 victory behind Bangot Dak's game-high 17 points. Dak also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots in the win.

Oklahoma State has played much better basketball since that loss, including overtime wins over West Virginia and on the road at UCF. They also kept it close against No. 7 Houston this past weekend, losing by just seven points at home.

Tuesday night's winner advances to face No. 6-seeded TCU on Wednesday.

Tad Boyle's team will need to win five games in five days to capture a Big 12 Championship. They'll look to top last year's tournament run, when they won their first two games as the 16-seed before falling 77-68 to No. 1 Houston.

After that second-round matchup vs. TCU, the gauntlet only gets tougher. The winner faces No. 3-seeded Kansas, and if you somehow get past the Jayhawks, you're likely staring down No. 2 Houston or the winner of No. 7 West Virginia versus No. 10 BYU for a spot in the championship game.

On the other side of the bracket, expect an Arizona (No. 2) versus Iowa State (No. 5) semifinal. Sure, Texas Tech just beat Iowa State on the road, but losing JT Toppin is a massive blow for the Red Raiders.

How fun would a rematch with Arizona be with the Big 12 title on the line? Colorado will certainly have their work cut out for it—none of the upcoming games, potential or otherwise, will come easy.

This young Buffs team will get a chance to prove how much they've grown over the course of the season in a tournament-style setting.

And this will also give freshmen like Isaiah Johnson, Jalin Holland, Ian Inman, and Josiah Sanders their first taste of postseason tournament play—hopefully the first of many together.