Bracketology: CSU Rams No. 10 Seed, CU Buffs Holding On As No. 12 Seed
(CBS4) - With a little more than two weeks until Selection Sunday, the Colorado Buffaloes and Colorado State Rams still have plenty of work ahead of them to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has the Buffs holding onto one of the final spots in the NCAA Tournament field as a 12th seed and playing in the First Four against the Indiana Hoosiers.
Colorado is 17-7 and 11-6 in Pac-12 Conference play. They will play their final three regular-season games at home, starting against conference leader USC on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Senior guard McKinley Wright believes all three games against USC, UCLA and Arizona State are winnable on their home court.
"Two of these teams will for sure be in the NCAA Tournament so they are statement games for us," Wright said. "I'm going to do whatever we have to do to come out with this victory."
"The tournament, that's where stars shine. I've been trying to get there since I've been here. I've been waiting for that moment," he said.
Joe Lunardi projects the tournament field for ESPN and has CU as a 7th seed playing the Drake Bulldogs.
Palm has Colorado State in a better position than CU as the 10th seed in his tournament field, playing the Florida Gators. Lunardi has the Rams as the last team in the 68-tournament field as the 12th seed playing the Minnesota Gophers in the First Four. The Rams (14-4, 11-3 in Mountain West), have four games remaining against Air Force (Feb. 27, March 1), New Mexico and Nevada.
If both the Rams and Buffs indeed are dancing in March, it will be CU's first appearance since 2016 and CSU's first appearance since 2013.