Tad Boyle isn’t ready to start making postseason projections.
With his team squarely out of the NCAA Tournament picture and just three games remaining in the regular season, it’s easy for Colorado basketball fans to wonder where, or even if, the Buffaloes will be playing following the Pac-12 Conference tournament in two weeks.
Just don’t count CU’s leader among those wondering what’s in store for the Buffs following the league tourney in Las Vegas.
“The season is not over today,” Boyle said. “We’ve still got three games and a Pac-12 tournament ahead of us. We know that. So let’s just let it play out. Let’s figure out a way to beat Utah on Thursday.
“I wouldn’t say it’s safe to say anything yet. We’re going to play this thing out. And then when the season’s over with in terms of the Pac-12 tournament, that’s when we’ll decide where we’ll go from there. And maybe it will be decided for us. Maybe it won’t. I wouldn’t say it’s safe to say anything in terms of where we’ll play, or who we’ll play, or when we’ll play or if we’ll play.”
CU can probably be expected to accept an invitation to one of the less prestigious postseason tournaments if one comes the Buffs’ way. Boyle established that precedent two years ago when CU participated in the College Basketball Invitational, and in the past he has said declining an invitation to compete would go against his vision of what the Buffs’ program should be.
Given all three remaining regular season games are at home, followed by what should be a winnable first-round game at the Pac-12 Tournament, the Buffs (16-12) still have a reasonable chance at making the NIT. Boyle’s first CU team competed in the NIT in 2011 and advanced to the Final Four in New York. Boyle also has been reminding his team of the run put together by the 2012 Buffs, who entered the Pac-12 tournament as the No. 6 seed yet managed to win four games in four days to clinch a berth in the Big Dance.
“We got on a run and we went to the NCAA Tournament and we won a game,” Boyle said. “That was later than it is right now. It’s about taking care of the task at hand. That’s what we’re focused on.”
Pat Rooney: rooneyp@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/prooney07
