The 2023-24 preseason Pac-12 men’s basketball media poll was released on Wednesday and Colorado, surprisingly, was picked to finish fifth.
The Buffs finished eighth in the conference last year at 8-12 (18-17 overall), but are vastly improved on paper with five-star true freshman Cody Williams and TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr. joining an already strong core of returning starters.
Here’s a complete look at the preseason poll:
- Arizona (303 total points)
- USC (264)
- UCLA (249)
- Oregon (228)
- Colorado (210)
- Arizona State (148)
- Utah (139)
- Stanford (131)
- Washington (108)
- Washington State (94)
- Cal (67)
- Oregon State (42)
Per BuffZone’s Pat Rooney, Colorado head coach Tad Boyle’s reaction to the poll was, “If we’re the fifth-best team in the Pac-12, the Pac-12’s pretty good this year.”
Senior forward Tristan da Silva and junior guard KJ Simpson were both named first-team preseason All-Pac-12 while Williams earned an honorable mention nod.
Colorado returns two all-conference players in KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva and adds a starter in TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin along with two freshmen who will play key roles in Cody Williams and Assane Diop.
SHOCKED that the Buffs were picked fifth. https://t.co/LBEiZCJ74d
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 11, 2023
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