After the second-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles ended the 10th-seeded Colorado Buffaloes’ season in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament round of 32 on Sunday, Shaka Smart shared some high praise for the black and gold.
Like many Colorado fans, Marquette’s third-year head coach couldn’t believe the selection committee gave the Buffs a No. 10 seed:
“Colorado made a heck of a run,” Smart said. “That’s about as good of a No. 10 seed as I’ve ever seen in my life. We started watching tape a couple days ago, and we said, ‘Who made these guys a No. 10 seed?’ No disrespect to anyone. Man, they’re a talented, talented team, and they got going in the second half.”
And got going they did. After heading into halftime down 11 points, the Buffs went on a 21-9 run across the first five minutes of the second half, briefly taking a 55-54 lead over the Golden Eagles.
However, Smart looked toward star point guard Tyler Kolek, who led an 8-2 run to separate Marquette from the Buffs. The Golden Eagles’ 81-77 March Madness win has them advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013.
Smart’s comments came just two days after Colorado knocked off the seventh-seeded Florida Gators on KJ Simpson’s game-winning jump shot, raising a similar quote from Florida head coach Todd Golden.
“We got a tough draw getting Colorado in this game,” Golden said on Friday. “They’re 21st overall in KenPom. No other No. 10 seed is above 33rd. That’s just the way it goes sometimes. They’re a very good team. I expect them to play Marquette very well on Sunday.”
While Colorado couldn’t escape Marquette, head coach Tad Boyle’s Buffs played the Golden Eagles quite close. If one or two more of CU’s many open looks fell, it could have created a completely different outcome.
But, an extra shot didn’t drop, just like the Buffs didn’t get the seeding they may or may not have deserved.
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