Tag: Colorado women’s basketball

Ohio State’s new offensive coordinator for 2024 is a strange choice

Ryan Day hiring Bill O’Brien is an interesting choice, to say the least.

Buckeyes Wire shared on Friday that Ohio State has officially hired a new offensive coordinator for 2024.

“OSU announced the hiring of O’Brien as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in a statement just a day after ESPN’s Pete Thamel broke the story. The announcement came from Ryan Day through an Ohio State spokesman.

“I am extremely pleased to be able to add Bill O’Brien to our coaching staff,” Day said in the statement. “He brings with him a wealth of knowledge – and a tremendous amount of success – at both the NFL and collegiate levels. He is an excellent and experienced offensive coach who has run NFL and Power 5 programs and developed some truly elite players throughout his career. He’ll be an excellent teacher and recruiter for us, and he absolutely strengthens our staff.”

Ryan Day, the head coach of Ohio State, and Bill O’Brien will have to replace a key player from their last two seasons, Marvin Harrison Jr. They have two elite receivers returning: redshirt junior Emeka Egbuka and sophomore Carnell Tate. Additionally, they received great news last week when redshirt junior TreVeyon Henderson announced he would be staying for the 2024 season. The Buckeyes also received a commitment from Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins from the transfer portal. The Buckeyes will continue to be active in the transfer portal, so O’Brien’s roster should be filled with offensive talent.

USC is unlikely to face Ohio State this year unless the two teams meet at some point in the postseason. There are two possibilities for this, either the Big Ten Championship Game or in the College Football Playoff, which will expand to 12 teams this year.

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How did playing Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the 2023 Sweet 16 help Colorado this season?

Colorado has learned and grown from its 2023 experiences. USC tries to give CU another education on Sunday.

We asked Buffaloes Wire staff writer Tony Cosolo the following question: “How much did playing and losing to Caitlin Clark in the 2023 NCAA Tournament sharpen this team and make it better in 2024?”

Cosolo’s answer:

“The run to the Sweet 16 provided this team (the confidence that it) can play with anyone if it plays at its best. Most will not remember this, but CU held a one-point lead against Clark and the Hawkeyes going into halftime of that Sweet 16 matchup. In contrast, it was undoubtedly disappointing how the second half shook out, but having the core go head-to-head with the best and be able to compete set in motion Colorado’s play so far this season.”

USC faces Colorado on Sunday afternoon in Boulder. The Trojans and Buffs both lost on Friday night, with USC falling at Utah and CU losing to UCLA. Both USC and Colorado entered the weekend as projected top-two seeds for the NCAA Tournament. The Pac-12 entered the weekend with four teams projected to be No. 2 or No. 1 seeds, with Stanford and UCLA being the others. Follow our women’s basketball coverage here at Trojans Wire.

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What has J.R. Payne done so well to make Colorado a top women’s basketball program?

Buffaloes Wire drops some knowledge before USC faces the Buffs on Sunday.

We asked Buffaloes Wire staff writer Tony Cosolo a few questions before Sunday’s big women’s basketball game between USC and Colorado. One question we asked: What has CU coach J.R. Payne done to make Colorado an elite force in women’s college basketball?

Cosolo replied:

“Coach Payne has done her best work in the culture she has built at Colorado. She consistently acknowledges that five-star athletes historically have not considered CU. Still, because of this culture and putting her players in the right situations to succeed, it does not matter. Having a coach who sees the problem and attacks it instead of dwelling on it has grown the confidence of any player she brings in. She also empowers her coaches to make the right decision for the game situation, such as allowing her defensive coordinator, assistant head coach Toriano Towns, to switch defensive schemes as the game dictates.”

USC and Colorado meet Sunday afternoon in Boulder.

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PHOTOS: No. 5 Colorado beats Arizona State for seventh straight win

Check out the best pictures from No. 5 Colorado’s seventh straight win

Head coach JR Payne and the No. 5 CU Buffs women’s basketball team cruised to its seventh straight win on Sunday, beating Arizona State, 81-68.

Colorado is now 3-0 to start conference play for the first time since 1996-97, a season in which the Buffs won the Big 12 Tournament before reaching the Sweet Sixteen. The times were good then for the Buffs, and the times are good now in Payne’s eighth year.

At Desert Financial Arena on Sunday, Aaronette Vonleh enjoyed another 20-point game while Frida Formann, Quay Miller and Maddie Nolan also scored in the double figures.

Check out some of the best pics from Colorado’s win over the Sun Devils:

Sherrod-fueled fourth quarter rally helps No. 8 Buffs past No. 12 Utah

Jaylyn Sherrod put on an absolute show in No. 8 Colorado’s win over No. 12 Utah

Jaylyn Sherrod put on an absolute show for the 7,383 in attendance who witnessed No. 8 Colorado’s Pac-12 women’s basketball opener against No. 12 Utah on Saturday.

Down 61-53 with about eight minutes remaining, Sherrod proceeded to score 13 of her career-high 34 points while leading an impressive 23-4 closing run. The point guard from Alabama also had six steals and four assists in the 76-65 win.

“I can’t speak for everybody but I just went in with the same mentality that I had the whole game which was to be aggressive,” Sherrod said of her fourth-quarter surge. “Nothing really changed. Basketball is a game of runs and Utah is a great team. We talked about it all week, they’re going to go on the run. They’re just built like that offensively, but it’s about how you withstand it and how you come back from it.”

Her 34 points were the most scored by a CU player since Brittany Spears produced that same total in 2010.

The Buffs improved to 11-1 overall and 1-0 in the highly competitive Pac-12.

Matched up against Utah star forward Alissa Pili, Colorado’s Aaronette Vonleh also played a key role in the win. She fought her way to 18 points, including four from the stripe, while dealing with foul trouble. Veteran Charlotte Whittaker played 13 strong minutes off the bench, too.

The CU Events Center crowd of 7,383 was the 13th-largest in program history, per Brian Howell.

“Special shout-out to just Buff Nation for coming out like they did,” Payne said. “That means everything because most of us have been here a long time and worked really hard to build a program that everyone can be really proud of, on and off the court. To have that many people here supporting us is awesome.”

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Both Colorado basketball teams climb in latest AP Top 25 polls

See where both Colorado basketball teams rank in the latest AP Top 25 polls

It’s quite the time for basketball at the University of Colorado

In the latest AP Top 25 polls that were released on Monday, the CU Buffs women rose two spots to No. 3 while the men skyrocketed from No. 25 to No. 18.

Neither team produced a particularly impressive win last week — the women beat SMU and the men cruised past Milwaukee — but because of other ranked teams losing, the Buffs benefited.

Looking at the women’s AP poll, the No. 3 Buffs are now only behind No. 2 UCLA and No. 1 South Carolina.

The Colorado men are now ranked higher than new-No. 23 USC, which fell to UC Irvine last Tuesday. As we now stand, the only Pac-12 team above the Buffs is No. 3 Arizona.

Colorado also broke into the latest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll Top 25 at No. 21. An updated women’s coaches poll is expected to be released on Tuesday

This week, both CU teams are competing in tournaments. The women have the Paradise Jam Classic in the U.S. Virgin Islands while the men are in Daytona Beach, Florida for the Sunshine Slam.

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Jaylyn Sherrod discusses decision to return for fifth season at Colorado

Jaylyn Sherrod opened up about her decision to return for one final season at CU

The Buffs’ motor is ready to run it back for one final season in Boulder.

Soon after leading Colorado to the women’s basketball Sweet 16, point guard Jaylyn Sherrod announced in April that she’ll be using her fifth year of college eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Alabama native stands as one of just five players in program history to record at least 1,000 points, 450 assists and 200 steals.

Sherrod recently sat down with CBS News Colorado sports reporter Eric Christensen and talked about her decision to return for an extra season. One of her primary motivations was the fact that the Buffs are returning three other starters Frida Formann, Quay Miller and Aaronette Vonleh. Plus, head coach JR Payne was also able to add Michigan transfer Maddie Nolan.

“Personally I just feel like we have a lot we can accomplish and I think with the core of the team we have coming back and we’re adding good pieces, ‘why not run the table and see how far we can get?’ We have a lot of unfinished business here and it doesn’t feel like it’s the end for me,” Sherrod told CBS News Colorado.

For more on Sherrod, check out College Sports Wire’s article on the Buffs’ veteran leader.

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Colorado football, basketball on the rise heading into next season, Jon Wilner says

Colorado football and both basketball teams have momentum heading into 2023-24, says Pac-12 analyst Jon Wilner

The Pac-12 Conference still doesn’t know which teams are going to replace USC and UCLA in 2024. Sure, the San Diego State Aztecs definitely helped their case, but the media rights deal is still up in the air as well.

However, despite the conference’s questions, the Colorado Buffaloes are on the rise, per Jon Wilner of The Mercury News (subscription required).

The Buffaloes certainly have momentum, to the extent that predictions actually matter. For results in the three sports mentioned, Utah and USC are currently leading the way. The Trojans sent both basketball teams to the NCAAs and had a breakthrough football season. The Utes won the Pac-12 football title (again), shared the women’s basketball regular-season title and had a better-than-expected showing from the men. If CU’s three teams meet the expectations laid out for the 2023-24 sports season, Boulder will be one of the hottest spots in the conference.

The Buffs have both their men’s and women’s basketball teams ranked in ESPN’s way-too-early top 25, and the hire of Deion Sanders has the football program exploding with massive expectations.

If the Buffs can find success in both basketball and football, that will be a huge boost to the Pac-12 with USC and UCLA departing.

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions. 

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CU women’s basketball forward Quay Miller announces plan to return for final season

CU women’s basketball All-Pac-12 forward Quay Miller is running it back for one final season in Boulder

We’ll be getting one more season of Quay Miller in Boulder.

Fresh off a first-team All-Pac-12 campaign, the Colorado women’s basketball senior forward announced via Instagram on Friday that she’ll be taking advantage of her extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A former Washington Husky, Miller transferred to the Buffs prior to the 2021-22 season, one in which she was named the Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year. She then followed that up by averaging 13.1 points and 8.9 rebounds last season en route to helping the Buffs reach the Sweet 16.

“First, I would like to give a huge thank you to Buff Nation for the unconditional love and support during my time at Colorado,” Miller wrote in her post. “It has been one of the greatest experiences in my life and I’m not ready to let that go. Plus, we have some unfinished business to take care of. Let’s run it back!”

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Well over 1 million watched Colorado-Iowa in the Sweet 16 as part of record-breaking NCAA women’s basketball tournament

Viewership of Colorado’s Sweet 16 clash against Iowa was well over 1 million

The 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament has been one full of storylines: a changing of the guard of sorts with the once-dominant Connecticut falling in the Sweet 16, South Carolina continuing its quest for back-to-back titles, surprising upsets and phenoms showing up on the biggest stage.

All of this has led to record-breaking viewership, and the Colorado women’s basketball program was a part of that history, as approximately 1.3 million people watched the Buffs’ Sweet 16 matchup against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes on ESPN last week, per ESPN PR.

Although Jaylyn Sherrod and the Buffs came up short in the matchup, CU was able to showcase its improvement this season on a truly national stage.

The Buffs fended off trendy upset pick Middle Tennessee in the opening round and followed that up with an overtime win at No. 3 seed Duke in the Round of 32 to reach their first Sweet 16 since 2003.

That type of viewership and marked improvement can only mean good things for Colorado and for women’s basketball going forward.

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