Judging from the brackets for the Pac-12 Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments this week, the Colorado vs. Utah “rivalry” just might be ahead of schedule.
In the final regular-season football game in November, CU upset the Utes 17-14. And now the basketball teams will meet Wednesday night in the first round of the men’s and women’s Pac-12 tournaments in Los Angeles.
The sixth-seeded Colorado men (19-11, 11-7 Pac-12) will play No. 11 seed Utah (6-24, 3-15) at 9:40 p.m. Wednesday (Root) at the Staples Center. The winner advances to play third-seeded Oregon (22-8, 13-5) on Thursday at 9:40 p.m.
CU defeated Utah in both regular-season meetings: 73-33 in Boulder and 55-48 in Salt Lake City.
The first two rounds of the women’s tournament will be at the Galen Center on the University of Southern California campus. Tenth-seeded Colorado (17-12, 6-12) plays Wednesday at 6 p.m. against the seventh-seeded Utes (15-14, 8-10). That winner advances to a 6 p.m. Thursday game against No. 2 seed California (22-7, 13-4).
CU and Utah split their regular-season meetings, each winning on the opponent’s home floor.
