BOULDER — It may not be the toughest schedule around, but it’s sure to offer a few challenges.
Friday, the Colorado men’s basketball team announced its 13-game nonconference schedule for the 2015-16 season.
The schedule includes at least four — and potentially five — games against teams that won 23 or more games last season. It also includes a few firsts and a visit from a team the Buffaloes haven’t seen in 60 years.
Coming off a 16-18 season, CU will open Nov. 13 against Iowa State in a neutral-site game to be played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Cyclones went 25-9 last season, including the Big 12 Tournament championship. Despite losing coach Fred Hoiberg to the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, the Cyclones are projected as a top-10 team heading into the season. They are led by a pair of All-America candidates, forward Georges Niang and point guard Monte Morris.
The Buffs will travel to Auburn, making their first visit to the Tigers’ court Nov. 17. Coach Bruce Pearl enters his second season with the Tigers (15-20 last season) and is expected to have an improved team. Led by senior forward Cinmeon Bowers, Auburn could be one of the better teams in the Southeastern Conference.
The Buffs’ home opener is Nov. 20 against Portland, marking CU’s first game against the Pilots, who went 17-16 last season and finished tied for sixth in the West Coast Conference. Portland lost three starters to graduation but returns a pair of talented guards: Bryce Pressley and Alec Wintering.
Eight of the Buffs’ 13 nonconference games will be at the Coors Events Center, highlighted by a Dec. 12 matchup with BYU. The Cougars and Buffs have not met in men’s basketball since Dec. 17, 1955, and BYU hasn’t played in Boulder since Dec. 6, 1954.
BYU went 25-10 last season and lost to Ole Miss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars lost star guard Tyler Haws to graduation but feature one of the country’s most dynamic players in Kyle Collinsworth, a 6-foot-6 senior guard.
CU’s home schedule includes three other games against teams the Buffs have never played — Nebraska-Omaha (Nov. 22), Nicholls State (Dec. 18) and Hampton (Dec. 19) — and three games against in-state teams: Air Force (Nov. 25), Northern Colorado (Nov. 29) and Division II Fort Lewis (Dec. 2).
The games against Nicholls State and Hampton will kick off the Las Vegas Classic. That tournament will conclude with the Buffs playing Dec. 22 and Dec. 23 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Joining CU in Las Vegas will be Kent State (23-12 last season), Penn State (18-16) and Southern Methodist (27-7). CU will face two of those teams.
Also on the CU schedule is the annual matchup with Front Range rival Colorado State, a Dec. 6 game in Fort Collins. The Rams went 27-7 last season and beat the Buffs in Boulder. CU is 1-2 in its past three visits to Moby Arena.
