The Colorado Buffaloes and Colorado State Rams don't exactly have a history of success in March Madness.
In their combined history of 241 seasons, they have a combined NCAA Tournament record of just 17-30.
However, this season we saw both teams actually make the field for a change.
The University of Colorado Buffaloes went 26-10 this season. They finished 3rd in the Pac 12, and earned a No 10 seed in the South region.
Behind junior guard KJ Simpson and senior forward Tristan Da Silva, the Buffs would beat Boise State 60-53 in the First Four.
They would then beat the No 7 seed Florida in a 102-100 thriller in the round of 64.
The Buffs would put up a fight on Sunday against No 3 Marquette on Sunday, but they would ultimately fall 81-77 to end their season.
Those 26 wins are the most in a season in school history, and head coach Tad Boyle has now gotten CU to the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons.
In Fort Collins, head coach Niko Medved has done a great job of building up the program in his six seasons there.
The Rams went 25-11 this season with wins over Colorado and Creighton, and also earned a No 10 seed in the tournament.
They drubbed Virginia in the First Four 67-42, but then fell to Texas by a dozen in the round of 64.
It was a fun ride for both schools and their fans and playing in the NCAA Tournament is always special.
So now what?
Both schools are facing significant losses this offseason.
Colorado will lose Simpson, Da Silva, J'Vonne Hadley, and Luke O'Brien at the very minimum. Big man Eddie Lampkin and freshman Cody Williams will test the waters to leave as well.
Colorado State will also see significant attrition. Isaiah Stevens, Joel Scott, Nique Clifford, Patrick Cartier, Josiah Strong, and Joe Palmer are all seniors.
This will be a monster job for both Boyle and Medved to keep their teams competitive next season.
Not only will they have to try to grab talented high school seniors, but they will also have to hit the transfer portal very hard to find players that can step in and contribute right away.
That will be a problem if these coaches don't want to dip a toe into that portal. If they choose to build traditionally with only high school seniors, this will be a much longer process.
And while Boyle seems to be firmly entrenched in Boulder, Medved could easily be pursued by some of the bigger name programs that are out there needing a new head coach.
This was a memorable season for both the University of Colorado and Colorado State basketball programs.
How soon before fans get another season like this one, may depend on how quickly these coaches can rebuild their rosters.
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