By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer ADVERTISING BOULDER, Colo. — For Tad Boyle, the NCAA tournament remains a sore subject. Painfully excluded last season, the Colorado Buffaloes coach is wary of talking about whether his team has done enough to
By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer
BOULDER, Colo. — For Tad Boyle, the NCAA tournament remains a sore subject.
Painfully excluded last season, the Colorado Buffaloes coach is wary of talking about whether his team has done enough to at least be in the mix of teams on the bubble. He thought they had done enough last March, only to be left on the sideline — on national television.
Still, this definitely bolstered the Buffs’ chances: Austin Dufault and Spencer Dinwiddie each scored 15 points to lift Colorado past Pac-12 front-running California 70-57 on Sunday.
Surely, the Buffs are on the NCAA selection committee’s radar, right?
“I don’t think about it. Last year taught me that,” Boyle said.
So confident his team would be included in the field, Boyle hosted a viewing party at his home. It made for a somber evening after the Buffs were excluded.
“It was a hard, gut-wrenching lesson. But I learned it,” Boyle said. “I couldn’t tell you who’s on the bubble and all that. I’m not into that. I’m just not into it.”
Instead, the Boyle and the Buffaloes (19-9, 11-5 Pac-12) concentrate on the one thing that’s within their control — the decisions on the floor. And on that topic, Boyle will gladly expound, especially about his senior class, which was recognized Sunday.
“I just had a sense during the game, that our seniors weren’t going to let us lose it,” Boyle said. “All the credit goes to them.”
Colorado remains in the hunt to receive one of four automatic byes at the conference tournament. And they kept their flickering hopes afloat for their first league crown since capturing the 1968-69 Big Eight title. Colorado has to win at Oregon and Oregon State — then receive major help.
“We’re still in there,” senior Nate Tomlinson said.
Colorado certainly dealt a blow to the Golden Bears’ Pac-12 title aspirations.
Cal (23-7, 13-4) entered the day tied with Washington for the top spot in the league. The Huskies have two games remaining, while the Golden Bears finish the season at Stanford next Sunday.
“It might be one of the worst losses I’ve experienced, just because it could not ruin the season, but really put a damper on what we’ve had going,” said Harper Kamp, whose team had a six-game winning streak snapped. “For me, my only goal is to win the conference championship in the regular season. It’s obviously a tough thing to do no matter how good a team you are, and we didn’t play well enough tonight to get it done.”
Cal coach Mike Montgomery attempted to lift his team’s spirits.
“It’s still out there for us,” he said. “But this makes it that much more difficult.”
Allen Crabbe had 16 points and Justin Cobbs 15 for the Bears, who haven’t won in Boulder since Dec. 16, 1974.
Colorado was coming off its only Pac-12 home loss after falling 74-50 to Stanford on Thursday.
But the Buffs rebounded behind the play of Dufault and Dinwiddie. Colorado led by 11 points midway through the second half, only to watch Cal whittle the deficit to five with 6:51 remaining.
That’s when Dinwiddie responded by hitting a 3-pointer from the corner and draining two free throws with just under 2 minutes remaining, restoring a double-digit lead.
Dinwiddie also played stellar defense on Cal senior Jorge Gutierrez, holding one of the Golden Bears’ top offensive threats to no points.
The CU freshman simply stole the show on senior night.
“Huge,” Dufault said of Dinwiddie’s contributions. “He’s willing to take big shots in big moments. As he continues with his career I think that attribute will make him a really great player, a very confident player.”
Sophomore Andre Roberson had a big day on the boards for CU, pulling down 15 along with chipping in eight points. Roberson came into the game averaging 11.3 boards, the third-best mark in the nation.
“We wanted to come out with a vengeance tonight, and I feel like we did that,” Roberson said. “We came out strong on the boards.”
Sitting courtside for the game was former CU standout and current Utah Jazz rookie Alec Burks, who bolted for the NBA after his sophomore season. Burks had a big hand in knocking off Cal last season in Boulder during the second-round of the NIT as he scored 25 points. Colorado advanced to the semifinals before tumbling to Alabama.
Midway through the first half, another Buffalo great, Chauncey Billups, hobbled into the arena on crutches. The Los Angeles Clippers guard is sidelined for the season after tearing his Achilles tendon.
Billups, who led Colorado to the NCAA tournament in 1997, remains a fan favorite, receiving a standing ovation when he was announced.
Before and after the game, Colorado honored seniors Carlon Brown, Dufault, Tomlinson and Trey Eckloff.
“To me, that’s what senior day is supposed to be about — the energy and the effort,” Boyle said.
