Nonconference schedule shaping up for 2023-24 CU Buffs. – BuffZone
- Advertisement -
KJ Simpson and the Colorado Buffaloes will visit the CSU Rams as part of the 2023-24 nonconference schedule. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
For at least one more season, the Colorado-Colorado State men’s basketball rivalry is back on the docket.
The 2023-24 nonconference schedule is beginning to take shape, and thanks to the fine print in the most recent contract signed between the state rivals, that ledger will include a trip to Fort Collins for the Buffaloes.
The current agreement between CU and CSU was signed in 2018 and called for a home-and-home series, which featured a Colorado home win on Dec. 1, 2018 and a narrow win for the Buffs in Fort Collins a year later.
However, a clause in that contract automatically invoked another home-and-home set if the Rams finished with an average RPI of 150 for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. CSU landed a few decimals under that threshold, finishing 193rd in the RPI in 2018-19. The metric moved to the NET rankings the following year, when CSU finished 106th for a two-season average of 149.5.
One more loss by CSU in either season might have ended the contractual obligation. Instead, that will happen when the Buffs visit CSU this year and get a firsthand look at former teammate Nique Clifford, who transferred to the Rams following the season.
The second home-and-home session didn’t begin until this past year, with CU posting a 93-65 home win on Dec. 8. The teams were scheduled to meet early in the 2020-21 season in Boulder, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. The teams agreed to not meet the following year when both programs agreed to play in the Paradise Jam, although the Buffs and Rams ultimately did not collide in a tournament won by CSU.
While CSU received a huge boost when point guard Isaiah Stevens decided to return for his fifth season, the Buffs will face a new-look Rams team at Moby Arena. In addition to Clifford, who started 50 games for CU the past two seasons, CSU added New Mexico transfer Javonte Johnson, a former club teammate of Clifford’s out of Colorado Springs. The Rams also signed Joel Scott, a former Division II standout at Black Hills State and the younger brother of former CU star Josh Scott.
BuffZone confirmed recent national reports saying the Buffs will open the season at home against Towson, and also will host a home date against Pepperdine. Pepperdine, led by former Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, hasn’t visited Boulder since Dec. 4, 2006, although the teams had an agreement to play at CU early in the 2020-21 season before that season’s schedule was scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Colorado also is scheduled to compete in the Sunshine Slam as the Buffs’ multi-team event for the season. That showcase will feature a home game against an opponent still to be determined, plus a pair of games in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Sunshine Slam has yet to announce its matchups and dates, but the…
Read More: Nonconference schedule shaping up for 2023-24 CU Buffs. – BuffZone 2023-06-11 23:03:45