The CU men’s and women’s basketball teams had stellar nonconference seasons, both cracking the top 25 rankings nationally.
The men, fresh off their first NCAA Tournament appearance in nine years, went 10-2 in the 2012 portion of their schedule. In January their Pac-12 record was 4-4.
When the Buffs reached No. 19 in the national polls early in the season, it marked their highest ranking since 1997.
The CU women, after being picked in the preseason to finish ninth in the Pac-12 by conference coaches, won all their games in the 2012 portion of the schedule. The Buffs’ 11-0 start was the fourth-best in
program history.
It marked the second straight season — and just the third time ever — that CU women have gone undefeated in nonconference play. They finished January going 4-4 to open Pac-12 play, ranking anywhere from No. 17 to No. 23 throughout the month.
Before the Buffs fell to Stanford on Jan. 4, they were one of just four unbeaten teams in NCAA Division I.