Buffs Travel to Nashville for NCAA First Round

Saturday, March 21

Nashville, Tenn.

7:30 PM

Colorado

Illinois

March 19, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Colorado Notes Season Ticket Renewals Donate to Women's Basketball

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

GAME #34 • Saturday, March 21 • 7:30 p.m. MT
Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tenn.
[10] Colorado (22-11, 11-7 Big 12) vs. [7] Illinois (21-11, 9-9 Big Ten)
TIP: 7:32 p.m. MT
WATCH: ESPN2 (https://buffs.me/4se8IeN) (Jay Alter, Kim Adams)
RADIO: Colorado's News, Talk & Sports Station, KOA 850AM / 94.1FM (Cory Lopez, Carol Callan)
LISTEN ONLINE: Sirius XM 84, and on the SiriusXM App, or at https://buffs.me/4cTjoLm
LIVE STATISTICS: https://bit.ly/4buLXfM
SERIES RECORD: CU Leads, 4-2 (.667)
LAST MEETING: W, 79-56 (Dec. 7, 2013 • Boulder, Colo.)
STREAK: Won 2 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Colorado women's basketball team (22-11, 11-7 Big 12) is back in action at the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament this week at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn. The 10th-seeded Buffs will match up with seven-seed Illinois (21-11, 9-9 Big Ten) on Mar. 21 at 7:30 p.m. MT in the first round of the tournament.

In the other first-round match at the Nashville site, second-seeded host No. 6 Vanderbilt (27-4, 13-3 SEC) will take on Big South Conference tournament champion High Point (27-5, 13-3 Big South). The winners of the two first-round contests will meet in the second round on Monday, Mar. 23.

The Buffs meet the Fighting Illini for the seventh time in program history on Saturday and for the first time since 2013. CU sports a two-game winning streak versus Illinois, beating the Illini by 23 points in their last meeting in Boulder, 79-56 (Dec. 7, 2013). This will be the teams' first meeting in the NCAA Tournament.

The Buffs played three Big 12 Tournament games two weeks ago, beating Kansas (55-48, Mar. 5) and No. 20 Baylor (62-53, Mar. 6), and falling by just one point to No. 15 West Virginia (48-47, Mar. 7). After taking on West Virginia, Colorado is 12-16 in Big 12 Tournament play and 43-39 in conference tournament games overall.

TIP-OFF (TL;DR)

CU is led by 10th-year head coach JR Payne, who has led the Buffs to a 186-127 (.594) record as CU's eighth head women's basketball coach. Coach Payne has been extended through the 2031 season and has led the Buffs to now four NCAA appearances, two WNIT appearances and one WBIT appearance.
Colorado was awarded one of the 37 at-large berths into the 2026 NCAA tournament and will make its 17th appearance in the national tourney. The Buffs received the 10-seed in one of the two Fort Worth quadrants of the bracket and will face Illinois (21-11, 9-9 Big 10) in a first-round game.
In its second year back in the Big 12, Colorado finished sixth in the conference. Colorado is 120-156 (.435) overall in Big 12 conference play. The Buffs boasted an 11-7 record in conference play this season, and they were a six-seed in the conference tournament.
CU is receiving votes in the USA Today/WBCA (33rd) poll for the third week in a row and in the AP poll for the second time this season (29th). The Buffs are 46th in the NET rankings and 41st in the WAB.
The Buffs return four from the 2024-25 roster: Sr. F Jade Masogayo, So. G Kennedy Sanders, 5th C JoJo Nworie and So. F Tabitha Betson. Colorado has 10 newcomers on the squad for the 2025-26 season, five transfers and five freshmen.
Jr. G Desiree Wooten received All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. Wooten is ranked 18th in the Big 12 Conference for scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game. She also ranked 20th in free throw percentage, shooting 72.2% from the line, and tied for 19th in assists per game with 2.6. Wooten led the Buffs in scoring in the Big 12 Tournament, averaging 150 points per game and collecting 45 total points.
Named to both the Big 12 All-Defensive Team and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, Jr. G Zyanna Walker is third overall in the conference with 67 steals in 30 regular season games played. Walker is tied for fourth overall in the conference with 2.1 steals per game. She is ranked 22nd in the conference in free throw percentage with 68.5%. This is Walker's second All-Defensive Team selection, as well as second in the Big 12, having earned it at the end of last season at Kansas State. Walker had the second most points for Colorado in the Big 12 Tourney, finishing with 41 and averaging 13.7 points per game. She also led CU in assists with eight total, 2.67 per game.
Sr. F Jade Masogayo was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team. Masogayo is ranked 21st in conference for blocks per game with 0.8, and she is 18th for free throw percentage wit 75.5%. This marks Masogayo's second All-Conference award in the Big 12 after being named honorable mention at the end of last season. Masogayo had 19 regular season games with double-digit points, and had a stretch of 10 double-digit point games in a row during conference play. In the Big 12 Tournament, she had 18 points (6.0 ppg), 15 rebounds (5.0 rbg), four assists, two blocks and two steals.
Fr. F Logyn Greer was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Greer had 15 regular season games this season with double-digit points and recorded a double-double against Miami (OH) with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Greer shot 52.6% in the Big 12 Tournament, averaging 8.3 points per game and totaling 25. She also had 13 rebounds and six blocks in the tourney.
Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat leads the Big 12 in offensive rebounds per game (3.9) and total offensive rebounds (128), and she is tied for second in conference for rebounds per game (8.1). Dutat led the Buffs in offensive, defensive and total rebounds in the Big 12 Tournament with 11, 14 and 25, respectively, averaging 8.3 per game.
As a team, the Buffs are second in the Big 12 for offensive rebounds per game (13.2), third for rebounding margin (6.9), sixth for scoring defense (60.7), sixth for rebounds per game (38.2), and seventh for scoring margin (7.1).

ROAM WITH THE BUFFS: The Buffs' game versus [7] Illinois will be broadcast on ESPN2. The Buffs are on the radio via the CUBuffs.com website and Varsity app for every game. The pregame show, Buffs Warm-up, starts a half-hour before tip and includes a pregame interview with Coach Payne. At halftime, stay tuned for a get-to-know interview with players and coaches. Colorado will broadcast NCAA tournament games on Colorado's News, Talk & Sports Station, KOA 850AM / 94.1FM. Available on the Varsity app. Fans can also follow Colorado games through live stats with links available at CUBuffs.com.

NCAA TOURNEY BITES: The Buffs make their first appearance in the postseason tournament since the 2023-24 season, and the program's 17th overall. The Black and Gold have reached three Elite Eights and are 21-16 (.568) in NCAA tournament games. Since the program's inception, Colorado has advanced to eight regional championship games (Sweet Sixteens), 12 second-round appearances, and 16 first-round appearances (two first-round byes). In 2024, the Buffs reached their second Sweet Sixteen in as many years, defeating 12-seed Drake (86-72) and four-seed Kansas State (63-50) in the first and second rounds, respectively. Colorado fell in the round of 16 to top-seeded Iowa, 89-68 (Mar. 30, 2024). The Buffs are 5-8 as the lower seed in March Madness, and 9-12 in games played outside Boulder.

LET'S TALK ABOUT 10-SEEDS: Since the NCAA Tourney expanded to 64 teams in 1994 (31 tournaments), No. 10-seeds are 43-81 (.347) in the first round. In 18 of those 31 tournaments, there were two 10-seeds that beat the seven-seed. In 25 of those 31 tournaments, at least one 10-seed beat the seven-seed.

BACK TO NASHVEGAS: The Buffs are playing on Commodore turf for the fifth time in the last 25 years. Three of the last four times Colorado played in Memorial Gymnasium were in 2001 – twice in the NCAA tournament at the end of the 2000-01 season, and once in nonconference play in the 2001-02 season. The Buffs won in their most recent outing in Nashville – a 62-51 victory over Vanderbilt on Dec. 9, 2007.

MILESTONE WATCH: So. F Tabitha Betson has 195 rebounds, five away from 200, and 273 points, 27 away from 300. Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat has 775 points, 25 away from 800. Sr. F Jade Masogayo has 1,296 career points, four away from 1,300. Jr. G Maeve McErlane has 199 points, one away from 200.

MILESTONE CHECK: Jr. G Desiree Wooten reached 1,000 career points against West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament (Mar. 7), and 300 career rebounds. Jr. G Zyanna Walker reached 900 points in the Big 12 Tournament. Jr. G Maeve McErlane reached 100 rebounds in the Big 12 Tournament. Fr. F Logyn Greer reached 300 career points in the Big 12 Tournament. Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat reached 117 offensive rebounds on the season, setting the program record for offensive boards in a single season (vs. BYU, Feb. 28).

For more information on the Colorado women's basketball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsWBB.