Kenny Ocker is an RTC correspondent.
When the tidal wave of conference realignment swept through college sports last summer, it was clear from the outset that it was a football-driven shift of power, and college basketball fans were left to wonder just what it meant for their favorite schools, their favorite conferences, and their favorite sport. As someone who grew up religiously watching the Pac-10, the conference that had been the second-longest one in its current iteration before the fateful events of June 2010, I found myself contemplating what it was going to do to the league that I had been dedicated to for more than a decade. But my questioning was probably dwarfed by those of fans of Colorado and Utah, two teams already in transition were suddenly thrown for an even bigger loop.
Colorado, coming from a bigger conference and a run to the NIT semifinals in Madison Square Garden, came to the newly christened Pac-12 on better footing than their westerly rivals. Even still, it was just head coach Tad Boyle‘s second season in charge of the Buffaloes, and he lost his top four scorers, including honorable mention All-American and unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection, Alec Burks. Burks set the school’s single-season scoring record as a sophomore before leaving Boulder for the NBA Draft, and he and seniors Cory Higgins, Levi Knutson and Marcus Relphorde were three-quarters of the Buffaloes’ scoring production in 2010-11.
But Boyle’s position was envious compared to the hard spot first-year Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak was facing. The Runnin’ Utes only returned four players who had played much at all in 2010-11, when they went 13-18 (6-10 in the Mountain West). That number quickly went down to three when 7’3” senior center David Foster, the program’s all-time leader in blocks, went down in the preseason with a season-ending injury and left the team positively devoid of talent.
Given their lack of talent, the Utes were picked to finish in the cellar of the Pac-12 in their first year; however, Colorado was tied in the preseason poll with Washington State for second to last. Colorado has certainly exceeded expectations in its first year in the Pac-12, securing a fourth-place finish in the conference and a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament with a win at Oregon State on Saturday, capping off a season that saw it defeat every team in the conference except Stanford. “I’m pleased with how we have played, but there are a few losses that I would like to get back,” Boyle said Thursday after his team fell to Oregon. “We had some tough losses, but I’m proud of our team.”
Though Saturday’s shellacking at the hands of Oregon may not make it seem like it, Utah has done better than everybody thought, especially after dismissing leading scorer Josh “Jiggy” Watkins early in the season. There was much chatter that Utah would be the worst team in all of the power conferences. Instead, the Utes managed to find three conference wins, including a stunning home victory over Stanford and a 19-point win over Arizona State, miraculously managing to finish above USC in the conference standings. (still, the Utes did go winless on the road this season.)
Though it’s unclear how conference realignment is going to change college basketball in the long run, Colorado and Utah acquitted themselves better than anyone had predicted, and both will be able to build upon their seasons next year.