The University of Colorado men’s basketball beat the Arizona Wildcats 71-58 Thursday, healing a wound the left after teams’ previous encounter.

The last game on Jan. 3 was close, but ended with a ‘no’ call from the refs after a three point basket by senior guard Sabatino Chen sailed into the hoop with less than a second on the clock. The game ended up going into overtime and Arizona won it, 92-83.

Sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie said the team was more disappointed in themselves after the January loss, but they got a chance to redeem themselves at Coors Events Center in Boulder on Thursday.

“We were disappointed in ourselves with how we closed it off and we were disappointed with the call at the end of the game as well,” Dinwiddie said.  “As far as the slump we went into, we are not blaming it on the call or the refs; we just played some bad basketball. The mark of a good team is to pull out of that and play some good basketball. We proved that tonight.”

Andre Roberson dunks over Arizona’s Brandon Ashley. (Kai Casey/CU Independent)

The first half went back and forth between the Buffs and Wildcats. With eight minutes remaining, Colorado led only by one, 18-17. In those remaining minutes of the half, they increased their lead and ended the half with a seven-point lead.

The Buffs came out strong in the second half and scored eight straight, unanswered points to start the half. The men expanded on that lead to finish the game 71-58.

“We held Arizona to 58 points, which is good enough to beat any good team because we will generally score 60 or more,” Dinwiddie said.

Colorado’s leading scorers were freshman forward Xavier Johnson with 19 and Dinwiddie with 21.

“I got to give credit to tonight to Xavier Johnson,” Dinwiddie said. “He made a ton of shots.”

Johnson says that he is able to do so well against the Arizona teams because he knows them so well.

“I knew them when I grew up,” Johnson said. “It fuels up my fire.”

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With the win, the Buffs move to 17-7 overall and 7-5 in the Pac-12. Arizona is now 20-4 overall and 8-4 in the conference.

Arizona is ranked third in the Pac-12; Colorado is ranked fifth.

The atmosphere in Coors Events Center was electrifying. Students with season tickets were required to pick up paper versions in advance to avoid overflow, the game sold out and Coors’ 11,200 seats were filled. Head Coach Tad Boyle says that everyone should take credit for this win.

“This was a great atmosphere for college basketball tonight and the entire state of Colorado can be proud,” Boyle said.

Boyle said that the team will need an equal amount of support when they face Arizona State at 7 p.m. in Boulder on Saturday.

Click here for more from Thursday’s win including the #MillShake video.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jillian Arja at Jillian.Arja@colorado.edu.

Andre Roberson has decided to leave after his junior year at University of Colorado to enter the NBA Draft.

“After much consideration and counsel from my family and Coach Boyle, I have decided to forego my senior season and enter the NBA draft. I am proud to have been a member of Colorado Basketball and want to thank Coach Boyle and his staff, the administration, the fans, and the University for this incredible experience.

“It has been an honor and privilege to make Buffalo history with my fellow teammates over the past three seasons.  Additionally, I want to express my appreciation to my friends and family for all their support during this process. I look forward to continued development as I embark upon the next steps in my journey of fulfilling my dream of playing in the NBA.”

Jeremy Adams, Sabatino Chen and Shane Harris-Tunks were the only other losses for the Buffs this season. Roberson will definitely be missed, but he leaves behind him a basketball team with many powerful weapons, including sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie, freshman forward Josh Scott and freshman forward Xavier Johnson.

Roberson was only 10 rebounds behind Stephane Pelle to take the spot as CU’s top rebounder.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jillian Arja at Jillian.arja@colorado.edu.

University of Colorado men’s Rugby Football Club team heads to the Elite Eight in California this weekend to face St. Mary’s College and vie for a spot in the Final Four rugby teams in the nation.

The men played Wisconsin last Saturday and won 54-24 to give them the final DIA playoff spot.

Senior back Brendan Cox said that they did well as a team against Wisconsin to give them a confident win.

(CU Independent Illustration/Josh Shettler)

“For the first time this year I think everything came together,” Cox said. “Our system and pattern of play was executed correctly and in doing so gave us great match-ups when attacking. Our forwards were running against backs and our backs running against forwards and our tackling was better this week than it has been all season, which was definitely a positive.”

The win was important for the Buffs after losing to Colorado State the previous weekend for the conference title. CU lost 23-20 to the in-state rival.

Junior back Zach Savage said that the Wisconsin win solidified their ability against a tough team.

“It means that our team is amongst the best in the nation, and that we are more than just a club at CU,” Savage said. “We are strong and growing team that competes at the highest level in the nation.”

St. Mary’s, another team they will face, is undefeated, with a record of 7-0. Cox said that with a team as competitive as St. Mary’s, the Buffs will have to make sure they do not make too many mistakes.

“St. Mary’s is a great team, top three in the nation, they will capitalize on mistakes we make,” Cox said. “When playing a team as solid as St. Mary’s there is no room for error, our scrums will need to be perfect this weekend. Our forwards will need to have a great performance this weekend in order to win.”

If the team beats St. Mary’s, they will play either Colorado State or Cal Poly in the Final Four. After the great performance in the Wisconsin game, Savage believes his team has what it takes to do. For motivation, he tells his team that, “While they’re not easily defeated, they’re far from invincible.”

The men will take on St. Mary’s at 1 p.m. Saturday in California.

Correction: This story originally listed St. Mary’s as a varsity team. They are also a club team.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jillian Arja at Jillian.Arja@colorado.edu.

University of Colorado’s junior quarterback Nick Hirschman announced via Twitter Friday that he will be leaving Colorado football.

Wednesday I decided to move on from CU and continue my graduate education and football career elsewhere.

— Nick Hirschman(@NickHirschman) April 19, 2013

I loved my time here and the relationships I’ve had with my fellow teammates I wouldn’t trade for anything.

— Nick Hirschman(@NickHirschman) April 19, 2013

Part of me will always be a Buff and thank you to Buffnation for all the support.

— Nick Hirschman(@NickHirschman) April 19, 2013

Hirschman’s decision gives junior quarterback Connor Wood a good shot at the starting position for the fall season.

Both Wood and Hirschman started in the Spring Game last Saturday. Head Coach Mike MacIntyre was quoted as saying that they had no plans of picking a starting quarterback until late August.

MacIntyre also recruited a quarterback from Tacoma, Wash., Sefo Liufau.

With Hirschman’s transfer, the battle for the starting quarterback position will be between Wood and Liufau and freshman Shane Dillon.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jillian Arja at Jillian.Arja@colorado.edu.

Women’s Golf

The University of Colorado women’s golf team traveled to Tucson, Ariz. and competed in the Arizona State Invitational. The team took 16th to finish their season. They improved their second-round score to shoot a 17-over par 305 score and finished with 56-over par 920. The Buffs were amongst the best in the nation, including the top three teams ranked in the latest Golfstat poll. This ends the Buffs’ regular season competition. They will head to the Pac-12 Championships April 22-24 in Valencia, Calif.

(Josh Shettler/CU Independent Graphic)

Track and Field

The University of Colorado track team competed at the CU Invite at Pott’s Field on Saturday, April 13. Sophomore Blake Theroux took 1st in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, starting the day strong for the Buffs.  Freshman Carrie Verdon also had a good performance for the Buffs, finishing third in the women’s 1,500.  This was Verdon’s first race since the IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships on March 24 in Poland.  Senior Joe Morris finished second in both the 100 and 200-meter races. In field events, junior Brian Owens won the javelin throw and senior Emily Hunsucker won the hammer throw. The Buffs will compete in California next weekend. With some headed to compete at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. and others headed to Azusa, Calif. for the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Tennis

The University of Colorado women’s tennis team will host Utah on Saturday, April 20 for the last conference match before the Pac-12 Championships. The Pac-12 Championships are set to be played on April 25. The Buffs have moved into No.75 in the ITA rankings. This is the first time since 2010.

Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Jillian Arja at Jillian.Arja@colorado.edu.

Sadly, March and its madness have ended. The conclusion of the basketball season does, however, mean that we can crown the winner of the 2013 CU Independent Bracket Challenge.

We had three contestants tie for first place: Nate Silver, branhoff2 and Alex77814. Contact the CU Independent at tips@cuindependent.com to claim your prize.

Sports Editor Jillian Arja

This 2013 NCAA tournament had many Cinderella moments and surprises. Only 47 out of the millions of ESPN applicants chose the correct Final Four, which proves how unanticipated some of the results were, even to basketball fanatics.

Considering I had no teams left in my bracket going into the last four games, I would say that I made some poor decisions for my 2013 NCAA bracket. Duke, Gonzaga, Florida and Indiana were in my ideal Final Four, with Florida as my NCAA champion. In reality, Duke and Florida made it to the Elite Eight before losing to No. 1 Louisville and Michigan respectively. Indiana made it to the Sweet 16 before losing to Syracuse 61-50. Pathetically, Gonzaga lost in the second round to Wichita State. No. 9 Wichita State, however, made it to the Final Four and pitted against Louisville.

Sports Editor Scott Annis

I started off very quickly in the bracket challenge and found myself in first place after the first and second rounds in the CU Independent Bracket Challenge. Of course I missed on some of the big upsets, but I also got both Cal and Oregon. After the first couple of rounds, however, things started to go downhill. Maybe I was smack-talking to much.

I had Duke and Indiana in the finals and both lost in the Elite Eight. I thought New Mexico would be the surprise team and make it to the final four, but oh was I wrong. After losing to Harvard, Wichita State took over as the surprise team. I finished in 32^nd place in the challenge. I didn’t think Louisville would win and it upsets me a little bit that the overall favorite won it all. This is supposed to be March Madness but it ended in chalk. I guess there is always next year.

Reporter Alissa Noe

After the first weekend of the tournament, I never thought I would do as well in my pools as I did. I made some stupid picks in the first round and that, along with numerous upsets, put me in a tight spot. The entire Midwest region and the Georgetown upset really killed me. After that first weekend, I was ranked in the middle of a pool of 48 people despite faring pretty well in the other three regions. I only missed two games in each of the other regions after the first round and three more games total in the second round. The next weekend, I got five of the eight Sweet 16 games, but only predicted half of the Elite Eight games correctly. That moved me into 5th place in my pool for a short-but-sweet time. After Kansas, Indiana, and Ohio State fell, however, my Final Four wasn’t looking so hot. I fell to 7th place after Kansas lost to Michigan. Thank goodness for Louisville, my and the actual champion. After they pulled off a tight victory Monday night, I finished 4th in my bracket of 48 and 2nd in my bracket of seven.

Reporter Grayson O’Roark

March Madness, how appealing and exciting you are… for the first four minutes. That’s about how long my bracket lasted this year as Georgetown, who I had in my championship, was the first to fall victim to Florida Gulf Coast’s Cinderella run. Additional bracket disappointment and embarrassment came in the form of the Mountain West Conference’s pitiful performance.

I heard that, “the Mountain West is a great conference this year.”

“The Mountain West is great at playing at neutral locations,” they said.

What people meant was, “the Mountain West will devastate your bracket if you put any faith in them.”

Contact the CU Independent Sports team at Tips@cuindependent.com.

Men’s Basketball

The University of Colorado men’s basketball team earned a No.10 seed in the NCAA tournament. They played No.7 Illinois on Fri., March 22 in Austin, Texas. They lost 49-57, ending their 2012-13 season. There are four teams left in the tournament, Wichita State, Louisville, Syracuse and Michigan.

(Josh Shettler/CU Independent Graphic)

Women’s  Basketball

The University of Colorado women’s basketball team played at home on Sat., March 23 for the first round of the NCAA tournament.  They played No. 12 Kansas and lost 52-67. This loss ended the women’s season.  Kansas went on to play South Carolina for the second round and won, 75-69.  The four teams left are Louisville, Notre Dame, Duke and Tennessee.

Tennis

The CU women’s tennis team finished their California conference trip, playing California, Stanford and San Fransisco. They lost to California on Fri., March 22, 0-7.  They again lost to Stanford, 0-7, on Sat., March 23. They played San Fransisco on Mon., March 25 and were able to get two wins but still lost, 2-4.  The team returned home and played Oregon on Fri., March 29 and won, 5-2.

Golf

Men’s golf finished eighth at the Stanford Intercollegiate competition. Sophomore David Oraee got a 3-under 67, his best score at CU, which put him at 22^nd place. Senior Jason Burstyn and freshman Philip Juel-Buerg tied for 34^th.

The Buffs will have their next tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz. on April 8-9. This is the final tournament before the Pac-12 Championships, which are a month away.

Track and Field

The track and field team participated in the Stanford Invitational on Fri., March 29.  Redshirt freshman Connor Winter placed seventh in the 1,500 meter race, becoming the 13^th fastest 1,500 meter racer in CU history.

Buffs also participated in field events in the Fum McGraw Quadrangular in Fort Collins on Sat., March 30. Junior Emily Hunsucker broke the University of Colorado’s hammer throw record and won the event.  Sophomore Eileen Gehring won the 200 and 400-meter dashes. Joe Morris won the 400 and took second in the 200.

Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Jillian Arja at Jillian.Arja@colorado.edu

The University of Colorado club rugby team’s spring season is underway. Their season will consist of five games. The team will play University of New Mexico, Northern Colorado, Central Washington, Wyoming and Colorado State.

Their season was supposed to start two weekends ago, but New Mexico forfeited the match, giving the Buffs a 1-0 start to their season.

(CU Independent Illustration/Josh Shettler)

The Buffs will travel to Ellensburg, Washington this weekend to play Central Washington for their game on Saturday, March 23.

Sophomore back Zachary Savage says that Central Washington could be a challenge for the Buffs.

“Our biggest competition will be Central Washington, who we have never played before, and who will be bigger and faster at almost every position, a team we will have to beat in execution,”Savage said.

Head coach Jim Snyder thinks that their biggest challenge will come from in-state teams.

“I think this year, Northern Colorado is going to really be on the rise,” Snyder said. “They had a really good recruiting class last year, so those guys are coming of age. Colorado State is always good because they get a lot of athletes up in Fort Collins. Those two games will be good tests for us.”

Savage says they are ready for any competition.

“After all the work our coaches have put into our practices during the offseason and preseason, I feel ready to compete with some of the best in the country,” he said.

Coach Snyder says that he scheduled some preseason games against strong men’s clubs to toughen the boys up.

“We scheduled a couple of really difficult preseason opponents, men’s clubs, which they are usually better skilled and more physical,” Snyder said. “We put them in that position where they had to rise to that challenge, so when they faced collegiate competition, it would be easier.

Senior back Brendan Cox says that playing the men’s clubs will help the team down the stretch of their season.

“Our coaches scheduled a very rough few scrimmages to prepare us for the season, playing multiple men’s clubs,” Cox said. “I feel that playing teams that have much higher skill levels in the preseason will benefit us during our season.”

Their coaches not only scheduled tough competition for their offseason, but made them work hard at practices, as well. Brendan Cox says that he thinks all this conditioning will make his team strong.

“Well, I can comfortably say that we may be the most fit team in our league this year,” Cox said. “The amount of conditioning we have done is amazing. In the four years of playing here, I think we are the most fit team.”

The Buffs will come back home and play their next game against the University of Wyoming on April 6 at 4:00 p.m. at Infinity Park.

Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Jillian Arja at Jillian.arja@colorado.edu.

Men’s Basketball

The University of Colorado men’s basketball team played in the Pac-12 tournament as a No.5 seed. Their first game was against Oregon State whom they had just played as their last home season game on Saturday Mar. 9, losing 58-64. The team rallied in the tournament, however, and won their first round against Oregon State –ranked 12^th in the tournament– 74-68 and advanced to the second round to face Arizona.

(Josh Shettler/CU Independent Graphic)

For their second round of the Pac-12 tournament, the men’s basketball team played No.4 seed Arizona. The Buffs split their conference games with the Wildcats, with the loss coming from a disappointing call in Arizona.  The teams faced off for the third time on Thursday, Mar. 14. Arizona pulled away with the win 69-79, ending the tournament for the Buffs.

Although the Buffs only made it to the second round of the Pac-12 tournament, they were able to secure a No.10 seed spot in the NCAA tournament. They will play No.7 Illinois on Friday, Mar. 22 in Austin, Tx at 2:40 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

The University of Colorado women’s basketball team plays at home on Saturday Mar. 23 for the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Track and Field

The University of Colorado outdoor track and field team competed on Friday and Saturday at Potts Field in the Jerry Quiller Classic. In the distance competition, Pierce Murphy and Ammar Moussa won both of their events, with Murphy winning the 3,000-meter run and Moussa winning the 1,500. For the shorter distance, Eileen Gehring finished first in the 200 with her two teammates taking second and third. Lindsy Mattson took second and Bridget Sweeney came in third. On Friday, Emily Hunsucker won the hammer throw event with a personal best 195-10.25.

The team will not have another competition until the end of the month, with distance headed to Stanford and the rest of the team headed to Fort Collins.

Tennis

The University of Colorado women’s tennis team played their first conference road games this weekend, playing USC and UCLA.  The Buffs played USC on Mar. 15 and lost 7-0. Ranked No.7 in the country, the Trojans are one of the toughest teams that the Buffs have faced yet.  The loss gives the Buffs a 6-7 overall record and a 1-2 record in the conference.

The Buffs then played UCLA on Saturday Mar. 16, losing 6-1. Another tough team; the Bruins have two ranked doubles teams and five ranked singles players.  Junior Winde Janssens earned the one win for the Buffs over ranked Bruin Pamela Montez 6-3, 5-7, 1-0, overall 10-5.

The Buffs’ will go back to California for two more matches, and play California and Stanford.

Contact CU Independent Sports editor Jillian Arja at Jillian.Arja@colorado.edu.

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Sports co-editor Scott Annis

I think that any one of six teams have a chance to win the Pac-12 tournament. It is wide open right now and anything can happen. We saw the Buffs come from out of nowhere last year to win it all and something just as crazy could happen this year. If I had to pick someone though I think that Cal is one of the hottest teams in the country right now and have the player of the year in Allen Crabbe. They are the favorites to me.

Reporter Grayson O’Roark

One team to watch throughout the tournament is the California Golden Bears. Prior to losing their final game to Stanford, Cal had put together an impressive run beating UCLA, Oregon, Arizona, and Colorado. Cal is fully capable of winning the Pac-12 tournament and earning a fairly high NCAA seed.

Reporter Alissa Noe

Call me crazy, but I honestly believe that Colorado can pull of another upset victory this year. They have the talent, the drive, and the discipline. If front man Andre Roberson returns in time for the tournament and players like Xavier Talton pick it up, CU will be the team to beat.