The University of Colorado’s move west didn’t come without growing pains.

A rebuilding season has turned remarkable. After their unlikely four-games-in-four-days-run to the Pac-12 championship, Colorado men’s basketball heads to Albuquerque for the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they will meet the sixth-seeded University of Nevada, Las Vegas Runnin’ Rebels.

Where last years‘ Buffs relied on their outstanding offense, these Buffaloes lean on their rock-solid defense and rebounding. That’s exactly how they won on Saturday, taking a 64-63 decision from the Wildcats, in front of an over-capacity crowd at Coors Event Center.

Colorado women ended a disappointing 0-2 homestand with a 54-80 loss to the fourth-ranked Stanford Cardinal. I thought (Stanford) came out and played hard and were the aggressors,” said CU head coach Linda Lappe. “We had a tough time getting shots to go down in the first half.”

Tad Boyle gave a wry smile when reminded of where the media picked the Buffs to finish in the Pac-12 after his Buffs defeated Washington State 71-60 at the Coors Events Center.

After laughing Utah out of the Coors Events Center on Saturday, Tad Boyle’s Colorado Buffaloes looked forward to a challenge, coming in the form of a talented Washington Huskies team.

In years past, the beginning of conference play for Colorado represented a major upgrade in competition. On Saturday afternoon, it was difficult to tell who the better team was – Pac-12’s Utah, or Division II New Orleans.

After trailing by eight with 8:33 to go, Colorado women’s basketball held Utah scoreless for the duration of the game to win, 58-52.

It may not have been the way Linda Lappe drew it up, but the ending to Colorado’s non-conference season couldn’t have been much sweeter.

With 31 seconds left in the first half, things looked pretty grim for Colorado's men’s basketball. Mid-major Cal State Bakersfield held possession and a surprising two-point lead when Roadrunners’ guard Stephon Carter had his layup blocked by the scrappy Chen with just four second left on the clock.