It’s a big night for JR Payne and Colorado’s women’s hoops squad, as the 10-seed Buffs get set to take on seven-seed Illinois in the first round of the NCAA tournament this evening.

For Payne, this isn’t anything new. She’s led her Buffaloes to four of the last five NCAA tournaments, making it to back-to-back Sweet Sixteens in 2023 and 2024. In both runs, Colorado managed to draw Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes and fell both times. This year, there will be no Clark to stop them.

For the players themselves, it isn’t quite the same story. For all intents and purposes, this is an entirely new team from years past. Only one player remains from those previous tourney teams, being guard Kennedy Sanders. 

That hasn’t mattered, though. The 2025-26 squad that Payne assembled has embodied those past teams to a tee, playing fast-paced, team-first basketball to great success. Led by 2024-25 returning star Jade Masagayo and standout transfers Zyanna Walker, Desiree Wooten and Anaëlle Dutat, this Colorado team will simultaneously push the pace to tire you out and smother you on the defensive floor.

Despite their relatively low seeding, this Colorado team should not be taken lightly. The Buffs have strung together a quietly impressive resume, beating 19th-ranked Iowa State and 14th-ranked TCU during the regular season. In the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, CU beat 20th-ranked Baylor to punch their ticket to the Big Dance, falling to eventual champ WVU by one point in the semifinals. 

At first glance, Illinois appears to be a relatively even matchup for the Buffs. The two teams finished with a nearly identical record, Colorado with 22-11 and Illinois with 21-11. Illinois also has a comparable resume, with ranked wins over seventh-ranked Maryland, 18th-ranked Michigan State and 25th-ranked Washington.

Tonight against Illinois, they look to continue on their impressive season. While they’re considerably overlooked, this Buffs team is much better than their seeding suggests and will fight to continue to solidify their reputation as an upper-tier program in the country. Vegas has faith in them too, as they’re currently only 3.5-point underdogs to the Fighting Ilini.

Make sure to tune into the game on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m. MT to cheer on our Buffs on what could be another amazing tournament run from Payne and company. Additionally, we’ll be right here to provide a recap and analysis.