Interesting Stats From Colorado Buffaloes Near Upset in the NCAA Tournament

The Colorado Buffaloes did everything they could to pull off the upset against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the NCAA Tournament, but unfortunately, the team fell just short on Saturday night. Colorado coach JR Payne has to be proud of her group for how they continued to fight all night long.

This was a game that Colorado was able to stay in for the most part all night long, but the Buffaloes were just not able to close the gap, and now Illinois is moving on to the Round of 32.

Colorado Buffaloes Main Takeaways Coach JR Payne NCAA Tournament First Round Loss Illinois Fighting Illini March Madness — Colorado forward Jade Masogayo (14) shoots past Illinois guard Jasmine Brown-Hagger (8) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, March 21, 2026. | ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Colorado’s Bright Spots

Colorado did a great job in the rebounding battle, winning 34-32. The Buffs also held Illinois to just nine offensive rebounds and matched them on the offensive end.

It was a true team effort on the boards with forward Anaëlle Dutat pulling down six rebounds, forward Jade Masogayo grabbing five boards, forward Tabitha Betson recording five rebounds, forward Logyn Greer grabbing boards, and guard Desiree Wooten totaling seven rebounds.

The Buffaloes were also able to outscore Illinois in the paint, 36 to 30. Being able to generate quality looks consistently and not allow Illinois to dominate in that area was a huge reason Colorado was able to continue to fight in this game.

Additionally, the bench scoring became a decisive advantage for the Buffaloes. Wooten and Greer combined for a total of 22 points off the bench. This was compared with Illinois, which just had nine points off the bench.

In the starting lineup, Colorado guard Zyanna Walker, Masogayo, and Dutat all provided solid scoring. Walker had eight points, Masogayo finished with 15 points, and Dutat ended the night with eight points.

Overall, Colorado was able to keep itself, and we went for a variety of ways, and a few other things have gone their way, they would have been able to pull off an upset.

Where Colorado Fell Short

However, in tight games, one of the more important categories, especially in today’s game, is three-point shooting. Unfortunately, Colorado was not able to match Illinois' output, which seems to be one of the more important advantages the Fighting Illini had.

For the game, Illinois shot 4-14 from three, and Colorado went 1-9. This gave the Fighting Illini a nine-point advantage, which is the deficit Colorado ended up losing by. Neither team shot a ton of threes, but Illinois was able to take advantage of winning the three-point battle in a game that was very tight.

Additionally, Colorado recorded 14 turnovers while Illinois had just eight turnovers. As a result, the Buffaloes generated nine points off turnovers, but the Fighting Illini were able to create 14 points off Colorado’s turnovers.

In a game of this magnitude, being able to take care of the ball and let it score easy points in transition becomes more crucial than it has been the entire season. The Buffaloes were not able to protect the ball or limit the damage created by the turnovers.

In these games during March Madness, the unfortunate fact is how slim the margins are. Colorado, in many ways, outplayed Illinois. However, the areas that Illinois was able to win were the areas that created the biggest gaps and ultimately determined the outcome, which sent Colorado home and Illinois onto the second round.

The Buffaloes must be proud of what they were able to accomplish during the 2026 season as they pushed one of the higher seeds to the brink in the NCAA Tournament.

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