There have been times this season when players for the Colorado women’s basketball team have been unable to hear play calls from the coaches during a game at the CU Events Center.
“Yeah, that was something we’ve been talking about,” guard Maddie Nolan said. “(Head coach JR Payne) is like, ‘All right, if you can’t hear us, you just kind of gotta look and tell us because you don’t want to run the play wrong’ and stuff like that.”
It’s certainly a new “problem” the fourth-ranked Buffaloes are dealing with, but Nolan laughed and said, “Definitely happy to deal with it.”
They’re dealing with it because fans are flocking to the Events Center to see the Buffs, who can’t wait to get in front of the home crowd again on Friday when Oregon comes to Boulder. After two straight road trips, it’ll be CU’s first home game in 19 days.
“Very excited to play at home this week,” said Payne, whose team will also host No. 17 Oregon State on Sunday. “We need big crowds, great energy. These will be two big ones this weekend.”
Through 10 home games, the Buffs are getting 5,374 fans per game, ranking third in the Pac-12 and 19th nationally in average attendance. The average is on pace to be the second-best in program history, behind the 1994-95 season (5,538). The only other season with at least 4,000 on average was 1993-94 (5,167).
This season, CU has already had four of the 15 largest crowds in program history, including a program-record 11,338 for the Jan. 19 matchup with UCLA.
A year ago, despite having a team that went to the Sweet 16 and spent the second half of the year in the national rankings, the Buffs averaged just 1,660 fans per game.
“This year it’s just nice that we’re starting to get the actual recognition that we need,” guard Tameiya Sadler said. “This is how much we built, this is what we’ve done. It’s nice to see that everybody’s starting to recognize that we’re a really good program and we can really make some noise this year.”
On the court, the Buffs are making a lot of noise. With seven games to play in the regular season, they are tied for first in the Pac-12 with Stanford (while holding the tie-breaker over the Cardinal) and they’re projected as a top two seed for the NCAA Tournament.
The Buffs have been stellar on the road (10-2 away from Boulder), but Sadler believes they’re a different team at home. They’re 9-1 at the Events Center, with the only loss coming to then-No. 5 UCLA.
“Our camaraderie is great at home. We just play really well together,” Sadler said. “On the road, you have no energy besides your own and maybe like five fans behind your bench. Here, it’s just everyone’s really just feeding into us. We just thrive on that.”
Nolan agrees. Although she’s a first-year Buff after four seasons at Michigan, she can already see the impact of the crowd. The fans have helped fuel game-changing runs and get the Buffs out of ruts.
“It’s a huge difference,” Nolan said. “You can feel that energy and you can hear everyone screaming. In the UCLA game, to have a sellout crowd and have that student section behind us and even when things weren’t going our way, to hear encouraging words is just super helpful.”
Nationally, Iowa and star Caitlin Clark have been a main attraction, playing to sold-out crowds in Iowa City and on the road. Top-ranked South Carolina, defending champion LSU and perennial power Connecticut join Iowa in averaging over 11,000 fans per game.
Overall, 23 women’s basketball teams are averaging at least 5,000 fans – up from 18 last year (and Baylor is just shy, at 4,994). In the 10 years before that, there was never more than 17 teams averaging at least 5,000.
Nolan said the Buffs are pleased to be a part of the growing interest in the sport.
“It’s been awesome,” she said of playing at the Events Center. “I think it’s a really cool trend to see all across women’s college basketball recently; just constant sellouts from really big-time programs, which is cool. … That energy (from the home crowd) makes it so much fun to play and then it gives us momentum. When you go on a run and you can feel that energy building, it’s really rewarding.”
No. 4 CU Buffs women’s basketball vs. Oregon Ducks
TIPOFF: Friday, 7 p.m., CU Events Center in Boulder
TV/RADIO: Pac-12 Network/630 AM
RECORDS: Colorado 19-3 (9-2 Pac-12); Oregon 11-12 (2-8 Pac-12)
COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, 8th season (138-96; 239-209 career). Oregon — Kelly Graves, 10th season (223-102; 605-265 career).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G Frida Formann, 5-11, Sr. (13.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.3 spg, .457 FG%, .423 3PT%, .918 FT%); C Quay Miller, 6-3, Sr. (9.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg, .338 3PT%); G Maddie Nolan, 5-11, Sr. (5.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, .379 3PT%); G Jaylyn Sherrod, 5-7, Sr. (13.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.1 spg, .461 FG%); C Aaronette Vonleh, 6-3, Jr. (14.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .595 FG%); G Kindyll Wetta, 5-9, Jr. (5.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.8 spg, .485 FG%). Oregon — G Sofia Bell, 6-1, Fr. (7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.3 spg); G Chance Gray, 5-9, So. (14.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, .383 3PT%); C Phillipina Kyei, 6-8, Jr. (13.2 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.4 bpg, .558 FG%); F Grace VanSlooten, 6-3, So. (15.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.6 apg).
NOTES: CU returns home after a four-game road swing. The Buffs are 9-1 at home this season. … Oregon leads the all-time series 19-11, but the Buffs have won the last three meetings. … CU beat the Ducks, 61-48, on Jan. 28 in Eugene. Vonleh had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Buffs. … Oregon is making its first trip to Boulder since Feb. 23, 2022. … CU is 15-0 against unranked opponents this season, while the Ducks are 0-7 against ranked opponents. … Oregon is 2-8 on the road, losing its last eight. The Ducks have lost five games in a row overall. … In conference play, CU has had the best 3-point percentage defense (.289), while Oregon is tied for second (.300). Offensively, the Buffs are fourth in scoring (70.5) and the Ducks are last (55.5) in conference games. … Miller has averaged 10.0 rebounds over the last 10 games. … Miller needs 10 points to become the 35th player in CU history to reach 1,000 points as a Buff. Formann needs three points to become the 25th Buff to reach 1,200 points. … Kyei has had four consecutive double-doubles for the Ducks, averaging 16.0 points and 16.3 rebounds in that stretch. She leads the Pac-12 with 15 double-doubles this season.
Brian Howell
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