BOULDER – No. 3 Colorado continues its toughest stretch of the season, hosting a pair of top 10 teams at the CU Events Center this weekend. The Buffaloes will take on No. 5 UCLA (Friday, 6 p.m. MT) and No. 6 Southern California (Sunday, 1 p.m. MT).

Colorado (15-1, 5-0 Pac-12) jumped back up to No. 3 this week in the Associated Press rankings, matching its highest ranking this season. The No. 3 designation also marks the team’s highest ranking since finishing the 1994-95 season at No. 2 in the country.

UCLA (14-1, 3-1 Pac-12) spent most of the season at No. 2 in the rankings, until falling to then No. 9 USC last Sunday. The Bruins are 4-1 this season against AP top-25 opponents. Colorado native Lauren Betts, leads the NCAA in field goal % this season, hitting 71.2% from the field.

USC (13-1, 31- Pac-12) jumped up three spots to No. 6 after defeating cross-town rival UCLA last week. The Trojans are 2-1 against AP top 25 opponents this season. Freshman standout Juju Watkins has won nine of the Pac-12’s 10 Freshman of the Week awards this season.

Five things to know

  1. Top 5 Showdown – Friday’s matchup pits No. 3 vs No. 5. It is the first top 5 matchup in the NCAA this season, but it will also be the first top 5 matchup in CU women’s basketball history.
  2. Back-to-back AP Top 10 wins – With a win on Friday, Colorado will have its first back-to-back wins over AP Top 10 teams. Colorado took care of the first leg with a 71-59 win over No. 8 Stanford last Sunday. The last time Colorado had the opportunity for back-to-back wins against top 10 opponents came in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Colorado beat No. 5 Stanford and then fell to No. 2 Oklahoma two days later. CU twice played Oregon and Oregon State back-to-back in the 2019-20 season when both teams were in the top 10, but went 0-for-4 that season.
  3. Packed House – Colorado has had two of its top 14 attended games of all time this season. CU had 7,838 fans see the Buffs beat the No. 12 Utes on Dec. 30. Last week’s crowd of 9,111 vs Stanford marked the 9th largest crowd in CU women’s basketball history. The largest regular-season crowd for a women’s game was 10,929 against Kansas back on Feb. 4, 1994.
  4. Top of the Pac – CU is a perfect 5-0 to start Pac-12 play. Colorado is the only unbeaten team in league play and finds itself all alone atop the Pac-12 standings for the first time since joining the league in 2011-12. CU’s 5-0 start is the team’s best open to conference play since going undefeated (14-0) in the Big Eight in the 1994-95 season.
  5. Top 10 wins – One win over either No. 5 UCLA or No. 6 USC would give Colorado three wins against top 10 opponents for the first time in program history. CU is 2-1 against top 10 teams this season with wins over No. 1 LSU and No. 8 Stanford. The Buffs fell to then No. 10 NC State on a neutral court at the Paradise Jam Classic.

Both games this weekend will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Thad Anderson and Charli Turner Thorne will call Friday’s action. Jenny Cavnar will team with Turner Thorne for Sunday’s call against USC.

Cory Lopez and Carol Callan will have pregame coverage starting 30 minutes before tip-off on the Colorado Radio Network.

Fans are encouraged to wear white on Friday to participate in Buffs Wear White. The first 500 fans through the doors will also receive a free t-shirt.

This weekend is also the team’s Alumni Weekend. Members from past teams will be in attendance and honored on the court at halftime of both games.

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Story by Seth Pringle, Athletic Communications for CUBuffs.com. Content courtesy of the University of Colorado at Boulder.