The Gavitt Gauntlet: Buffs Set for High-Stakes Preseason Showdown in Milwaukee

Alright, basketball fans, mark your calendars—or, well, mentally circle 'early November' because it's going to be quite the kickoff for the Colorado Buffaloes men's hoops squad in the 2025-26 season. We're talking a legitimate, big-time road challenge right out of the gate: a trip to Milwaukee to face the formidable Marquette Golden Eagles as part of the always-anticipated Gavitt Games.

Honestly, you could say this isn't just another exhibition or a typical warm-up; it's a statement game, isn't it? The Gavitt Games, if you're not familiar, are this fantastic eight-game series pitting teams from the Big Ten against the Big East. And for Colorado, heading into a new era in the Big 12, this particular matchup against a top-tier Big East program like Marquette—a team that absolutely dominated their conference in 2023-24, winning both the regular season and tournament titles before making a Sweet 16 run—it just screams 'early test.' They’ve got Coach Shaka Smart over there, and his teams? They play with an intensity, a real grit, that’s just infectious.

Now, let's talk about our Buffs. Coach Tad Boyle's crew, they’re no slouches either. We all remember their incredible run to the NIT semifinals, finishing with a 26-11 overall record. That was a team that, by the season's end, was playing some seriously inspired basketball, firing on all cylinders. And you know, Boyle's had his teams in the Gavitt Games before, squaring off with Georgetown a few years back, so this isn't entirely new territory for the program. But this, this feels different. It’s an opportunity to really gauge where they stand, even before the conference schedule heats up.

And yet, it's more than just a single game; it's part of a larger picture, isn't it? The Buffs are officially moving into the Big 12 for the 2024-25 season, making these cross-conference matchups all the more interesting. They've also got a home game slated against Kansas State and a road trip to Butler on the books for that same 2025-26 non-conference slate. So, honestly, between those and this Marquette challenge, it’s quite the schedule already shaping up, designed, it seems, to forge a truly battle-hardened team.

So, yeah, an early November showdown in Milwaukee. It sounds like the perfect, slightly chaotic, and utterly thrilling way to kick off what promises to be a very compelling season for Colorado basketball. Get ready, folks, because the Buffs are about to dive headfirst into the fire, and we wouldn't want it any other way.