For the first time this decade, the state of Colorado has no direct involvement in the men’s NCAA Tournament.

Whether it’s been multiple appearances by Colorado and Colorado State or Denver’s two years hosting March Madness, the Centennial State has been spoiled with plenty of reason to get excited for the Big Dance in the 2020s. 

But this year the Buffaloes and Rams failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, the Mile High City won’t host NCAA Tournament games until at least 2029 with 2027 and 2028 both set with no return trip to Ball Arena coming.

Still, there are plenty of connections to Colorado in this year’s NCAA Tournament and several key figures on teams hoping to make long runs.

Here are the names to watch as one of the best stretches on the sports calendar begins in earnest Thursday:

Gonzaga F Graham Ike (Aurora native and Overland High graduate)

One of the best college basketball careers by a Colorado native is coming to an end. The former Overland star, who got his start in college at Wyoming, is now in year three as a starter for Mark Few at Gonzaga, a program that had a streak of nine straight Sweet 16s snapped last season. The Bulldogs have aspirations of a deep March run again as the No. 3 seed in the West Region, thanks to Ike’s team-leading 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The Aurora native was also recently named a third-team All-American by The Associated Press and the Player of the Year in the West Coast Conference.

Texas Tech assistant coach Jeff Linder (Denver native and Centaurus High graduate)

Linder was a few minutes away from the Final Four with the Red Raiders last season. Even though first-team All-American forward JT Toppin has been lost for the rest of this season with a knee injury, Texas Tech poses a threat as a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region. Linder is the lead assistant and offensive coordinator for coach Grant McCasland. Texas Tech still has elite point guard Christian Anderson, who can get hot enough to carry it to the second weekend.

Utah State F Zach Keller (Highlands Ranch native and ThunderRidge High graduate)

One of the state’s best high school players this decade has finally found a college home. After stops at Wake Forest and Utah to begin his career, Keller has been a consistent starter as a senior for the Aggies and is set to make his tournament debut for a dangerous No. 9 seed in the West Region. Keller played a season-high 27 minutes in a Mountain West semifinal win over Nevada, contributing seven points and four rebounds. 

Santa Clara G Christian Hammond (Denver native and former Cherry Creek standout)

The Hammonds are one of Colorado’s deepest basketball families, and they have their latest NCAA Tournament appearance with Christian the leading scorer (15.8 points per game) for a Broncos team making its first trip to the Big Dance in 30 years. Christian is following in the footsteps of his older brother, Julian, who helped Colorado reach the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Led by veteran coach Herb Sendek, Santa Clara is a No. 10 seed in the Midwest and has a good chance to knock off No. 7 seed Kentucky in the first round.

North Carolina G Kyan Evans (former Colorado State starter)

This time last year, America learned about Evans. The then-sophomore Rams guard had a breakout performance in the team’s win over Memphis in the NCAA Tournament in Seattle. Evans scored a game-high 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field (6 for 9 from 3-point range) to go with four assists as CSU won in March Madness for the first time since 2013. He cashed in by transferring to North Carolina and signing a lucrative NIL deal, coming off the bench for the Tar Heels most of the season and averaging 4.1 points. 

Louisville G J’Vonne Hadley (former Colorado starter)

Another long and productive college career is coming to a close. Hadley, who began his career at Northeastern before finding his way to Boulder, where he played for two seasons for Tad Boyle’s Buffs, is in his second and final season with the Cardinals. Hadley, who is cousins with Denver Nuggets guard Curtis Jones, helped lead CU to multiple NCAA Tournament wins in 2024 as a key starter. He’s played the same role the last two seasons for coach Pat Kelsey and Louisville, and he hopes to help the No. 6 seed in the East on a deep run.

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The list: 5 potential first-round upsets to watch

1. No. 11 VCU over No. 6 North Carolina

This is essentially a home game for the Tar Heels in Greenville, S.C., but this is not the same North Carolina team without Caleb Wilson, a star freshman who is out for the rest of the season with a broken hand. Phil Martelli Jr. has done an excellent job in year one at VCU, and his Rams have won 16 of 17, including three impressive wins on the way to an Atlantic 10 tournament title. VCU has a balanced offensive attack led by sophomore Terrence Hill Jr.

2. No. 11 South Florida over No. 6 Louisville

Another red-hot team facing a banged-up ACC squad, South Florida is 14-1 in its last 15 games and has the defensive acumen to stay with a Louisville team that will not have star freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. The Cardinals are very reliant on their 3-point shooting, which is always volatile in a single-elimination tournament. The Bulls have a solid offensive attack on their own, built around their top-five scorers who all average double figures.

3. No. 12 Akron over No. 5 Texas Tech

There’s a reason the MAC was a two-bid conference. Not only is darling Miami (Ohio) a worthy NCAA Tournament team, but so is John Groce’s Akron, which is 19-1 in its last 20 games and winners of 10 straight after running through the conference tournament for the fourth time in five seasons. The Zips are a veteran team led by senior point guard Tavari Johnson, who averages over 20 points and has spent his entire career at Akron. Plus, Texas Tech will be without Toppin and Anderson likely won’t be at 100%. 

4. No. 12 Northern Iowa over No. 5 St. John’s

Get ready to see plenty of clips of CSU coach Ali Farokhmanesh’s famous 3-pointer from Northern Iowa’s upset over No. 1 seed Kansas in 2010. The Panthers are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade under longtime coach Ben Jacobsen after winning a really good Missouri Valley Conference tournament in St. Louis. UNI is a top-25 defensive team, per Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency rankings, and will need to hit some clutch shots down the stretch in what should be a grind of a game.

5. No. 14 Penn over No. 3 Illinois

All right, let’s get crazy. What a cool moment for former Iowa coach Fran McCaffery to take the Quakers, with whom he once played in three NCAA Tournaments, back to the Big Dance for the first time in eight years. Illinois is a talented team, led by freshman and future NBA lottery pick Keaton Wagler, but the Illini are just 4-5 in their last nine games, including an early exit from the Big Ten tournament. Watch out for Penn’s TJ Power, who scored 44 points in the Ivy League tournament championship and who began his career at Duke before finding success in Philadelphia. 

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Mid-Major Minute

The Mountain West’s run as a midmajor power is over. For the first time since 2017, the conference received just one bid to this year’s NCAA Tournament, with regular-season champion Utah State winning the conference tournament and receiving the automatic bid. The Mountain West had a historic run from 2022-25 with at least four bids in four straight seasons, peaking with a record six bids in 2024. But the league is about to change forever with its top brands (Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State) all departing for the new-look Pac-12. The Mountain West will still have a few reliable basketball brands with New Mexico, Nevada, UNLV and Grand Canyon. But it feels like the new-look conference will be lucky to have multiple bids in any given year going forward. 

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Going Overseas

Sticking with the Colorado theme, let’s spotlight one of the state’s top players in this last decade, who also made one NCAA Tournament appearance in his time in Boulder. Former Buffs standout and Colorado Springs native D’Shawn Schwartz is in his fourth season overseas and his second with the Rostock Seawolves in Germany’s top league, where he averages nearly 14 points and six rebounds.