This probably wasn’t a season destined for history. Not like last year, when the Colorado men’s basketball program set a team record with 26 victories, won a pair of games at the NCAA Tournament, and sent three players into the NBA Draft.
As it turns out, the Buffaloes are indeed trending toward history. But it’s the sort they’d prefer avoiding.
The only winless, 0-5 team within the Big 12 Conference, CU will look to avoid the program’s second 0-6 start within league play over the past 37 seasons when it renews a conference rivalry at Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon.
Certainly there have been other conference struggles during that 37-season span. Three consecutive CU teams from 2006-07 (1-7 Big 12 start), 2007-08 (1-7 Big 12 start) and 2008-09 (1-15 finish in Big 12), all posted ugly marks in conference play, yet all three of those teams managed to earn wins within the first five league games. None of them started 0-5, like this year’s team.
The only other CU squad since 1987-88 to start at least 0-6 in league play was the Derrick White-led team of 2016-17, which started 0-7 in the Pac-12. But that group still featured a veteran-heavy lineup with two future NBA draft picks (White and George King), and it managed to finish the regular season 8-3 and sneak into the NIT.
The likelihood of what has looked like an overmatched Buffs club in Big 12 games pulling off a similar rally seems less likely with every exasperating defeat. Particularly since a handful of winnable games already have slipped away, while many of the Big 12’s heavyweights are still ahead on the schedule.
Head coach Tad Boyle continued to applaud his team’s focus and resiliency. The Buffs might be mistake-prone, but they aren’t getting blown out and have put themselves in position to win four of the five Big 12 games.
“They’re competing. They’re playing hard. We’re coming up a little bit short,” Boyle said. “We’ve got character on this team, so I believe in these guys still. The last three games could’ve gone either way. They didn’t go our way. They didn’t go our way because we didn’t make them go our way. We’re not consistent enough at the things we need to be consistent at to win games.
“But I like this team. I think we’ve got a lot of good players that maybe right now aren’t playing up to their potential. But that’s my job as a coach, to get the most out of them and keep working.”
Wednesday’s loss against Cincinnati marked game No. 16 for CU, the halfway point of a season with 31 regular season games and at least one more in the Big 12 tournament. Already halfway through January as well as a quarter of the league schedule, the Buffs should be in desperation mode.
Play well, and the Buffs have an opportunity to end their drought. Lose against Oklahoma State, which has a home victory against Kansas State to its credit, and CU will have to try to pick up that elusive win against much more daunting competition, beginning next week with a home game against a tough BYU squad followed by a road trip to a suddenly resurgent Arizona.
“It would be a big step in the right direction for us, to get a win under our belts and get on track,” CU guard Julian Hammond III said. “Our schedule does get a lot harder, but we can’t worry about who we’re playing and stuff like that. We’ve just got to go out there and win games.”
CU Buffs men’s basketball at Oklahoma State Cowboys
TIPOFF: Saturday, 1 p.m., Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Okla.
TV/RADIO: ESPN+/KOA 850 AM and 94.1 FM.
RECORDS: Colorado 9-7, 0-5 Big 12 Conference; Oklahoma State 9-7, 1-4.
COACHES: Colorado — Tad Boyle, 15th season (307-190, 363-256 overall). Oklahoma State — Steve Lutz, 1st season (9-7, 78-42 overall).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — G Julian Hammond III, 6-2, Sr. (13.7 ppg, 3.3 apg, 2.8 rpg, .403 3%); F Andrej Jakimovski, 6-8, Gr. (10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg); C Elijah Malone, 6-10, Gr. (10.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .610 FG%); F Trevor Baskin, 6-9, Gr. (9.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, .527 FG%); G RJ Smith, 6-3, R-So. (7.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, .490 3%); F Bangot Dak, 6-11, So. (6.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, .494 FG%); F Assane Diop, 6-8, So. (4.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Oklahoma State — F Abou Ousmane, 6-10, Gr. (12.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, .533 FG%); F Marchelus Avery, 6-8, Gr. (12.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg); G Bryce Thompson, 6-6, Gr. (10.3 ppg, 2.6 rpg); G Brandon Newman, 6-5, Gr. (7.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .360 3%); G Khalil Brantley, 6-1, Sr. (7.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg); F Robert Jennings II, 6-7, Jr. (6.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg).
NOTES: This will be the 110th meeting between the programs, with Oklahoma State leading the series 61-48. … The teams have met just once since CU’s last stint in the Big 12 ended after the 2010-11 season. OSU posted a 78-73 win on Dec. 21, 2013 in Las Vegas. … Boyle used his sixth different starting lineup in 16 games during Wednesday’s loss against Cincinnati. Boyle used six in 37 games last year, despite injuries that scuttled the rotation throughout an NCAA Tournament run. … Lutz took over the Oklahoma State program this season after leading three consecutive NCAA Tournament runs — twice at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and again last year at Western Kentucky. … The Cowboys are 6-1 at home, suffering their only loss against then-No. 14 Houston. … CU returns home for a late-night matchup against BYU on Tuesday (9 p.m., ESPNU).