CU Buffs basketball to host TCU in Big 12 Conference matchup

There still will be plenty of basketball to play after the upcoming week.

Yet if Colorado wants to avoid spiraling into another last-place finish in the Big 12 Conference, the upcoming week will be critical.

CU is coming off its worst performance of the season, dropping a 30-point decision at No. 8 Iowa State on Wednesday, a result that extended the Buffs’ losing streak to six games. But a run of three matchups more favorable to the Buffs begins on Sunday, as they host TCU.

Even CU head coach Tad Boyle, an avowed follower of the one-game-at-a-time approach, didn’t mince words when asked about the importance of the upcoming week.

“Very important,” Boyle said. “This is a huge week. It’s the biggest week of our season.”

The Buffs’ six-game losing streak is the third-longest in 16 seasons under Boyle. A loss against TCU would match the second-longest streak of Boyle’s tenure, which was an 0-7 start in Pac-12 play during the 2016-17 season.

Yet the fate the Buffs truly are trying to avoid is the one suffered by last year’s CU team, which started 0-13 in Big 12 play before finishing last. The Buffs already have two Big 12 wins to their credit, but if Colorado stumbles through the upcoming week, the schedule says wins will be more difficult to earn through the bulk of February.

Following the home matchup against TCU, the Buffs visit a Baylor squad that has struggled so far and has not yet won a Big 12 home game. Granted, the Bears have hosted three of the league’s best — Iowa State, Houston and Texas Tech — but Baylor also lost at home against TCU.

Following the trip to Baylor, the Buffs host Arizona State, which they defeated on the road to open Big 12 play. On the other side of the upcoming week, the Buffs face road dates at a pair of top 15 teams, No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 13 BYU. If the Buffs don’t right the ship this week, the struggles might worsen to the extent that a second consecutive last-place finish would become an alarming possibility.

For his part, Boyle believes the fight that served the Buffs so well during the bulk of nonconference play is still simmering within the club.

“(Saturday’s) practice was a step in the right direction,” Boyle said. “There’s no question the fight’s there. As much as we took a (butt-kicking) in Ames, our guys didn’t give up. You’ve got to build on the positives. We shot 50% in the second half. We only turned the ball over 10 times against a really, really good defense.