Last season, Colorado won just nine games.
Coach Jeff Bzdelik was in his second season at the helm, but he wasn't seeing results. During the meat of its Big 12 schedule, CU lost 12 of 14 games and didn't win a conference road game all season.
But to Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford, there's something different in Boulder, Colo., this season.
"I'll tell you, watching them on tape, they're just not the same team they were last year," Ford said. "They're a totally different basketball team. A team that looks like they come ready to play every night. They've been in just about every game and have won some really impressive basketball games."
Luckily for Colorado, the process of turning around the Buffaloes is business as usual for Bzdelik.
In his two seasons at Air Force, before leaving for Colorado (11-12, 2-7 Big 12), Bzdelik turned a successful program into an NCAA Tournament contender. Before that, he coached the NBA's Denver Nuggets to a 26-game improvement in 2003-04 and the franchise's first playoff appearance since 1995.
Now, in his third season as head coach of the Buffaloes, who were 7-20 the year before his arrival, Bzdelik's rebuilding efforts are finally coming to fruition.
"We're building," Bzdelik said in the Big 12 coaches' teleconference. "It's been a slow process, and we're getting better."
Despite Colorado's 2-7 conference record, Bzdelik embraces the competition of the Big 12. For him, it is simply another challenge.
"Like I said a couple of years ago when I first came onboard, I have both eyes open," Bzdelik said. "I've had a lot of time, and I understand what I'm up against. That doesn't make me fearful. I like the competitiveness, the challenge to see if I can build a program here at Colorado within what I think is the best league in the nation."
Freshman guard Alec Burks has been a key element in Colorado's improvement this season. Burks signed with Colorado in November 2008, prior to his senior season. He was under the radar at the time, being recruited mostly by Colorado and Kansas State.
The 6-foot-6 Burks has scored in double figures in all but two of the Buffs' games this season. He played two minutes in the first of those games before a knee injury sidelined him for the next game. The guard scored 27 points in his first game back from the injury, and he leads the Big 12 in field-goal percentage.
Bzdelik said the guard will be the player opposing teams key in on throughout his career, but he will need to accept this pressure.
"I'm sure he'll be the focus of our opponents in their game plan, their defensive game plan," Bzdelik said. "He's going to have to understand that now, but he's a bright young man."
Burks is one of seven underclassmen on the Buffaloes' roster. He is second on the team in points per game (16.8), behind junior guard Cory Higgins (18.0).
Ford, the Oklahoma State coach, said the scoring of Burks coupled with Higgins and Marcus Relphorde - a transfer from Saint Louis who is the team's third-leading scorer - shows Colorado's great improvements from last season.
"They've done a great job, and Jeff's done a great job putting this team together," Ford said. "They've improved their talent. If you look at their second- and third-leading scorers, they're new players on their team. Cory Higgins, as good as he was last year, he's even better this year."
Despite averaging fewer minutes per game, Higgins is recording career-highs in both points per game and field-goal percentage. The guard is tied for second in the conference in steals per game with 1.9.
Higgins' premier performance of the season came in an 18-point effort in the Buffaloes' upset of then-No. 24 Baylor. Higgins scored 16 in the second half to lead Colorado to its second victory against a ranked opponent since 2003.
Ford said part of Colorado's development comes from a new attitude. The team, he says, is prepared for any and all opponents.
Texas head coach Rick Barnes is confident, though, in Bzdelik's ability to continue to grow Colorado's program similar to the turnaround he orchestrated with the Denver Nuggets.
"First of all, you know, Jeff is truly one of the great coaches," Barnes said. "He gets as much or more out of players as you'll ever see. His teams understand exactly what they want. He puts them in the best position to win basketball games ...
"They execute. They do everything."
Game of the week: Mississippi vs. Mississippi State, Feb. 11, 9 p.m., ESPN
Considering that this is rivalry week, there are several interesting games to choose from, including the Battle of Tobacco Road between Duke and North Carolina (Wednesday, 9 p.m.) and the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pittsburgh (Friday, 9 p.m.). For a more obscure basketball rivalry, though, check out Mississippi and Mississippi State.
This meeting of in-state rivals has the potential to be a classic with only half a game separating the teams in the Southeastern Conference standings.
After starting the season 12-2, Ole Miss has struggled since losing the first meeting of the season with its hated rivals from Starkville, Miss., and will be looking for revenge.
The player to watch is MSU's senior forward Jarvis Varnado (13.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and five blocks per game). Ole Miss simply cannot measure up with Varnado's inside presence.
The Bulldogs sweep the season series, 77-67.
Player of the week: Jeff Foote, Cornell, C
The 7-foot center from Lockwood, N.Y. scored 15 and 17, respectively, in the Big Red's conference victories against Yale and Brown.
Cornell is undefeated in Ivy League play and receiving votes in the Associated Press poll.
jflaboon@syr.edu
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