It’s not one issue that has hamstrung the Colorado men’s basketball team through the futility of the start of its return season in the Big 12.

Some nights, the Buffs are lagging on the glass. On most, they’ve come up short defensively. Turnovers have been a consistent shortcoming. Lately, a team expected to be solid from long range has been laying bricks.

Buff fans get the point. CU has developed nothing to hang its collective hat on, and the combination of inexperience and the lack of a go-to player at crunch time have only compounded the team’s myriad shortcomings.

It’s a glut of frustrations the Buffs are desperate to reverse as a losing streak continues to inch toward historic proportions. Colorado takes another shot at its elusive first win in Big 12 play at home against BYU on Tuesday night.

“I thought we’d be a better shooting team for sure. I thought we’d shoot the ball better from the perimeter than we’re shooting,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “I thought we’d be better defensively. I thought we’d be better rebounding. I thought we’d be better at taking care of the ball. The only identity this team has is we’re a good free throw shooting team. That’s the only thing right now that we’re doing well right now relatively consistently.”

The Buffs hit a new low with their loss on Saturday at Oklahoma State, a setback that dropped them to 0-6 in the league. CU surrendered 83 points against a Cowboys squad that averaged just 61.5 in its previous five Big 12 games. The Buffs went 5-for-22 on 3-pointers, dropping their 3-point percentage in league games to .274, which ranks 14th in the 16-team league. OSU entered the game shooting .362 in Big 12 games, the bottom mark in the conference, but shot 46% against the Buffs.

For a team floundering on defense, a visit from high-scoring BYU presents another tough challenge. The Cougars are coming off a gut-wrenching, one-point overtime loss at rival Utah, and BYU’s balanced and fast-paced offense will test a CU team that committed 29 fouls at OSU — the Buffs’ highest total in nearly nine years. BYU freshman Egor Demin has brought a Magic Johnson vibe to the Big 12 as a 6-foot-9 point guard who began the week ranked third in the Big 12 at 5.7 assists per game.

Offensively, the Buffs should have opportunities against a BYU defense that started the week ranked 10th in league games in defensive field goal percentage (.432) and 12th in defensive 3-point percentage (.346). Yet the Buffs’ recent cold snap, combined with a Big 12-most 16.7 turnovers per game in conference play, continues to put pressure on a CU defense that so far hasn’t been up to the task in the Big 12.

“I think, one through nine, they’re the most talented team we’ve played offensively,” Boyle said. “They run good stuff, they’ve got really good players, they’ve got an elite passing, 6-foot-9 point guard. They’re really good, talent-wise. They can shoot the ball from a lot of different positions. BYU is a hell of a lot better than their 2-4 league record, I can tell you that. Watching them on the tape, outside of Iowa State they’re the best team we’ve played in the Big 12. On tape. I haven’t seen them in person. They could easily be 4-2, not 2-4. Very talented team.”