This year’s Colorado men’s basketball team presents an interesting case study in measuring disappointment against expectation.

An 0-13 start in Big 12 play, which ranks as the second-longest losing streak in program history, certainly was disappointing by any standard. As are a 12-19 overall record, the worst in 15 seasons under head coach Tad Boyle, and a conference record of 3-17 which, thanks to the modern 20-game league schedules, counts as the most conference losses in CU men’s basketball history.

However, the Buffs were picked 15th in the preseason coaches’ poll. Finishing 16th wasn’t that far out of the realm of expectation, and even one win in two tries against 15th-place Arizona State would’ve landed CU exactly where it was expected.

Compared to, as one example, the Derrick White-led 2016-17 team that had NCAA Tournament talent but didn’t get out of the first round of the NIT, was this year’s team more disappointing when balanced against expectations?

Asked that question last week, Boyle said it doesn’t matter. The expectations are the same, and this year’s group fell short.

Yet there remains an opportunity to salvage a memorable finish, as CU returns to the Big 12 Conference tournament for the first time since 2011 with a first-round date on Tuesday afternoon against TCU — a team the Buffs defeated by 20 points in the regular season finale on Saturday.

“My expectations are the same every year. It’s not like I look at certain teams and say, ‘Oh, I expect these guys to win how many games,’” Boyle said. “We expect to be in the top half of our league. We expect to be competing for a high seed in the conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament. So those expectations don’t change based on who we have. It’s just some teams can meet those. And some teams can’t. And this team has not come close to meeting.

“We’re (3-17) in the league. We’re dead last. We’re not competing for the NCAA Tournament. We will be when we play in the (Big 12) tournament.”

A win or even two won’t change the monumental task ahead this offseason for Boyle and his staff to recharge the program. But it would maybe help heal some of this season’s scars for those Buffs players set to return, and CU has a chance to advance against ninth-seeded TCU, a team that struggled in the final weeks of the regular season.

Even when things were going well for TCU, it was defense that set the tone. The other end of the floor has been a different story. Few teams have struggled offensively in the Big 12 more than Colorado, but TCU is probably one of them.

And that’s what makes the opportunity at hand intriguing for the Buffaloes. Few teams have ever entered any conference tournament with an abundance of confidence after winning just three of 20 conference games. But there is a measure of confidence against TCU, as the Buffs posted their best marks of the conference slate in scoring defense (56), defensive field goal percentage (.316) and rebounding margin (plus-16) against the Horned Frogs just a few days ago.

“We’re not a great offensive team. I’m not going to lie to anybody here,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said after his team squandered a chance to secure a first-round bye with its loss at CU. “We’ve been trying to get better. We’ve had some days when it’s been better than others. But we’ve got to hit some shots. Usually we do finish around the basket a little better, but we didn’t (Saturday).

“What our challenge is, when scoring becomes a problem it affects our whole game. That’s kind of what you saw down the stretch there (at CU). You saw all the energy. You saw us fight back and make it a one-point game. Then we don’t make some shots. I think we missed a wide-open three. And then it just kind of affects us. We’ve got to be better.”