Growing pains were all but certain to be part of the equation this season. So that part of the early reviews for the Colorado men’s basketball team hardly is a surprise.

Still, the mistakes have been plentiful for the Buffaloes despite a 2-0 start. And the alarming part for head coach Tad Boyle might be that some of the most glaring miscues, particularly at crunch time during CU’s 90-88 double-overtime win against Northern Colorado on Friday, have been committed by CU’s relatively few experienced players.

Beyond simply cutting down the landslide of turnovers — the Buffs have committed 39 in two games — Boyle wants his team to start playing smarter as CU turns its focus to a Wednesday home date against Cal State Fullerton (7 p.m., ESPN+).

“I’ve asked my team: let’s play hard, let’s play smart, let’s play together,” Boyle said. “We play hard. Our guys compete, they give you everything they’ve got. We don’t always play smart. And when you have nine assists in a 50-minute game, you’re not playing together offensively.”

Despite the glut of turnovers, the Buffs were in control in the waning moments of regulation against Northern Colorado, taking a six-point lead on a pair of free throws from Elijah Malone with 1 minute, 16 seconds remaining. CU eventually prevailed even with a litany of easily avoidable mistakes the rest of the way.

Following Malone’s free throws, UNC’s Isaiah Hawthorne found an open lane to the basket that turned into a three-point play due to a weak foul by graduate transfer Andrej Jakimovski. After Javon Ruffin gave the Buffs a three-point lead to open the first overtime, CU senior guard Julian Hammond III committed a foul deep in the backcourt, giving UNC a pair of free throws. Late in the second overtime, the Bears had a one-point lead with a minute and a half to go when they grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw. The Buffs got a stop and held off the Bears the rest of the way, but second-chance points for UNC in that situation might’ve reversed the outcome.

The turnovers have arrived from all corners for the Buffs, who racked up four of them on offensive fouls against UNC. While the entire rotation has contributed to the giveaways, the Buffs need Hammond, one of the primary ball-handlers, to reduce his early turnover output. Hammond and Division II transfer Trevor Baskin, who averaged only 2.8 turnovers per game while winning the RMAC player of the year award last season, have combined to commit 41% (16 of 39) of CU’s turnovers. Both players have recorded four in each game.

“It’s concerning. Because I would think they’d know better,” Boyle said. “The turnover issue is a major issue with this team that we’ve got to continue to work on. And we’re going to do that. “Don’t have a lot of experience returning. Got a bunch of new guys. I guess you could say it’s to be expected. But the standards of this program, I don’t want to compromise the standards of this program. So I’ve got to find that balance of being patient and not compromising our standards.”