There still is a game to be played and, like at the Big 12 tournament, maybe still a little pride to be salvaged.

Still, after just the eighth 20-loss season in program history, the end of March is not at all too soon to start looking ahead for the Colorado men’s basketball team.

Colorado head coach Tad Boyle on Friday said he is not expecting further roster departures beyond the two players who entered the transfer portal earlier this week in Courtney Anderson and Harrison Carrington. Carrington still is planning to suit up for CU when the Buffs take on Villanova in the first round of the College Basketball Crown on Tuesday in Las Vegas (6:30 p.m., FS1).

That means the most promising among CU’s young players — Bangot Dak, Sebastian Rancik, RJ Smith, Assane Diop, Felix Kossaras and Andrew Crawford (currently redshirting) — will combine with an incoming class of five freshmen in attempt to turn the fortunes of a program that takes a 14-20 overall record to Vegas.

The Buffs finished last in the Big 12 at 3-17 but reached the quarterfinals of the conference tournament while owning a 5-5 mark over the past 10 games.

“I’m very, very encouraged. Very excited about the players coming back and the players coming in,” Boyle said. “Assuming everything stays the same, we’ll probably add one more.”

With the Buffs also planning to welcome back center Elijah Malone for an unexpected second season in Boulder, and Boyle saying the program plans to remain at 13 scholarship players even with roster limits changing in college basketball, CU will be in the market for just one player this spring via the transfer portal. The Buffs also have enjoyed spring success landing additional incoming freshmen whose recruitment re-opened late due to coaching changes, a route that brought former standout point guards McKinley Wright IV and KJ Simpson to CU.

Point guard once again appears to be the most glaring need for CU, but Boyle expressed confidence in the mix of returning guards and incoming guards projected for next season. Kossaras played sparingly for much of the season but put together a solid late surge.

Among the incoming backcourt players, Colorado native Josiah Sanders could be the Buffs’ point guard of the future, while classmate Isaiah Johnson could compete for time at the point as well. Jalin Holland, a 6-foot-4 prospect out of Arizona, projects similarly as Smith as a combo guard capable of being a threat from the 3-point arc while also taking reps at the point.

“Best player we can get,” Boyle said of the open scholarship spot. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in the young guys that we signed. Again, I hate to be dependent upon freshmen. But I do expect some of the freshmen that we signed to be playing. I don’t know if all of them will. But certainly, we recruited them all with the idea that they can come in and make an impact. Now, they have to be ready to do that.

“But the returning players, I’m encouraged. I’m encouraged with RJ. I’m encouraged with Felix. I’m encouraged with all of them — Assane and BD and Sebi. Elijah played really well down the stretch. I thought he really adjusted, probably more in the last three to four weeks of the season. And that’s encouraging.”