There have been plenty of negatives. That’s what happens when a team posts its worst start to a conference schedule in 39 years.

Yet after another frustrating defeat, this time a 68-57 setback on Sunday at TCU, Colorado men’s basketball head coach Tad Boyle took a moment to stress the positives. Positives have been in short supply, as the loss at TCU dropped CU to 9-12 overall and 0-10 in the Big 12. But, as was the case in plenty of other near-misses, the Buffs still did a number of things that would have allowed a less turnover-prone team to win on the road.

“We did some good things (at TCU). We really did,” Boyle said. “I thought defensively we did some good things. I thought offensively, we had 19 assists and we had some really good possessions. We just turned the thing over too much. Even down the stretch, we got a few stops, and they got offensive rebounds for buckets.

“Those two things have been our Achilles’ heels all year. But our guys battled. The rebounding battle we won significantly, which really is a step in the right direction for us. We have to build on the positives. That’s what I’m planning on doing.”

CU’s plus-12 rebounding advantage at TCU was by far its best mark in Big 12 play, and its best since outrebounding Harvard by 13 in the fourth game of the season.

Rough road ahead

Like always, the Buffs are trying to handle business one game at a time. Yet they’re well aware the prospect of finally picking up the first Big 12 win becomes exponentially more difficult if it doesn’t happen on Wednesday night at Utah (7 p.m., ESPN+).

Following the match at Utah, the Buffs host No. 5 Houston on Saturday and visit No. 16 Kansas three days later. Later in February, the Buffs play at No. 8 Iowa State and then host Baylor and the Jayhawks in a one-week span.

“It’s for sure getting more challenging because we’re playing a lot of good teams now,” CU forward Andrej Jakimovski said. “We know our record, we don’t deserve that record. We are better than that. We just all want to win. Our chemistry, our togetherness, it’s not going to change throughout the season no matter what.”

Notable

CU forward Bangot Dak ranks fifth in Big 12 games with 2.0 blocked shots per game. … On Monday, Arizona’s Caleb Love was named the Big 12 player of the week, while Baylor’s Robert Wright III landed the newcomer of the week honor. … The Big 12 NET rankings to begin the week: Houston (3), Iowa State (7), Texas Tech (8), Kansas (9), Arizona (11), Baylor (27), BYU (33), West Virginia (40), Cincinnati (53), Arizona State (58), Central Florida (64), TCU (78), Utah (81), Kansas State (82), Colorado (104), Oklahoma State (110). … Saturday’s matchup with No. 5 Houston will be the first between the programs since the Cougars visited Boulder on Dec. 9, 1995.