It hasn’t been the sort of consistency anyone associated with the Colorado men’s basketball team would have preferred. But at least the results for the Buffaloes have been consistent since the start of Big 12 Conference play.

Kansas State has been anything but consistent. And in a season of highs and lows for the Wildcats, maybe the Buffs are renewing the rivalry with KSU at the right time, with the Wildcats battling through another low.

As the season rolls into March, the Buffs will face K-State for the first and only time of the regular season when the teams meet for the 145th time Sunday. After facing the Wildcats for the first time this season, the Buffs will meet another conference foe for the first time this year next week at No. 10 Texas Tech. “It’s very unusual to be in conference play and to have a game in March where you’ve never seen them before,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “And we have two of them.”

Kansas State struggled out of the gate in Big 12 play, suffering through an early six-game losing streak. The Wildcats responded though, reeling off six consecutive wins that included marquee victories against Kansas, Arizona and at Iowa State. That run put K-State at 7-6 in the Big 12 and spurred the Wildcats into NCAA Tournament contention.

However, the Wildcats go into Sunday’s game against CU mired in a four-game losing streak. Three of those losses occurred on the road, and the Wildcats played the last two games — losses against the two teams just ahead of CU at the bottom of the Big 12 standings, Arizona State (at home) and at Central Florida — without dynamic wing Coleman Hawkins.Battling a knee injury, Hawkins’ status for Sunday’s matchup remains uncertain. In addition to averaging 10.7 points, Hawkins averages 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

“They’re a totally different team with Coleman Hawkins than they are without him,” Boyle said. “We’ve got to prepare for both scenarios. He’s really important to their team. But they’re really talented. K-State, they’ve got some good wins on their sides. You just don’t know which team you’re going to get. So you’ve got to prepare for the really good one and hopefully you’re on your game.”

CU enters the matchup winless in eight Big 12 road games, but after posting the first Big 12 wins over the past two weekends while also playing tough against some of the league’s top programs along the way, the Buffs still harbor confidence they can make some noise in March. With just one more loss, or one more win by Arizona State, during the final three regular season games, the Buffs will clinch last place in the Big 12. “Our team is not as bad as we’ve been playing,” CU guard Javon Ruffin said. “Unfortunately, I think the lack of wins to start the year kind of got into our heads and kept us down for so long. Once we broke it and got out of our own heads and we finally started to just play. I don’t think anybody is worried about our chances to win these last games. We know we can if we come out and do what we do.”