Experimenting with the starting lineup, particularly this early in the season, hasn’t been the norm for Colorado basketball under head coach Tad Boyle. At least not when an injury isn’t part of the equation.

Yet with a wealth of players adapting to new roles and, in some cases, the Division I level, it’s a testament to the Buffaloes’ depth and versatility, as well as the question marks still to be answered, that Boyle has been more flexible with his lineups so far.

The Buffs, who improved to 4-0 with an 88-66 win against Harvard on Sunday, have featured different starting lineups in each of the past three games. Each time, the shift paid off.

In the first two games, Boyle deployed an opening unit of Julian Hammond III, Javon Ruffin, Andrej Jakimovski, Bangot Dak and Elijah Malone. Last week against Cal State Fullerton, Boyle substituted Assane Diop for Dak in the starting lineup. Diop didn’t attempt a shot but finished with 10 rebounds, while Dak overcame a pair of early turnovers to go 3-for-5 with seven points and five rebounds off the bench.

Diop remained in the starting lineup against Harvard, but this time Boyle substituted Ruffin with Trevor Baskin in the starting five. Baskin went 6-for-8 with 13 points and seven rebounds in his first turnover-free game with the Buffs. Ruffin came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points.

Prior to starting them together in the first two games, Boyle said during the preseason he wasn’t certain Hammond and Ruffin would start together, if only because Ruffin is probably the top option at the point after Hammond. Given the Buffs’ versatility, and the fact there isn’t an established starter at this level on the roster besides Jakimovski, this might be the season that Boyle makes more frequent lineup adjustments based on matchups.

“We have lineups that can do a lot of different things. We’ve just got to continue to be good at what we’re doing,” Boyle said. “And we’ve got to have the flexibility to be able to change throughout the game, and keep other teams and guards off-balance.

“We’ve got a rotation of 11 guys. And I feel really comfortable with all 11. Hard to get them all minutes every night. But it’s a long season. So we’re going to need all 11 at some point. They’ve just got to keep understanding that that’s a sacrifice they have to make as players. I feel good with where we are right now doing that. But we’ve got to continue it when bumps in the road come.”

Weekly honors

For the second consecutive week, Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week.

The 7-foot Dickinson enjoyed a huge game against Michigan State, which Colorado will see next week in its opening game of the Maui Invitational.

Dickinson posted the 50th double-double of his career against the Spartans, going 13-for-21 from the field before finishing with 28 points and 12 rebounds. He also added a career-high three steals. Dickinson added 10 points and nine rebounds in a win against Oakland.

Also like last week, BYU freshman Egor Demin shared the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honor, this time with Arizona State guard Joson Sanon.

Demin went 6-for-9 with 14 points and five assists in a win against Queens (N.C.) before recording 16 points, seven assists, three steals and three blocked shots against Idaho. Sanon was key in ASU’s win against Grand Canyon, scoring 21 points. Sanon went 8-for-12 on 3-pointers in two games.

Notable

CU was off on Monday and will resume practice on Tuesday, ahead of next week’s battle against Michigan State on the opening day of the Maui Invitational. Tipoff next Monday is at 3 p.m. MT on ESPN2. … The Buffs will travel to Hawaii on Friday. … Among the Big 12 entrants in the latest Associated Press Top 25 released on Monday, Kansas retained its grip on No. 1. Iowa State moved up two spots to No. 5 and Houston climbed a spot to No. 7, while Arizona dropped eight spots to No. 17 after a loss at Wisconsin. Baylor (13) and Cincinnati (18) rounded out the Big 12 spots.