The careers of guards Julian Hammond III and Javon Ruffin have run the gamut at Colorado.

Part of a 2021 recruiting class that was the highest-rated group in the history of the CU men’s basketball program, Hammond and Ruffin arrived on the heels of the Buffaloes’ run to the Pac-12 title game and the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2021. They were part of a group that did the same last year.

On either side of last year’s run, however, nothing has been achieved easily for that 2021 recruiting class.

While Hammond has been a steady backcourt contributor, Ruffin’s effectiveness was limited by knee injuries during his first three seasons. Two other members of that recruiting class transferred after two seasons in center Lawson Lovering, who contributed in the rotation for two seasons, and Quincy Allen, who barely played and now is with his third team in as many years at Chicago State. And then there was KJ Simpson, whose monster 2023-24 season might have single-handedly fulfilled the expectations of the entire recruiting class.

Hammond and Ruffin are the last ones at CU, and the Buffs’ struggles this year have been a stark and unwelcome contrast to the program-record 26 wins recorded last year. Playing for the seniors became a rallying cry for head coach Tad Boyle in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday’s loss at No. 9 Texas Tech, and the Buffs will honor their departing seniors while trying to avoid a historic 20th loss when they host TCU in the regular season finale on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+).

Hammond and Ruffin will be honored alongside graduate transfers Andrej Jakimovski and Trevor Baskin, in addition to walk-on Jack Pease. Hammond’s status for the game remains questionable due to a back injury that sidelined him at Texas Tech.

“The seniors are a big part of our program,” CU freshman forward Sebastian Rancik said. “Me personally, I appreciate them a ton. Saturday is going to be about them. I’ll go out there to compete for them and hope they have a good (game) and hopefully end it on a good note.”

Good notes, of course, have been few and far between for CU, which already has recorded the most conference losses in program history (2-17) and, at 11-19 overall, has posted the highest loss total in 15 seasons under Boyle. The next defeat will clinch the eighth 20-loss season in program history, and the first in 16 years.

A win against TCU, which defeated the Buffs in Fort Worth, Texas, on Feb. 2, wouldn’t change that fate. Or CU’s status as the last seed at next week’s Big 12 tournament. But a victory certainly would inspire a few farewell smiles to cap a regular season that has enjoyed few.

“Play for our seniors. Play for somebody outside of yourself, and hopefully you can gain some inspiration and some motivation from that,” Boyle said. “Not just playing for yourself, but playing for those seniors who’ve given everything they have this year. We’ve had a disappointing year, there’s no doubt about it. But it’s your last home game and we’ve got to play for them. That’s what Saturday’s going to be all about.”