The Colorado men’s basketball team has been able to overpower, and out-talent, its first four opponents.

The Buffaloes are traveling a long way to face a whole new ball game.

On Monday, the Buffs will face Michigan State in the opening round of the Maui Invitational, one of the most highly regarded of college basketball’s early-season tournaments. It will be a powerhouse field as the tournament returns to Maui after being relocated to Honolulu in 2023 following the Maui wildfire.

CU head coach Tad Boyle has described the tournament as a mid-term exam, with three games in three days against teams bigger and more skilled than the ones the Buffs took care of during their 4-0 start. The Buffs are looking at the tournament as an opportunity to show they plan to be much better than the team picked 15th in the 16-team Big 12 preseason coaches’ poll.

“(Michigan State) has a good team. I’m not taking that away,” CU forward Assane Diop said. “But it’s not about them. What I feel like is this game can maybe change how people see us as a program. We’re 4-0 right now and just trying to go get a (win).”

The Buffs essentially had two days of activities, and practice, scheduled after traveling to Maui on Friday. It is the first time CU has played in the Maui Invitational since 2009, but the Buffs have enjoyed plenty of tropical business trips during Boyle’s tenure, now in its 15th season. Boyle’s CU clubs have twice played in the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, in 2014 and 2018. More recently, the Buffs played three games at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands in November 2021.

“I want our guys to enjoy the experience. Part of college basketball is enjoying experiences like this,” Boyle said. “Whether you’re going to a warm place or you’re going to New York City or you’re going to wherever. So I want them to enjoy the experience.

“But I also want them to compartmentalize and understand when is the time for business and when is the time to relax and enjoy themselves, which I want them to do to a certain degree. We’ve got to do a good job as a coaching staff of being crystal clear on when those times are. Then it’s up to them to concentrate on the task at hand.”

A rugged field awaits the Buffs with four of the top 10 teams in the latest Associated Press Top 25 on display.

In the second game on Tuesday, CU will play either Memphis, coached by former NBA great Penny Hardaway, or second-ranked, two-time defending national champion UConn. In the opposite bracket, No. 10 North Carolina opens on Monday against Dayton, while No. 4 Auburn and No. 5 Iowa State square off in a first round matchup worthy of a title game, or even a Final Four showdown.

For the Buffs, the actual results might be secondary to making certain they bring the requisite energy and intensity to the floor against the sort of foes they will see on a regular basis once Big 12 play begins.

“Concentration is a skill that not all of our players have,” Boyle said. “The ones that don’t have it, we’ve got to sharpen it. It starts in practice and the film room, and understanding what your job is and going out and doing it.”