It may not have been as bold and defiant a declaration as the one legendary New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath made before Super Bowl III. But Colorado freshman Sebastian Rancik believes a long-anticipated victory finally is on the horizon.

If Rancik and the Buffaloes can play similarly to how they did in a losing effort on Tuesday at No. 17 Kansas, there is a reasonable chance the boast will turn into reality.

Despite a commendable second-half comeback and a breakout game from Rancik, Colorado’s losing streak reached 13 games with a 71-59 setback at KU — the Buffs’ 31st consecutive loss in Lawrence and their 21st consecutive in true road games against ranked foes.

Still, in a season in which progress has been difficult to measure, the Buffs have gone toe-to-toe with two of the top programs in the Big 12 in the past two losses against Houston and KU.

After a strong but still flawed showing at Kansas, Rancik and the Buffs are turning their focus to a struggling Central Florida team, which visits the CU Events Center on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+).

“I’m 100% confident that on Saturday, we’re going to get our first (Big 12) win,” said Rancik, who posted season-highs of 19 points and nine rebounds against the Jayhawks. “This team, (our) morale is pretty well in comparison to our record. We just want to win, all of us in the locker room. There’s no doubt in my mind that on Saturday against UCF we’ll get it done.

“We have a great group of guys who love each other in the locker room. Every game, we’re learning to play more and more for each other. That’s going to be the key down the road. If we do that, I have no doubt in my mind we can go on a little run here.”

Saturday might not be the Buffs’ final chance for a victory this season. Yet it might be the best.

CU’s previous date against UCF arguably was the closest of the handful of near-misses the Buffs have suffered during their 0-13 start in the Big 12.

The Buffs dropped a one-point decision at UCF on Jan. 8 despite owning a three-point lead with the ball with less than three minutes remaining.

The Buffs even held the Knights without a field goal down during that final span, but poor execution at crunch time along with a season-high 22 turnovers doomed CU to defeat.

UCF has visited Boulder just once, with the Buffs posting a 96-87 win on Jan. 3, 2007. This time, the Knights bring a five-game losing streak to Boulder, with losses in seven of their past eight games.

“I’m like our players. I want results, and I want wins,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “I’m not saying our team hasn’t gotten better in certain areas. They haven’t gotten better at areas that we need to get better at to win a game. And that’s defending — you don’t come into Allen Fieldhouse and give up 57% in the first half and expect to win. It’s rebounding. You don’t give a team nine offensive rebounds and expect to win.”