It goes without saying the Colorado men’s basketball team is desperate to stop the bleeding.

As the Buffaloes have learned so rudely thus far in the program’s return to the Big 12 Conference, wins won’t come easily within league play. Still, if the Buffaloes don’t end their winless start in league play this weekend, the degree of difficulty for breaking into the win column will only increase.

CU let another potential victory slip away on Wednesday night, as the battle of the Big 12’s only winless teams went to Cincinnati in a 68-62 decision. Shorthanded against the Bearcats and reeling from a number of recent near-misses, the Buffs will look to end their slide on Saturday in the program’s first visit to Oklahoma State in 15 years (1 p.m., ESPN+).

The Buffs should be closer to full strength, as head coach Tad Boyle on Thursday said RJ Smith had returned to practice and is expected to play at Oklahoma State. Center Elijah Malone, who is dealing with a back issue, was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice but could return on Saturday as well.

Even at full strength, though, CU has struggled to finish games.

Against the Bearcats, a second-half surge gave the Buffs a one-point lead with 4 minutes, 20 seconds remaining. But CU proceeded to break down defensively, miss key free throws, and get outscored 18-11 the rest of the way.

Days earlier, the Buffs rallied to within two points of West Virginia on five separate occasions in the second half, only to falter down the stretch. Last week, the Buffs owned a three-point lead and had the ball with less than 3 minutes remaining at Central Florida but still managed to lose despite holding the Knights without another field goal.

Even in the Big 12 opener against Iowa State, a top-five team for much of the season, CU battled into a five-point lead midway through the second half and trailed by just a point with 4:59 to play. ISU outscored the Buffs 15-6 the rest of the way.

Asked following Wednesday’s loss what falling short in so many close calls says about his team, CU head coach Tad Boyle didn’t mince words.

“Bad coaching,” Boyle said. “If your team doesn’t execute down the stretch, it’s on you. Can’t get a stop down the stretch, it’s on you. Can’t get a great shot. All I want is great shots for our team. I can’t make the shots for them, but we’ve got to get great shots. And in order to win games down the stretch, you have to have players that make plays. Where I’ve got to do a better job of (is) crafting some stuff offensively for them. Have them more sound defensively where we’re not breaking down.”

CU (9-7, 0-5 Big 12) played without Smith and Malone against Cincinnati after both players were forced to the sideline during Sunday’s loss against West Virginia.

Smith was a full participant during Thursday’s workout. His return could provide a boost to a Buffs attack that has shot just .286 from 3-point range through the first five Big 12 games. Despite going just 1-for-10 in his past three games, Smith still sports a team-high .490 3-point percentage.

CU has faced two of the top 3-point defenses in the Big 12 the past two games in West Virginia and Cincinnati, but Oklahoma State is ranked 14th in the conference in defensive 3-point percentage (.360).

“RJ practiced (Thursday). He’s feeling good,” Boyle said. “Elijah is getting closer and closer. He did some non-contact stuff (Thursday) so we’ll see about him. But we expect to have RJ back.”