There is no doubt that Colorado has been a pleasant surprise this year, and you can attribute the success to both the veterans and underclassmen's comradery.
With the 84-73 victory over a pesky Portland State squad Wednesday night, Colorado surpassed the expectations of many by going 10-1 to start the season.
Tad Boyle has brought in a solid group of freshmen, led by Isaiah Johnson and Alon Michaeli. Those two continue to propel a bench unit that is 18th in the nation in scoring averaging 36.2 points per contest.
There has only been one blemish for Colorado, which was an opportunity at a Quad 1 victory on the road against rival Colorado State. The Buffs squandered a lead late and had Boyle visibly upset after the loss.
There are three nonconference games that Colorado has left before they face the Big 12 gauntlet.
As for the NET Rankings, Colorado is currently 48th according to NCAA.com.
Colorado sits at No. 48 in the NCAA's NET Rankings
Colorado has only had one opportunity at a Quad 1 game (Colorado State), and one opportunity at a Quad 2 (Washington).
As far as Quad 3 and Quad 4 go, they are 4-0 and 5-0 respectively.
There are a number of metrics Ken Pomeroy uses to qualify his rankings over at kenpom.com, and he isn't sold on Colorado just yet.
Pomeroy has Colorado ranked 64th, just two spots below a solid Colorado State team at 62nd.
In comparison, Washington, who Colorado beat in the Acrisure Holiday Classic, is ranked 46th.
To be completely fair, the Huskies were missing standout freshman Hannes Steinbach in that matchup.
Colorado’s offense has been high-powered so far this season, averaging 88.0 points per game. Their offensive rating is 119.1 on KenPom’s metrics, good for 38th in the nation. Defense, on the other hand, hasn’t been their strong suit, compiling a 106.1 rating which is good for 130th.
Colorado will need to make sure they take care of business before Big 12 play approaches.