The University of Colorado men’s basketball team is off to one of the best starts in program history and looking to build off that hot start with a two-game home stand this week against two powerhouse Pac-12 programs. Through the months of November and December, the Buffs only dropped two games. Along with only a trio of other losses, the Buffs are headed into Wednesday night’s game against Stanford at 15-5 (4-3 Pac-12) with a chance to gain separation on the Cardinal (11-7, 4-3) in the conference.

Tuesday afternoon, Buffs head coach Tad Boyle joined The Irv and Joe Show on Mile High Sports AM 1340 to talk about his program’s recent success and the depth on his roster that’s made this run possible in the highly competitive Pac-12.

“It’s eight teams within one game [of each other],” Boyle said in reference to the Pac-12 standings. “Things will start separating this week and you’ve got to win at home. And we’re home this week, so it’ll be a great opportunity for us.”

The Buffs’ most recent game came last Saturday against Washington State, a conference rival. CU won by a five-point margin 75-70. “Xavier [Talton] was the difference in the game,” Boyle said in reference to the senior from Serling, Colo. Talton went 4-for-4 from the free throw line which is the kind of consistency coaches look for the clock is winding down.

“I always get asked who are going to be the starting five. I almost never get asked, who are you going to have at the end of the game, and thats really the crucial part,” Boyle said before dropping Talton’s name into the mix.

Another important name that has come to mean a lot on and off the court for Buffs fans is senior, Josh Scott (Monument, Colo.). “When that kid graduates, a piece of me will die,” Boyle mentioned. “He will go down as one of the University of Colorado basketball greats. He’s been an unbelievable kid on our campus, in our community. I mean I can’t say enough about him; you hate to see those guys go.”

As the Buffs prepare to take on the Stanford Cardinal this Wednesday, they will be preparing for yet another close game. “These games all seem to come down to the final two minutes. The conference seem to be more balanced, with no easy standouts,” Boyle told Irv and Joe.

That shows in the standings as eight of the 12 teams have winning conference records; eleven have winning records and at least 10 wins already.

Colorado will look to get separation from not only the Cardinal this week, but also Cal, whom they face on Sunday. The Bears are also 4-3 in the Pac-12 and trail CU in the standings only because of their 14-6 overall record.

Listen to the full conversation between Irv and Joe and Colorado Buffs head coach Tad Boyle in the podcast below…

Catch The Irv and Joe Show every weekday from 1p-9p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 or stream live any time for Denver’s biggest lineup covering what’s new and what’s next in Colorado sports.