In a surprising move this season, Colorado basketball coach Tad Boyle has been shaking up his starting lineup more than usual, especially since no major injuries have forced his hand. The Buffaloes are benefiting from having a deep roster filled with versatile players, many of whom are adjusting to new roles or stepping up to the Division I level for the first time. This flexibility in the team is allowing Boyle to experiment and keep his opponents guessing.

Colorado’s recent victory over Harvard, an 88-66 win that pushed the Buffs to a 4-0 start, is proof that the lineup changes are working. Over the last three games, Boyle has started different groups of players each time—and so far, it’s paid off.

In the first two games of the season, Boyle’s starting five included Julian Hammond III, Javon Ruffin, Andrej Jakimovski, Bangot Dak, and Elijah Malone. But against Cal State Fullerton, Boyle made a swap, replacing Dak with Assane Diop in the starting lineup. While Diop didn’t take any shots in that game, he made his presence felt by grabbing 10 rebounds. Dak also bounced back from some early mistakes to contribute 7 points and 5 rebounds coming off the bench.

Boyle kept Diop in the starting lineup for the Harvard game but switched out Ruffin for Trevor Baskin. This change proved successful as Baskin delivered 13 points and 7 rebounds without committing a single turnover. Meanwhile, Ruffin came off the bench and had a breakout performance, scoring a career-high 15 points.

During the preseason, Boyle wasn’t sure if Hammond and Ruffin would start together regularly, largely because Ruffin might be the best option at point guard behind Hammond. But with so much depth on the roster and only Jakimovski being an established starter at this level, Boyle might continue to adjust his lineup based on matchups throughout the season.

Boyle emphasized that having flexibility is key for keeping opposing teams off-balance. “We have lineups that can do a lot of different things,” Boyle said. “We just need to stay good at what we’re doing. We’ve got a rotation of 11 guys, and I feel comfortable with all of them. It’s tough to get them all playing time every night, but it’s a long season. We’re going to need everyone at some point.”

In other news around college basketball, Kansas’ star big man Hunter Dickinson was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Week for the second week in a row. The 7-footer had a monster game against Michigan State, which Colorado will face next week in their first game of the Maui Invitational. Dickinson recorded his 50th career double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds, along with a career-high three steals.

Meanwhile, BYU freshman Egor Demin shared the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award with Arizona State guard Joson Sanon. Demin put up strong performances against Queens (N.C.) and Idaho, while Sanon was critical in ASU’s win over Grand Canyon, hitting 8 of 12 three-pointers across two games.

Colorado is set to face Michigan State on Monday (Nov. 25) in their Maui Invitational opener. The game tips off at 3 p.m. MT on ESPN2. Before then, the Buffs will head to Hawaii on Friday for final preparations.

Among Big 12 teams in the latest AP Top 25 rankings, Kansas held onto the No. 1 spot. Iowa State climbed to No. 5, Houston moved up to No. 7, while Arizona dropped to No. 17 after losing to Wisconsin. Baylor and Cincinnati also made the list at No. 13 and No. 18 respectively.