San Diego @ Colorado preview

Colorado's Tad Boyle told anyone that would listen before the season that he had one of the top freshmen in the country in McKinley Wright IV. The point guard hasn't done anything to diminish his coach's feelings and will put his vast skills on display again when the Buffaloes host stingy San Diego on Tuesday in a matchup of 7-2 teams.

Wright averages team highs of 15.7 points and 4.2 assists while shooting 51.9 percent from the field and contributing 5.3 rebounds - second on the team. The Minnesota native recorded 16 points, five assists and four rebounds in Saturday's 96-69 loss at No. 9 Xavier on Saturday, a setback that Boyle hopes will somehow improve the Buffaloes. "This is an opportunity for us to learn to get better. Not necessarily from our own mistakes, but from what Xavier does well,'' Boyle told reporters. "This should be an eye-opener for our guys." The Toreros are coming off a 79-51 rout of Northern Arizona on Saturday in which they led 26-3 and allow 59.7 points per game, the seventh-fewest nationally entering Monday.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT SAN DIEGO (7-2): Junior forward Isaiah Pineiro, who leads the team in scoring (15.7 points) and rebounding (6.3), recorded a season-high 23 points in the Toreros' 65-60 victory at New Mexico State on Wednesday. Junior guard Isaiah Wright (13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists) missed a triple-double by one rebound in a 72-62 victory at Grand Canyon on Nov. 25. Junior guard Tyler Williams is averaging 12 points in his last two games - his third and fourth of the season after recovering from a broken big toe - and is among five players averaging more than 25 minutes.

ABOUT COLORADO (7-2): Senior guard George King (14.4 points, team-best 8.8 rebounds) is averaging 16.8 points and 9.8 boards over his last five games after recording 15 and eight versus Xavier. Junior guard Namon Wright (12.2 points) scored 20 and recorded a career-high six steals Saturday, and is 3-for-6 from 3-point range in his last two games after starting the season 4-for-20. Senior forward Tory Miller-Stewart (6.2 points, 4.7 rebounds) has missed the last three games with what is likely a season-ending foot injury, so 7-0 freshman forward Dallas Walton and 6-10 sophomore forward Lucas Siewert (combined 7.1 points, 6.9 rebounds) must step up.

TIP-INS

1. The Buffaloes boast 11 players who are averaging at least 12 minutes with McKinley Wright (32.4), King (26.9) and Namon Wright (25.2) leading the way.

2. Opponents are shooting a nation-low 22.4 percent beyond the arc against San Diego.

3. McKinley Wright's string of nine games with 10 or more points to start his career is the longest such run at Colorado since Alec Burks of the Utah Jazz reached double figures in his first 20 games of the 2009-10 campaign.

PREDICTION: San Diego 72, Colorado 68