GAME NOTES: With their sights set on redemption, the Colorado Buffaloes entertain the Drexel Dragons to kick off the 2014-15 season at Coors Events Center.

The last time the Buffaloes were in action they were coming off the court at the Amway Center in Orlando following a 77-46 embarrassment against Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. It was a miserable way to end a season for a team that clawed its way to 23 wins, despite losing leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie for the second half of the season. While the ending to last season was far from ideal, the Buffaloes have been on a tremendous rise the last four seasons, the first under Tad Boyle. They have won at least 21 games in each season, and earned a NCAA Tournament invite the last three.

Drexel, which is now three years removed from a 29-win campaign, was rather ordinary in 2013-14. The Dragons finished at just 16-14 overall, including an even 8-8 split of their Colonial Athletic Association contests. They did not qualify for a postseason tournament and dropped three of their last five games, including back-to-back setbacks against Northeastern.

Both of these teams are starting the season off against an unfamiliar opponent in this one, as Colorado and Drexel have never met previously.

Without Dinwiddie, Colorado went just 9-9. Now the Buffaloes have to prove that they can be better than a .500 squad for an entire season without the 6- foot-6 guard, who decided to turn pro. Askia Booker is now the undisputed top offensive option in the backcourt. Booker is far from efficient, shooting just 38.9 percent from the floor, but he is a fearless shooter, who can drain shots from just about anywhere. He netted 13.7 points and dished out 3.3 assists per game last season. Xavier Johnson (12 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Wesley Gordon (5.9 ppg, 6. rpg) are two long, athletic swing men, who Boyle will utilize in a number of ways. Then, in the frontcourt, Josh Scott (14.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg) should be a double-double threat all season and a potential NBA Draft pick next summer. A real priority for the team will be scoring at a better rate, as the Buffs were next-to-last in the Pac-12 in points (70.2 ppg) and field goal percentage (.435) last season.

Drexel scored at an even slower rate, putting up only 68.8 ppg on 42.1 percent shooting. However, they made some strides defensively, limiting the opposition to 67.3 ppg. There are two returning starters, including Damion Lee (13 ppg), who played only five games last season due to a knee injury. Reserve Tavon Allen is also back in the fold. Allen should be a starter going forward after ranking second on the team in scoring last season (11.7 ppg) despite coming off the bench in 18 of the 28 games in which he appeared. He will need to be a better shooter (.386 FG percentage) than last season, especially as he moves in to help replace Frantz Massenat (17.5 ppg) and Chris Fouch (18.3 ppg). Rodney Williams (5.4 ppg) is the only player back that started more than half of the games he played. The Dragons did lose some depth at the end of October when promising sophomore Major Canady was lost with a right ankle injury.

This will be a nice early test for Colorado, which has the skill to be a contender in the Pac-12, but could also fall back into mediocrity if the team continues to struggle without Dinwiddie. Expect Booker and Scott to be on top of their games and make sure the season starts with a victory.