Tired of losing?

Evidently, not yet. Not quite.

The Colorado Buffaloes, who coach Jeff Bzdelik said last week would start playing to win when they got tired of losing, came close to beating a good team at home Wednesday night. Close as in a Cory Higgins 3-pointer for a one-point lead over New Orleans with nine seconds left in the game. Close as in needing just one defensive stop to win.

But not close enough to stop New Orleans' Shaun Reynolds from going coast-to-coast for what proved to be the winning basket just five seconds later. Not close enough to even get the ball upcourt for a last-second shot after Reynolds hit a driving layup and a free throw to give the Privateers the lead and ultimately the 67-65 win.

Not close enough — and now, the Big 12 season looms ever closer. Winnable games have slipped away, and instead of building confidence, the 5-5 Buffs are only building their frustration level.

"There wasn't intensity in all five guys on the court," said Buff senior Richard Roby, who had 27 points and 14 rebounds. "You can't have four guys ready to go and one guy not willing to do what it takes. ... You can't just let a man drive by you five straight times. I don't even see how that's possible."

In some respects, there is progress being made. As Bzdelik pointed out, "They lost 20 games last year. They lost by a lot of points. Now we're competitive, but now we have to learn how to win. Wehave to take that next step."

But taking the next step doesn't include the almost inexplicable lapses the Buffs still display far too often.

Wednesday night, the Buffs jumped out to a 16-6 lead. Then, by Bzdelik's count, they committed seven turnovers in the next few minutes, allowing the Privateers to cut the lead to one.

Fast forward to the second half. Midway through the period, Colorado had a seven-point edge after a Roby bucket and free throw. Six minutes later, the lead had turned into a one-point deficit, fueled by a pair of New Orleans layups and ensuing free throws, plus a long 3-pointer. CU did come back to take the lead twice in the final two minutes, but both times, New Orleans regained the edge by virtue of a layup and an "and one."

"I can't explain it," senior Marcus Hall said. "At worst, we should be 8-2. We're giving away games. We've got to get everybody out there willing to sacrifice and do the right thing."

Bzdelik agrees — but he's by no means absolving his seniors of their responsibility in CU's inability to put forth a wire-to-wire effort.

"We missed nine layups in the second half," Bzdelik said. "On the flip side, we can't contain the ball. We never took a charge. We knew it had to be a wire-to-wire game and we didn't do that. We let up.

"Everybody needs to look at themselves. Believe me. Everybody. Players, coaches, everybody."

Already, Colorado has lost three home games, two of them — New Mexico and New Orleans — games they could have won. With only four games remaining until the Big 12 season begins, there's precious little time to address the problems that are still evident.

"We have to learn how to play 40 minutes of intelligent, hard-nosed basketball," Bzdelik said. "You have to put yourself in position to win, and I think we've done that — but now we have to take that next step."

There are stretches when the Buffs play the way Bzdelik envisions. Desperate on the defensive end, smart on the offensive end. But the lapses — turnovers, matador defense and missed layups — are still far too prevalent.

"Successful people only momentarily get discouraged," Bzdelik said. "That's a quote we try to live by."

But unless the Buffs can cure their lapses, there won't be anything momentary about their troubles.