Tonight, a new era of Buff men's basketball begins.

Colorado officials can only hope this chapter has a different story line than past efforts.

Truth is, it's been more than 40 years since Colorado men's basketball has been truly relevant on the state's sports scene.

In 1962 and '63, the Buffs made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances under Sox Walseth. Since then, the Buffs have:

Returned to the NCAA Tournament just three times;

Had six head coaches pace in front of the bench;

Had a winning record in conference play just nine times in 44 seasons;

Played before crowds that are annually among the smallest in the conference in an arena that has been virtually unchanged since the day it opened in 1979.

Simply, in a state in which there is no shortage of teams to vie for fans' attention, CU basketball has been an afterthought. While there have been occasional bursts of excitement (Cliff Meely in 1968-69; Chauncey Billups in 1996-97), consistency has never been a staple of Buff hoops.

Tonight, new CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik and his staff officially begin the difficult task of trying to erase those decades of indifference when the Buffs play host to New Mexico and its new head coach, Steve Alford.

Already, one CU record stands in danger of being broken in Bzdelik's first game. According to research by the CU sports information department, the largest crowd for a regular-season opener at the Coors Events Center gathered in 1984, when 6,388 watched Tom Apke's Buffs defeat Elmhurst.

CU officials are expecting a crowd in the 8,000 range tonight for a rarity in Buff annals: an opener against a team most folks have actually heard of.

The hiring of Bzdelik last spring injected some much-needed enthusiasm into the program, rekindling some excitement that has long been absent.

"The support we're getting is absolutely wonderful," Bzdelik said Thursday afternoon.

What Bzdelik can't guarantee will be wonderful is the Buffs' win-loss record this season. A team that finished 7-20 a year ago has been picked to finish last in the Big 12 this year.

Guaranteed, more than a few folks will be in the Events Center tonight out of curiosity. They know that Bzdelik took Air Force to the NCAA Tournament two years ago and to the NIT Final Four last season.

They're wondering whether he can work the same kind of magic in Boulder.

Short answer?

Of course not. As Bzdelik has noted more than once, he doesn't have a magic wand. There's no Harry Potter incantation to turn a team that went 7-20 a year ago into a Big 12 contender.

But Bzdelik does have a proven system, one that requires frenetic defense and disciplined offense. He has been to the NCAA Tournament and the NBA playoffs.

Given time, the bet here is that Bzelik's system will succeed.

Tonight, the curtain comes up.