The largest crowd ever for a Colorado basketball home opener showed up Friday night to watch the Buffs play their first game under Jeff Bzdelik.

They didn't witness a happy ending. What could have been a smashing debut instead turned into a harsh reminder of how much work is ahead of the Buffs.

"I think we had more to do with losing this game than New Mexico had with winning it," Bzdelik said. "We're still thinking out there. We knew what to do, we just didn't recognize it.

"We looked like deer in the headlights."

The Buffs did show they are willing to play defense in the manner Bzdelik demands. Colorado forced 18 New Mexico turnovers and held the Lobos to 44 percent shooting from the field (20-for-45).

"Defensively, we got enough stops and we competed," Bzdelik said.

But new UNM coach Steve Alford — also a disciple of defense — watched his team strangle CU on the offensive end. The Buffs shot a miserable 34 percent (15-for-44), including a horrendous 4-for-19 night from 3-point range. Even when the Buffs had a chance to close the gap to three in the final minutes despite their offensive woes, they missed two key free throws.

When it comes to a "work in progress," the Buffs will have to put in plenty of the former to attain any of the latter.

Still, there were glimpses of the offense that took Bzdelik's Air Force teams to the postseason two years in a row. There were moments when the Buffs did find the open man heading to the basket for a layup. But far too often, sharp cuts, pinpoint passes and crisp execution were absent.

Simply, the idea and effort were there. The execution was not.

"It was like a root canal from a bad dentist," Bzdelik said.

There were a few bright spots. Freshman Cory Higgins showed that his play in CU's exhibition season wasn't a fluke. Higgins finished with 10 points and also chipped in five rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Fellow freshman Levi Knutson, after a slow start, sparked CU's late second-half run with nine points.

But the flip side of the freshmen was a one-point night from Richard Roby. The CU senior threatened to go scoreless for the first time in his career before finally hitting a free throw with 1:16 left in the game.

If the Buffs are to be competitive, they'll need more than one point from the player who led the team in scoring the last two seasons.

Clearly, the Buffs have plenty of work to do. They are nowhere close to the point that they can react instinctively in their offense. It's not something that will happen overnight.

But if they continue to play defense the way they played Friday, they will at least have a chance to be competitive.

"We'll go back, look at film and see what we have to do to improve," Bzdelik said. "We'll find a way. That's my job."

Bzdelik also knows the 8,300 fans who showed up Friday night won't be regulars. He knows it will likely be a long time before that many folks troop into the Events Center again.

"I really so badly wanted to please the fans," Bzdelik said. "The energy was awesome. They were here for us."

As debuts go, it was by no means one for fans to remember. But the Buffs can't afford to forget if they're going to get better.