Tad Boyle is no stranger to referencing the “quality depth” that his Colorado teams of the last few years have possessed.

That phrase was thrown around a lot last year, yet as the season went on, and as the Buffs’ disastrous end-of-year skid was followed by the team’s first-ever first-round bounce from the Pac-12 Tournament in the Boyle era, some liabilities within that so-called “quality depth” were exposed.

Perhaps first and foremost was Colorado’s lack of a capable point guard behind McKinley Wright IV. Shane Gatling was tasked to assume that role at times, but that glove never quite fit. Gatling was a strict 2-guard, not a point guard.

Then there was Daylen Kountz, who after a promising true freshman campaign in 2018-2019, regressed significantly as a sophomore, enough for him to hit the transfer portal in late March.

So far this year, Colorado’s point guard play behind Wright IV has improved dramatically with Keeshawn Barthelemy coming off a valuable redshirt campaign last year.

Put frankly, there’s not a need to bite nails or breathe heavy every time Wright IV heads to the bench for a breather.

Maddox Daniels and Eli Parquet have noticeably also improved their ability to contribute offensively, giving the Buffs more viable options on the wing for opposing teams to worry about.

Jeriah Horne, CU’s first graduate transfer addition in Boyle’s 11 years in Boulder, has turned out to be a terrific addition to the team. And then there’s Jabari Walker, who continues to impress during his true freshman campaign.

Last year, the “quality depth” Colorado (11-3, 5-2 Pac-12) supposedly had turned out to be somewhat hollow.

That’s not the case this year — Boyle has a deep unit full of impact players. No longer is there a five-man liability lineup that takes the court for a few odd sequences here and there.

“I think our depth this year is even a little bit better than last year,” Boyle said. “We just need that consistency. You’ve got to know what you’re going to get from guys every night...when it’s there one night and not there the next, that’s when it becomes a little bit more difficult. We went through that a little bit last year but yeah, I like this team.”

The Buffs had some depth last season, but in Saturday’s 77-64 win over Stanford, Colorado displayed some “quality depth” wholly superior to what the team had in its back pocket a year ago.

Against the Cardinal, D’Shawn Schwartz played just three minutes in the first half after racking up two quick fouls early into things. He wound up playing 14 total minutes in the game.

With no disrespect to Schwartz, his absence wasn’t all that noticed. The Buffs wound up having more than a few capable hands that showed up and performed.

Wright IV was his usual self, leading the team in points with 14 while adding eight assists and five rebounds.

The Buffs got a double-double from Evan Battey (13 points, 12 rebounds) while Horne, starting his sixth straight game due to the extended absence of 7-footer Dallas Walton, added 10 points, four assists and four rebounds.

While the usual suspects did their bit, Colorado got further contributions from its bench.

Take Maddox Daniels, for example, who had nine key points in the first half and drained half (3-of-6) of his three-pointers in the win.

Last year, Daniels shot 38% from long range and the same from the floor in general. Granted, there is much basketball left to play this year, but he's at this point in the season shooting 45% in general and 40% from long range.

Walker, fresh off back-to-back double-doubles, was also solid once more, contributing 11 points and eight rebounds.

Parquet was stingy defensively and had six points, although he did botch a few layups and couldn’t get a number of good looks to fall.

“I think our depth earlier in the season was a bit untested,” Boyle said. “Now, you see Jabari Walker feeling much more comfortable out there. Tristan da Silva is feeling much more comfortable. Maddox Daniels gives us great depth on the perimeter and a guy who can come in and shoot...I think our depth is good.”

Da Silva got the chance to share the court with his brother on Saturday, and scored five points in about six and a half minutes of play, including a dramatic three-pointer as time expired in the first half, a made shot that put CU up 40-26 heading into halftime.

If anything, the nicely spread contributions from starters and bench players alike is a testament to the unselfish nature of Colorado’s players as well the trickling down, from the veterans to the underclassmen, of how things are done at CU.

“I think it’s a testament to our freshmen coming in and really accepting the leadership from the older guys,” Horne said. “At the same time, the leaders on this team (are) stepping up and making sure that the younger guys are knowing what to do and leading them in the right way.”

“I think it shows in games like this, where we can have guys come off the bench and contribute in a very positive way out there on the court.”

Riding a four-game win streak heading into next week’s road trip to face the Washington schools, the Buffs will look to keep gathering momentum by handling business away from Boulder and not overlooking anyone.

“The way you separate yourself in any league, in any art of the country, at any level is (that) you have to win on the road if you want to give yourself a chance to be in the conversation for a championship,” Boyle said. “We’re a long ways away from that right now, because nobody’s beaten UCLA, but we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and taking care of our opportunities as they come.”

The Buffaloes and Huskies tipoff this upcoming Wednesday, Jan. 20, from the Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle at 7 p.m. MST.