McKinley Wright IV started the 2020-21 season with a checklist: win Pac-12 Player of the Year, win a Pac-12 title and make the NCAA Tournament. 

The senior guard didn’t win player of the year, with USC’s Evan Mobley taking home the award as it was announced Tuesday, but he was selected to the conference’s first team for the third consecutive season. And the Buffaloes have essentially secured a bid in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, boasting a 20-7 record and ranked No. 23. 

That leaves only the Pac-12 Tournament, which Colorado will play in Thursday night against the winner of California and Stanford. And for Wright and his teammates, they feel like they have something to prove. 

“We know there’s a target on our back now, there wasn’t before the season,” Wright said. “They picked us seventh, we finished third. We had a chance to finish first and we let a three (games) slip. So they have no choice but to pay us some attention and respect going into this tournament. … There’s more they don’t expect us to do that we plan on doing, so we have a chip on our shoulder.” 

Colorado enters the conference tournament having won its last four games against Arizona State, UCLA, USC and Oregon State, securing a bye and the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Buffaloes’ only conference losses this season have come at the hands of Arizona, UCLA, Washington, Utah, Cal and Oregon, with only the Utah coming at home. 

Coach Tad Boyle said one thing he’s most proud about this team is their resilience, having only lost back-to-back once this season. But with the Pac-12 Tournament this week and the NCAA Tournament next week, he knows it’s win-or-go-home from here on out. 

“It’s all about what you need to do to win the next game,” Boyle said. “We’re not going to Las Vegas to win a championship. We’re going to win a game Thursday night at 8:30 (Pacific time). And that’s all that’s on our mind. We’re going to try to live to see another day.

“The resiliency of this team has been really good in terms of bouncing back after losses,” Boyle said. “The difference now is that you don’t bounce back after losses. You’re out.”

For Wright, who is likely playing his last season at CU unless he opts to come back next year with an extra year of eligibility, Thursday will be the start of his last opportunity to check another goal off his list. 

And if Colorado is going to win its first conference title since 2010-11, Wright will be leading the way. 

“I’m trying to check everything off,” Wright said. “I want to win a Pac-12 championship and we have a chance to do that starting this week.”

Colorado will start tournament play at 9:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.