The Colorado Buffaloes (11-2) travel to face off against the Arizona Wildcats (10-3) on Thursday, January 4th. This game will be played at McKale Center in Tucson and televised on ESPN. Colorado is coming off a win in their previous game, while Arizona is looking to get back on track from a loss to the Stanford. Tip-off is set for 9:30 ET.
Colorado Buffaloes vs Arizona Wildcats
The Colorado Buffaloes Are Coming Off A Win
Colorado is set to play their 14th game of the season with a record of 11-2. If they can come out with a win today, Colorado will even out their road record at .500, which currently stands at 1-2. In terms of Colorado’s performance against the spread, they enter today’s game with a 7-5-1 record. When playing away from home this season, Colorado is 0-3 ATS. In their previous ten road games, they have a 4-6 ATS record.
So far, Colorado’s games have averaged 153.1 points per game with the average over/under line being 149.1 points. In the Buffaloes’ last five games, the combined scoring average stands at 152 points per game, accompanied by an over/under record of 2-3.
The Arizona Wildcats Look To Bounce Back From A Loss
Arizona comes into this game with a record of 10-3, which is the 14th game of their season. In away games, the Wildcats have a record of 3-3, while they are undefeated at home with a 7-0 record. As of now, Arizona has a winning record against the spread at 10-3. However, in their last five games, the team has gone 2-3 vs. the spread.
Arizona comes in with an over/under record of 7-6-0 through 13 games, with their games averaging a combined 165.7 points per game so far. The Wildcats have seen their last five games conclude with a collective average of 177 points per game and an over/under record of 4-1.
Colorado Offense Breakdown
The Colorado offense is coming off a game in which they scored 74 points vs. Washington State. Overall their field goal percentage was 50% while connecting on 4 threes. Leading the team in scoring was KJ Simpson with 34 points. J’vonne Hadley also added 12 points for the Buffaloes.
| Name | PPG | REB | AST |
|---|---|---|---|
| KJ Simpson (G) | 21.1 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
| Tristan Da Silva (F) | 15.7 | 5.4 | 2.8 |
| J’vonne Hadley (G) | 10.2 | 5.5 | 2.7 |
Arizona Offense Breakdown
Compared to their season average of 92.3 points per game, Arizona struggled in their previous game. Against Stanford, the Wildcats scored 82 points while finishing with a field goal percentage of 43.8%. The team’s top scorer is Caleb Love, who enters today’s matchup with an average of 17.4, while Oumar Ballo also carries a PPG average of 13.2 into the game.
| Name | PPG | REB | AST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caleb Love (G) | 17.4 | 5.0 | 3.2 |
| Oumar Ballo (C) | 13.2 | 8.2 | 0.8 |
| Pelle Larsson (G) | 12.1 | 4.2 | 3.5 |
Colorado Team Defense
Currently, the Buffaloes’ defense holds the 100th rank in the nation, allowing 68.8 points per game. In today’s game vs. Arizona, the Colorado defense will be looking to do a better job avoiding putting opponents on the line. In their last game, Colorado made 22 free-throws vs. the Buffaloes.
Arizona Team Defense
So far, the Wildcats’ defense is ranked 183rd in the country at 73.4 points per contest. Against Stanford in their most recent game, the Arizona defense gave up a total of 100 points while allowing Stanford to hit 58% of their shots.
Buffaloes vs Wildcats Trends
- Across their five previous road games, Colorado has an ATS mark of 1-4. Their straight up record in these matchups was 2-3 while averaging 72 points per game.
- When looking at their past ten home matchups, Arizona has an ATS record of 4-5-1 while averaging 81 per game. The team went 5-5 overall in these games.
- Going back to their previous ten games as the underdog, Colorado has an ATS mark of 5-5 while going 2-8 straight up.
- As the betting favorite, the Wildcats have an ATS mark of just 7-3 in their last ten games. Arizona posted a straight up mark of 7-3 in these matchups.
Buffaloes vs Wildcats Prediction
For a point-spread bet in this Wildcats vs. Wildcats matchup, we’re leaning towards the Wildcats at -11. Although our projections show the Wildcats winning 76-69, we suggest placing your bet on the Buffaloes for the point-spread.
Regarding the over/under, the current line is set at 162.5, and our model predicts the Buffaloes and Wildcats to score a combined 145 points. We recommend betting on the under.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.
Last updated:January 4, 2024 Arizona Wildcats, Colorado Buffaloes, Teams