The Colorado Buffaloes (15-12, 7-9 Pac-12) and their suffocating defense travel to face the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats (23-4, 12-4 Pac-12) and their sensational offense on Saturday.
Colorado topped the Arizona State Sun Devils 67-59 at Desert Financial Arena on Thursday. Tristan da Silva was a top performer with 23 points.
The Buffaloes slipped to eighth in the Pac-12 Conference. Arizona won their fifth in a row at home in dominant fashion on Thursday at McKale Memorial Center, beating the Utah Runnin’ Utes 88-62. Kerr Kriisa had 17 points and six assists to lead the team. The Wildcats remain second in the Pac-12 Conference.
The teams are meeting for the only time this season. They last met in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament semifinals when the Wildcats eliminated the Buffaloes with an 82-72 victory at T-Mobile Arena in March 2022.
Colorado and Arizona split their regular season matchups last season, each team taking one. The Wildcats won the last meeting 82-72 at T-Mobile Arena in March 2022.
Azuolas Tubelis led the Wildcats with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Jabari Walker had 19 points and three blocks in defeat. The Buffaloes have been led this season by da Silva and KJ Simpson, who are averaging 16.4 and 15.4 points per game, respectively. da Silva also has grabbed 4.9 rebounds per game, while Simpson has dished 3.6 assists per game.
Tubelis’ 19.9 points per game have powered the Wildcats on offense. Tubelis also has pulled down 9.3 rebounds per game. Kriisa has tallied 5.6 assists per game. The Wildcats rank as the NCAA’s 14th-best team in offensive efficiency, while the Buffaloes are 22nd in defensive efficiency.
In the last 10 games, Colorado is 4-6 with an average margin of -0.3 (63.8-64.1). For the season, the Buffaloes are averaging 70.7 points per game, compared to 65.7 for opponents.
Arizona has an 8-2 record over the last 10, scoring 79.2 points per game on average while allowing 67.5 (+11.7 margin). The Wildcats are averaging 83.4 ppg for the full season while allowing 70.7.
BUFFALOES HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Luke O’Brien: 14.8 | 10.0 | +4.8
J’Vonne Hadley: 4.0 | 12.3 | -8.3
Points per game:
J’Vonne Hadley: 2.2 | 6.5 | -4.3
Rebounds per game:
Luke O’Brien: 6.0 | 4.4 | +1.6
J’Vonne Hadley: 1.4 | 4.8 | -3.4
WILDCATS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Courtney Ramey: 23.0 | 16.9 | +6.1
Points per game:
Courtney Ramey: 12.6 | 10.0 | +2.6
Oumar Ballo: 9.4 | 14.5 | -5.1
Rebounds per game:
Pelle Larsson: 2.2 | 4.3 | -2.1
Assists per game:
Courtney Ramey: 4.6 | 3.3 | +1.3
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Arizona -12.5 (-115)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
