UCLA has been one of the country’s disappointments overall this season, but the Bruins suddenly seem to have found their stride as they are now tied for third in the Pac-12. 2024 NCAA Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis Colorado vs UCLA | MyBookie Sportsbook Week 15 NCAAB

They need to keep winning to boost their NCAA Tournament hopes as they host bubble team Colorado on Thursday. It’s the final regular-season matchup between them for the foreseeable future with both off to new conferences next season.

How to Bet Colorado at UCLA NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 9 PM ET
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Colorado -1.5 (total 137.5)

Colorado vs UCLA Series History

This is the only scheduled meeting this season. Last year, they played three times including the Pac-12 Tournament and the Bruins won all three. The game at Pauley Pavilion was 68-54 as Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 23 points for UCLA – he’s now having a good rookie NBA season with the Miami Heat. UCLA has registered an all-time record of 19-7 against the Buffaloes. The Bruins have gone 15-6 against Colorado since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 Conference prior to the 2011-12 school year.

Why Bet on Colorado Buffaloes?

Colorado (16-8, 7-6 Pac-12) is an NCAA Tournament bubble team but trending the wrong direction in losing three of four following a 99-79 home blowout defeat to No. 8 Arizona on Saturday. Leading by seven points at halftime, Arizona opened the second half with consecutive 3-pointers by Caleb Love and Keshad Johnson, starting an 18-5 run over a five-minute span that carried the Wildcats to a 65-45 lead.

Colorado managed to cut it to 77-63 on a pair of free throws by Ja’Vonne Hadley with 7:48 to go but Love answered with a second-chance 3-pointer after an offensive rebound by Ballo, pushing Arizona’s lead back up to 17 points. CU trailed by double digits the rest of the way.

Colorado didn’t have a bad night on the offensive end, shooting 26-for-54 (48%), but the Buffs hit just five of their 17 3-point tries. Arizona shot 36-for-68 (53%), including 10-for-22 from long range. But the big difference came in points off turnovers and second-chance buckets. Arizona turned 16 Colorado turnovers into 23 points and also scored 23 points off 12 offensive rebounds. CU had 12 points off turnovers and 15 second-chance points. KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva each scored 20 for Colorado and J’Vonne Hadley added 13. The Buffs had won 13 in a row at home.

“Sometimes you have to tip your cap to your opponent,” Coach Tad Boyle said. “They were really good. They played well, they shot well, they made plays offensively and they were solid defensively … But our guys battled, they competed, they fought. I have no issues with our team in terms of our effort, in terms of our grit, in terms of our toughness. It’s just we didn’t play well enough tonight to beat a really, really good Arizona team.”

Colorado is one of the top all-around shooting teams in the country, ranking in the top 14 nationally in all three percentage categories: overall field goal, 3-point and free throws. The Buffaloes are sixth in the nation in free throw percentage (.793), 10th in 3-point accuracy (.387) and 14th in overall shooting (.492). CU is the only program in NCAA Division I in the nation’s top 15 of all three categories. It also sports top 50 marks nationally in rebound margin (+7.5, 18th), free throws made (17.1 mpg, 21st), assists (16.0, 36th), scoring offense (80.7 ppg, 40th) and defensive rebounding (27.3 drpg, 46th).

KJ Simpson tops Colorado at 19.4 points, 4.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game while ranking third in rebounding (5.4 rpg). He is Colorado’s second-leading rebounder in Pac-12 games at 6.2 per contest, while still pacing the Buffaloes at 19.0 points and 4.7 assists. Simpson is one of three major conference players averaging 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game joining ‘ Kevin McCullar Jr. and Maryland‘s Jahmir Young. Da Silva is second on the team in scoring (15.5 ppg), field goals made (113), and 3-pointers (36) while ranking third in steals (22) and fourth in rebounding (5.3 rpg).

Why Bet on UCLA Bruins?

UCLA (13-11, 8-5 Pac-12) won its fifth game in a row Saturday, 61-60 at Cal. UCLA maintained a double-digit lead for the first six minutes of the second half before Cal got back into contention. The Bears outscored UCLA 12-6 and got within 47-41 on a layup from Jaylon Tyson with 10:08 left. Berke Buyuktuncel made a 3 for UCLA for a nine-point lead before Cal scored eight straight points, reducing its deficit to 50-49 following a 3 from Jalen Celestine with 5:55 left. The score stayed that way until Tyson’s basket with 3:05 left gave Cal its first lead since four minutes into the game.

Dylan Andrews nailed a mid-range jump shot with 24 seconds to play, putting the Bruins ahead 58-57. The Golden Bears missed a shot with 17 seconds left and UCLA’s Lazar Stefanovic, who finished with a double-double, knocked down a pair of free throws. Leading 60-57, UCLA’s Sebastian Mack corralled a defensive rebound and drew a foul with four seconds remaining. Cal’s Celestine made a 3-pointer with .1 seconds left that made it a one-point game, but the Bruins inbounded the ball to end it.

Adem Bona scored a team-leading 13 points for the Bruins. Andrews and Stefanovic each added 12 points. Stefanovic pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds to lead all players, tallying his second double-double of the season (and of his collegiate career).

UCLA has seven of eight contests since Jan. 14. Over that span, the Bruins have allowed 64.3 points per game and 30.6 percent from 3-point range. UCLA has averaged a plus-7.2 rebounding margin in their 13 victories (and a negative-2.1 margin in 11 losses).

Stefanovic has averaged 11.0 points per game in 24 games, but he has averaged 14.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the last eight games. Stefanovic has shot 44.3 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from 3-point distance in the past eight contests. He ranks second among all Pac-12 players in free throw percentage (88.2%) and has made 31 of 33 free throws in UCLA’s last eight contests (93.9%).

Bona ranks No. 2 among all Pac-12 players in blocks per game (1.9), No. 3 in field goal percentage (59.0%) and No. 7 in offensive rebounds per game (2.2). He has totaled 31 of his team-leading 46 blocked shots through UCLA’s last 13 games. Sebastian Mack has averaged a team-leading 13.3 points per game, along with 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. The 6-foot-3 freshman guard has twice secured Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors.

The Bruins have held their opposition to 65 points or fewer in 14 of 24 contests this season, posting an 11-3 record in those games. UCLA has surrendered a Pac-12-leading 64.0 points per game.

Colorado vs UCLA Expert Prediction

UCLA 69, Colorado 65

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