Colorado vs UCLA NCAA Basketball Lines and Preview

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

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 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.

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.”

Week 15 NCAAB Lines Odds Subject to Change	SPREAD	MONEYLINE	TOTAL
UCLA	+1.5	TBA	U 137.5
Colorado	-1.5	TBA	O 137.5

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.

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.

Colorado vs UCLA Expert Prediction

UCLA 69, Colorado 65

NCAA Basketball Odds to Win Championship – Top 10

Purdue Boilermakers +650	UConn Huskies +650
Houston Cougars +910	Arizona Wildcats +1175
Tennessee Volunteers +1275	North Carolina Tar Heels +1725
Auburn Tigers +1775	Alabama Crimson Tide +2000
Marquette Golden Eagles +2200	Kansas Jayhawks +2200