Colorado vs UCLA Odds, Picks and Predictions: Bruins Worth Backing at Home

Tad Boyle’s Colorado Buffaloes (16-8, 7-6 Pac-12) look for an elusive road win as they head to Pauley Pavilion to face the UCLA Bruins (13-11, 8-5) on Thursday night. This forecasts as a hotly-contested game between two teams close to one another in the conference race.

Despite featuring a talented lineup and being somewhat of an analytical darling, Boyle’s squad has been unable to climb the conference standings, thanks mainly to its inability to win on the road. The Buffs have just one win in seven away games this season.

It was a brutal start to the season for Mick Cronin’s Bruins, but they’ve since caught fire, winning five in a row and seven of their last eight.

Glancing at the college basketball odds, the Buffaloes are 1.5-point road favorites while the total resides at 137.5.

Will the Bruins be able to stay hot? Check out our college basketball picks and predictions for Colorado vs. UCLA on Thursday, February 15 to find out.

Colorado vs UCLA best odds

Colorado vs UCLA picks and predictions

The Colorado Buffaloes have a dangerous, well-rounded lineup featuring five players averaging double figures. Lead guard KJ Simpson is the Pac-12’s third-leading scorer with 19.4 ppg, Tristan da Silva (15.5 ppg) is one of the conference’s most complete players, and freshman Cody Williams (14 ppg) is a likely NBA lottery pick.

Despite all that talent, Tad Boyle’s team simply hasn’t been able to win on the road. It’s 1-6 straight up in away games and 2-8 ATS in games played away from home (two neutral-site games included).

Next up is another road game at Pauley Pavilion, where the UCLA Bruins had a 29-game winning streak snapped earlier this season. Mick Cronin holds a 62-10 record across 72 home games since becoming head coach. It’s safe to say this usually isn’t a very easy place to walk away from with a road victory.

UCLA has dominated this series, going 15-6 in 21 meetings since Colorado joined the conference. That includes a 3-0 record last season and an 8-1 record across the last nine games.

This year’s Bruins team hit rock bottom earlier this season but has since rebounded nicely. They lost eight of nine games in a dark stretch from December 9 to January 11 to drop their record to 6-10. The loss on January 11 was the ugliest of them all, a 90-44 drubbing in Utah that ended up turning the season around.

Cronin’s squad has been on fire ever since, winning seven of eight to rejoin the conference title race — something that was unthinkable a month ago. The Bruins play stingy defense (27th in adjusted defensive efficiency) and the offense has finally come alive during the recent stretch, averaging 70.3 ppg across the last eight games.

Freshman guard Sebastian Mack leads the way with 13.3 ppg. Lazar Stefanovic (11 ppg) and Dylan Andrews (11.2 ppg) have both stepped up recently, while big man Adem Bona (12.2 ppg) should make his presence known against a Buffaloes team with a faulty interior defense.

I’m keeping this handicap as simple as possible. Colorado hasn’t been able to win games away from home while UCLA has historically been very difficult to beat at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins are playing their best basketball of the season (7-1 ATS in their last eight) while the Buffaloes are just 3-7 ATS in their last 10.

I’ll bet on the Bruins staying hot and grabbing yet another victory in this series.

My best bet: UCLA moneyline (+105 at bet365)

Colorado vs UCLA same-game parlay

UCLA moneyline

Dylan Andrews Over 13.5 points

Lazar Stefanovic Over 1.5 made threes

+400 at DraftKings

One reason for UCLA’s revival has been the stellar play of Andrews, who has taken on a larger role in the offense and has averaged 14.4 shot attempts across his last five games. He’s been turning those looks into buckets, putting up 16.8 ppg in that span.

I’m taking Andrews to eclipse his points prop of 13.5 on Thursday. Colorado plays with a decent pace (102nd in adjusted tempo, per KenPom) and the number of possessions combined with Andrews’ heavy usage lately means he should have a good chance for another productive outing.

I’ll also add Stefanovic to can at least two 3-pointers. He’s done so in seven of his last eight games and has taken off lately after spending much of the early season mired in a shooting slump. That’s far from the case any longer as he’s reached double figures in each of his last eight games.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Colorado vs UCLA spread and Over/Under analysis

This line opened Colorado -1.5, was bet down to a pick‘em, and then was bet back up to the original opener at -1.5. That’s where the line currently resides across the board as of the time of this writing. The total, meanwhile, has moved just a half point from 137 at open to 137.5 at current.

Be sure to track any further market activity using our college basketball line movement tool.

This matchup creates a funny contrast as Colorado has been dead-set on the Over this year at 15-9 O/U, while UCLA plays to the Under at 9-14 O/U.

The Buffs have continued their high-scoring ways as of late, going 8-2 O/U across their last 10 games. The Bruins have finally started hitting some Overs now that the offense has come alive, going 3-1 O/U across their last four and 5-2 O/U across their last seven.

Cronin’s defensive scheme involves walling off the paint with Bona and forcing teams to beat them from outside. The Buffs are adept shooters, ranking 14th in field goal percentage (49.2%), 10th in 3-point percentage (38.7%), and sixth in free-throw percentage (79.3%).

On the flip side, UCLA’s offense has finally found its groove with Andrews taking on more of a lead role and Stefanovic playing his best ball of the season. Colorado’s defense has been quite leaky on the road, surrendering 81.6 ppg across its last five away games.

I’d be inclined to take the Over if playing the total.

Colorado vs UCLA betting trend to know

UCLA is 8-1 straight up across the last nine meetings between these two schools. Find more college basketball betting trends for Colorado vs. UCLA.

Colorado vs UCLA game info

Colorado vs UCLA key injuries

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