Colorado @ Wyoming preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 22, 2014 ) Colorado 33, Wyoming 56

Colorado's perfect start has a lot to do with defense as it tries to put the clamps on offensively challenged Wyoming in the first round of the MGM Main Event tournament at Las Vegas on Sunday. The No. 25 Buffaloes have allowed an average of 59 points after a 69-53 victory over UC Irvine on Monday and according to coach Tad Boyle, they could be ahead of schedule on the shutdown side of their game.

"This team can be explosive on on both sides of the ball, but the defensive part to me is a great sign of where we are for this time of the year," Boyle, whose club boasts a plus-5.7 turnover margin, told reporters. Leading the way is 6-7 junior guard Tyler Bey, who recorded a career-high six steals Monday while pacing the Buffaloes in scoring and rebounding. The Cowboys will have less to fear in Las Vegas if Hunter Thompson has another big game as the 6-10 sophomore forward scored a season-high 22 points in a 69-61 overtime victory over Louisiana on Thursday. "I was proud of our guys' effort and energy and staying the course the entire night,'' Wyoming coach Allen Edwards, whose team averages a Mountain West Conference-worse 57.8 points, told reporters. "Being somewhat of a young team and facing some adversity, having to go into overtime, it showed me that this team is taking steps in learning how to win."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT COLORADO (3-0): Bey averages 15 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.7 steals - all team highs, but Boyle was mostly excited about his guard's potential to stop the opponent. "When Tyler moves his feet and he plays with awareness and energy on defense, holy cow," Boyle told reporters. "He is he is disruptive because he is so athletically so quick. I thought his energy level and awareness level was big. We need that from him every night. The challenge for Tyler is playing that way consistently." Junior guards McKinley Wright IV (14.7 points) and D'Shawn Schwartz (12.7) are the other go-to players on offense, combining to shoot 47.8 percent from the field with Schwartz 7-for-12 from 3-point range.

ABOUT WYOMING (3-3): Sophomore guard Hunter Maldonado (team-high 16.5 points, 5.8 rebounds per game) has scored in double figures in each contest this season and just missed his second double-double with 11 points and nine boards against Louisiana. Thompson averages 8.2 points and a club-most 6.2 rebounds but shoots 32 percent from the field as the Cowboys are last among Mountain West Conference teams at 41.6. Sophomore guard Trevon Taylor (8.3 points) and Maldonado combine to shoot 58.2 percent from inside the arc but are 5-for-26 from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

1. The Buffaloes, who are expected to challenge No. 11 Oregon and No. 14 Arizona for the Pac-12 title this season, have won three straight by 10 or more points for the first time since November 2016.

2. Wyoming, which lost to Pac-12 member Oregon State 83-63 on Nov. 16, was 338th among the 350 Division I teams entering Saturday in points per game.

3. The winner of the 80th meeting but first since 2014 faces Clemson or TCU in Tuesday's championship after the losers play the consolation game.

PREDICTION: Colorado 72, Wyoming 48