Sacramento State @ Colorado preview
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Last Meeting ( Nov 11, 2016 ) Sacramento State 53, Colorado 90
No. 24 Colorado is 5-0 and is coming off a rally to win the MGM Main Event championship over Clemson earlier this week. But in the midst of celebrating Tuesday’s 71-67 victory, coach Tad Boyle says his Buffaloes have work to do and improvements to make, starting with Saturday night’s home date with undefeated Sacramento State.
With a plus-6.8 average rebound margin while limiting the opposition to 57 points per game and 37.2-percent shooting, Colorado is off to a strong start on defense. But with a 69.6-point scoring average, 40.8-percent shooting and as many turnovers as assists (65 apiece) so far, Boyle knows his Buffs need fine-tuning. “We need to get better offensively,” Boyle told the Boulder Daily Camera on Tuesday. “We need to make improvements between now and Saturday when we play Sac State. … We’ve just got to continue to get better.” As for those Hornets of the Big Sky Conference, they’re 4-0 but last Saturday’s 77-72 road win at Pepperdine might be their most impressive win and Saturday’s game will mark their first venture outside of the state of California.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
ABOUT SACRAMENTO STATE (4-0): The Hornets have started 4-0 for the third time since moving up to the Division I ranks in 1991, but there’s never been a 5-0 start in the program’s 72 seasons. Senior Joshua Patton, a 6-8 center, is averaging a team-best 18.5 points per game and is shooting 72.2 percent from the field. Guard Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa (11.5 points) and forward Bryce Fowler (10.5) also are averaging double figures while 6-2 guard Brandon Davis is leading the team in rebounding (7.0) and assists (3.8).
ABOUT COLORADO (5-0): Tyler Bey, a 6-7 swingman, is pacing the team with 14.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per outing and earned MGM Main Event tourney MVP honors after posting double-doubles in each of the Buffaloes’ wins in Las Vegas. Guard D’Shawn Schwartz is averaging 12.4 points while connecting on a team-best 10 3-pointers on 20 attempts, and point guard McKinley Wright is contributing 12.2 points and a team-leading four assists per outing. Six-foot-8, 265-pound big man Evan Battey is averaging 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds but has battled foul trouble with a team-most 17 so far.
TIP-INS
1. Colorado leads the series 2-0, with the most recent meeting a 90-53 season-opening home win for the Buffs on Nov. 11, 2016.
2. The Buffaloes have won 10 straight home games dating back to last Feb. 2. Included in the streak are wins in two NIT games and a 73-51 regular-season victory over an Oregon squad that would go on to win the Pac-12 Tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
3. Sacramento State is 4-40 all-time against Pac-12 foes and has gone 0-14 against nationally-ranked opponents since joining Division I in 1991.
PREDICTION: Colorado 80, Sacramento State 63