Colorado @ Arizona preview
McKale Center
Last Meeting ( Feb 17, 2019 ) Arizona 60, Colorado 67
No. 21 Colorado enters Saturday afternoon’s game at Arizona on a roll, having won seven of its last eight games, including three of four to open Pac-12 play. But if the Buffaloes are going to stay hot, they’ll need to win in Tucson for the first time since joining the conference in 2011.
Arizona has won 14 of the 20 Pac-12 meetings with Colorado overall, including all seven home games. And the contests at the McKale Center haven’t been particularly close with the Wildcats winning by at least eight points each time. Arizona is 9-1 at home this season, losing only to No. 1-ranked Gonzaga 84-80 on Dec. 14, and is coming off a 93-77 rout of visiting Utah on Thursday night. Colorado, meanwhile, opened the second half of Thursday’s game at Arizona State with a 16-4 run en route to a 68-61 win – the Buffs’ second victory in three true road games this season.
TIME: 2:30 p.m. ET. TV: FOX
ABOUT COLORADO (14-3, 3-1 Pac-12): Forward Tyler Bey scored a team-high 19 points Thursday while forward Lucas Siewert had 14 off the bench, including four 3-pointers. Leading scorer McKinley Wright (13.4 points per outing) enjoyed his usual solid all-around stat line with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, but the Buffs’ defensive effort continues to be their calling card. Arizona State finished with 61 points on 34.3-percent shooting with 14 turnovers, and only Stanford (58.3) is allowing fewer points per game in the Pac-12 than Colorado’s 61.2 average.
ABOUT ARIZONA (12-5, 2-2): Averaging a Pac-12-most 82 points per outing and shooting 48.3 percent from the field, the Wildcats present a formidable offensive challenge. Powered by a 6-of-10 showing off the bench from UC Irvine graduate-transfer Max Hazard, Arizona connected on a season-high 15 3-pointers (on 29 attempts) in blitzing the Utes and four players finished in double digits, led by Hazard and freshman big man/leading scorer Zeke Nnaji (16.9) with 24 points apiece. Fellow freshmen Nico Mannion (14.1 points) and Josh Green (12.7) also are averaging double figures while Mannion is dishing out a conference-most 6.2 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Arizona is averaging 87.3 points in 10 home games and has scored 90 or more five times.
2. Colorado was outrebounded 42-40 Thursday but still ranks second in the conference with a 7.4 rebound margin, thanks largely to the work of Bey (Pac-12-most 9.6 boards) and 6-8, 265-pound big man Evan Battey (6.8).
3. The 6-11 Nnaji is averaging a team-most 8.5 rebounds for the Wildcats, but second-leading rebounder Chase Jeter (5.3) sat out the Utah game with back spasms and his status for Saturday is uncertain.
PREDICTION: Arizona 77, Colorado 71