Washington St. @ Colorado preview
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Last Meeting ( Feb 20, 2019 ) Colorado 74, Washington St. 76
Colorado’s early-season Pac-12 roll was interrupted Saturday in a 21-point road loss at Arizona. The Buffaloes dropped out of the top-25 rankings as a result and now will try to bounce back Thursday night when they host Washington State.
The 75-54 loss to the Wildcats was Colorado’s most lopsided of the season, and it halted a run of seven wins in eight games for the Buffs, including three of four to open Pac-12 play. Arizona shot 52 percent from the field in the second half to expand its 34-23 halftime advantage and finished with a 39-25 rebound advantage against one of the conference’s top teams on the glass. “We pride ourselves on defense and rebounding, and we didn’t do either one,” a frustrated Colorado coach Tad Boyle said afterward. “… We got Arizona’s best shot, (but) I’m not sure Arizona got Colorado’s best shot.” Washington State, meanwhile, had a much more enjoyable Saturday, beating visiting Oregon State 89-76 while celebrating the retirement of Klay Thompson’s jersey and capping off a homestand sweep which began two days earlier with a 72-61 upset win over No. 13 Oregon.
TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (12-7, 3-3 Pac-12): Junior guard Isaac Bonton put on a show for Thompson, the former WSU standout, scoring a career-high 34 points and finishing with eight rebounds and eight assists. Bonton, who had plenty of help from teammates CJ Elleby (22 points) and freshman guard Noah Williams (season-high 17), hit all 14 of his free-throw attempts as the Cougars finished with a 25-12 advantage at the line. It was also a season-high in points for Washington State which receives a combined average of 33.5 points per game from Elleby and Bonton but is shooting a Pac-12-worst 40.6 percent from the field.
ABOUT COLORADO (14-4, 3-2): The Buffs’ 54 points Saturday were a season low and so was the team’s minus-14 deficit on the glass, dropping Colorado to second in Pac-12 rebound margin at 6.22. Guards McKinley Wright (15 points) and D’Shawn Schwartz (12) were the only two Buffaloes to score in double figures in the loss, and they join forward Tyler Bey (13.1 points) with double-figure season scoring averages at 13.5 and 10.7, respectively. Bey (conference-leading 9.3 rebounds) and 6-8, 265-pound big man Evan Battey (6.5) are main men on the glass for Colorado while Wright ranks fourth in the conference in assists, averaging an even 5.0 per contest.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Colorado has won 12 of the 16 meetings since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, including all seven games played in Boulder.
2. This only will be Washington State’s fifth true road game as the Cougars enter the contest with a 1-3 road record.
3. Washington State leads and Pac-12 and ranks 13th nationally with a 4.68 turnover margin.
PREDICTION: Colorado 80, Washington State 64