Colorado @ UCLA preview
Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom
Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2019 ) UCLA 68, Colorado 93
No. 21 Colorado is packing some momentum as it heads west this week. The Buffaloes have won four of five since a Jan. 5 home loss to Oregon State and will look to stay hot in a pair of games in Los Angeles, beginning with Thursday’s late-night date with UCLA.
On the season, the Buffs are surrendering the second-fewest points per game (61.7) in the Pac-12, but it’s been their play on the other end of the court of late that has lifted Colorado into a second-place tie in the conference standings, a half-game behind No. 12 Oregon. The Buffs are averaging 72.7 points in Pac-12 play, third best in the league, while shooting 46.2 percent from the field (second) and compiling a conference-play-leading 1.26 assist-to-turnover ratio. “Since the first of the year, we've gotten better offensively,” Colorado coach Tad Boyle said earlier this week. “It’s a result of moving the ball, sharing the ball and taking good shots. Guys are here before practice getting shots up, staying afterwards. I always say it's my job to make sure we’re taking good shots, we’re getting good shots and it’s the players’ job to make good shots.” UCLA’s 96-75 loss at Oregon last Saturday snapped a two-game win streak, leaving the Bruins tied for eighth in the conference at 3-4.
TIME: 11 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2
ABOUT COLORADO (16-4, 5-2 Pac-12): Forward Tyler Bey, the conference’s leading rebounder with 9.1 boards per game, returned from a one-game hand-injury absence to score a team-high 16 points Saturday in a 76-62 home win over Washington. Point guard McKinley Wright added 15 points and eight rebounds, and he leads the Buffs in scoring (13.4) and assists (5.2) with Bey (13.3 points) and guard D’Shawn Schwartz (10.7) also averaging double figures. Forward Evan Battey (9.0 points, 6.6 rebounds), Wright (5.5 rebounds) and forward Lucas Siewert (4.8) back Bey on the boards as Colorado paces the Pac-12 in rebound margin at 6.9.
ABOUT UCLA (10-10, 3-4): At plus-6.8, the Bruins are right behind Colorado on the glass, with forward Jalen Hill (7.3) and guard Chris Smith (5.2) the top rebounders. Smith (12.2 points) and Hill (10.0) also serve as the team’s leading scorers, but they’re the only two averaging more than 7.8 points for the Bruins, who rank at or near the bottom in the Pac-12 in all the major scoring and shooting offensive categories, including points per game (11th with 69.5) and 3-point shooting percentage (last at 30.7). UCLA is back home for four of its next six games, but the Bruins have lost a conference-most four home games so far while winning seven at Pauley Pavilion.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. UCLA won seven of the first eight Pac-12 meetings between the programs, but Colorado has prevailed in four straight and is looking for its third consecutive win at Pauley following 84-73 and 68-59 victories the past two seasons.
2. The Bruins pace the Pac-12 and rank 28th nationally with 12.7 offensive rebounds per game.
3. Beginning with this week’s L.A. trip, Colorado plays seven of its final 11 games on the road.
PREDICTION: Colorado 74, UCLA 65