Stanford @ Colorado preview
CU Events Center
Last Meeting ( Jan 26, 2019 ) Colorado 62, Stanford 75
Two Pac-12 teams trending in opposite directions meet Saturday in Boulder as No. 24 Colorado hosts Stanford. The Buffaloes have won four of their last five games to match Oregon for the conference lead while the Cardinal has dropped four of its last five to fall back into a tie for fifth in the Pac-12.
Colorado’s latest win – a 71-65 victory over visiting California on Thursday night – didn’t earn many style points as it took until late in the second half for the Buffs to put the game away with a 13-6 run. Cal, the Pac-12’s lowest-scoring team averaging an even 60 points per conference game, stayed close with some hot shooting (55.6 percent overall, including 7-of-13 from 3-point range), but Colorado was able to use edges in rebounding (32-23) and free throws (16-8) to its advantage in improving to 11-2 at home. “(It was) not the prettiest win, (and) it reminded me of wins we had in November and December,” CU coach Tad Boyle said afterward. “But we found a way. The sight of a somber locker room after a league win tells you we have pretty high expectations for ourselves.” Meanwhile Thursday night, Stanford shot 35.4 percent and committed 20 turnovers in a 64-56 overtime loss at Utah – its third setback in four conference road contests.
TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: Pac-12 Network
ABOUT STANFORD (16-6, 5-4 Pac-12): The Cardinal jumped out to the early conference lead by winning their first four Pac-12 games but have since dropped four of five to tumble down to the middle of the conference pack. Forward Oscar da Silva (16.4) and guard Tyrell Terry (15.2) are the team’s leading scorers and rebounders, averaging a combined 31.6 points and 11.6 boards per game, but they combined for 22 points in Thursday’s loss on 9-of-28 shooting. That was certainly out of character for the Cardinal, who still pace the Pac-12 in season field-goal percentage (47.0) and rank second in team 3-point accuracy (37.3 percent).
ABOUT COLORADO (18-5, 7-3): The usual suspects led the way for the Buffs on Thursday as forward Tyler Bey notched a double-double – his eighth of the season – with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds while guards McKinley Wright an D’Shawn Schwartz combined for 31 points and eight assists. It offset a foul-plagued night for big man Evan Battey who finished with four points and three rebounds in 19 minutes. Bey (13.7 points), Wright (13.5) and Schwartz (10.8) are all averaging double figures with Wright ranking third in the conference with 5.2 assists per outing.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Colorado has won nine of 12 contests versus Stanford since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, but the Cardinal won 75-62 at home in their lone meeting a season ago.
2. The Buffs are 11-2 at home this season, including 5-1 in Pac-12 play, while Stanford is 2-3 on the road, including the 1-3 mark in conference contests.
3. The teams rank 1-2 in points allowed in the conference, with the Cardinal surrendering 59.9 points per contest and Colorado permitting 62.1.
PREDICTION: Colorado 68, Stanford 62