UCLA @ Colorado preview
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Last Meeting ( Jan 30, 2020 ) Colorado 68, UCLA 72
No. 17 Colorado has won five of its last six to take sole possession of the Pac-12 lead as it seeks its first regular-season conference crown since 1969. The Buffaloes continue the chase Saturday afternoon in their home finale as they host UCLA.
The Buffs opened the homestand Thursday with a hard-fought 70-66 win over USC. That gives Colorado a 10-4 Pac-12 record and a half-game lead over Arizona and Arizona State with only four contests remaining for the Buffs. “It means nothing,” CU coach Tad Boyle said of his team’s lead atop the standings. “It didn’t mean anything two weeks ago, and it doesn’t mean anything right now. … What matters is we have to take care of business on Saturday.” Boyle’s concern is justified as the Bruins come to Boulder as one of the conference’s hottest teams, having won eight of their last 10 games with Thursday night’s 69-58 victory over Utah in Salt Lake City.
TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: CBS
ABOUT UCLA (16-11, 9-5 Pac-12): Thursday’s win pulled the Bruins into a fourth-place tie with Oregon, only a game behind the first-place Buffaloes. Guard Jules Bernard scored a game-high 16 points off the bench Thursday as the Bruins shot 50 percent, but rebounding and defense continue to carry UCLA, which owns the conference’s best rebound margin at plus-6.3 and is allowing 67.6 points per contest. Guard Chris Smith is the only UCLA player averaging double digits with 13.2 points per game while forward Jalen Hill is averaging 9.4 and a team-best 7.1 rebounds.
ABOUT COLORADO (21-6, 10-4): The Buffs trailed for most of Thursday night’s contest, including a 14-point deficit in the first half, and committed 15 turnovers, but five players wound up scoring in double figures as Colorado improved to 13-2 at home, including 7-1 in Pac-12 play. As usual, point guard McKinley Wright led the way with 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds and is averaging a team-leading 13.6 points and 5.3 assists on the season. Forward Tyler Bey (13.5 points, Pac-12-leading 9.3 rebounds) and guard D’Shawn Schwartz (10.9 points) also are averaging double figures, with Bey having notched double-doubles in four of his last five games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. UCLA’s 72-68 home victory over Colorado on Jan. 30 snapped the Buffaloes’ four-game series win streak as Smith poured in a career-high 30 points, including a 13-of-15 performance at the free-throw line.
2. The Bruins will need better offensive efficiency Saturday to have a shot at the season sweep after finishing Thursday’s game with 19 turnovers and only nine assists.
3. Colorado is three wins away from tying the program’s single-season record of 24 set by the 2010-11 squad and matched a year later. Both teams were coached by Boyle.
PREDICTION: Colorado 76, UCLA 66