Arizona @ Colorado preview
Coors Events Center
Last Meeting ( Dec 28, 2020 ) Colorado 74, Arizona 88
Arizona and Colorado meet Saturday in a Pac-12 game at Boulder, Colo., with both teams coming off disappointing losses to Utah.
The Wildcats (13-5, 7-5 Pac-12) lost to the Utes 73-58 at Salt Lake City on Thursday after shooting 28.6 percent from the field in the second half.
Colorado (13-5, 7-4) did not host Arizona State on Thursday because of COVID-19 impacting the Sun Devils' program, so the Buffaloes have practiced the entire week smarting from their loss to Utah at home last weekend.
The Buffaloes blew a 19-point lead with less than nine minutes left in the 77-74 loss. They were outscored 31-9 in the closing minutes.
"I'm not sure I've ever been more disappointed in a loss in my career," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "To have a game in hand like that and not finish it ... At some point you have to stop talking about things and you have to do them."
Arizona coach Sean Miller was similarly incensed with the performance of his players against Utah.
Utah went into halftime on a 9-1 run to take a 32-27 halftime lead, and the Utes pulled away in the second half as Arizona's shooting fell off dramatically.
The Wildcats' defense after halftime allowed Utah to shoot 57.7 percent from the field, including going 5-for-6 from 3-point range.
"Utah was highly motivated," Miller said. "They were organized, they were prepared, they were ready, and they kicked our butt."
Miller was critical of freshman starter Bennedict Mathurin, who had only four points in 21 minutes and was out of the lineup to begin the second half.
"Benn has to give us everything that he has," Miller said. "When he does that, he's a very, very good player. But I didn't like the way he played."
Arizona welcomed Estonia guard Kerr Kriisa to its lineup for the first time this season after he served an NCAA clearinghouse penalty by missing the first 70 percent of the Wildcats' season.
Kriisa did not score on two 3-point attempts, but he had a steal and two assists with no turnovers in 19 minutes.
Colorado's McKinley Wright IV, who has 584 career rebounds, is 16 rebounds from becoming the first Pac-12 player to reach 1,600 points, 600 assists and 600 rebounds.
The Buffaloes' loss to Utah was its first home defeat of the season. They are now 6-1 in Boulder and 34-6 there over the last 40 games.
--Field Level Media