UCLA @ Colorado preview

UCLA at Colorado

Last Meeting ( Feb 6, 2019 ) Colorado 84, UCLA 73

Colorado and UCLA, two Pac-12 teams who were all but written off earlier this season, still have shots at top-four conference finishes and first-round byes in next week’s league tournament in Las Vegas. They’ll put those hopes and aspirations on the line Thursday night in Boulder as UCLA visits the Buffaloes.

When UCLA coach Steve Alford was fired on New Year’s Eve, there appeared to be little hope for a young Bruins squad but, after a 93-88 overtime win last Thursday over rival USC, UCLA finds itself at 9-7 and part of a three-way tie for third place in the Pac-12. Now, even a split on their regular season-ending Colorado-Utah road swing could be enough for the Bruins to lock up a top-four seed. Colorado, meanwhile, is a game back at 8-8 and part of a three-way tie for sixth place with Oregon and USC, which visits Boulder on Saturday. It’s taken six wins in their last eight games for the Buffaloes to get here after a rough Pac-12 start, and two more victories could deliver what once was an unimaginable top-four conference finish.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT UCLA (16-13, 9-7 Pac-12): The Bruins’ win over the Trojans was their third straight overall and sophomore guard Jaylen Hands led the way with 21 points and 10 assists, including a 5-of-10 shooting performance from 3-point range. Hands has averaged 22.3 points and 7.8 assists over the last four games and paces the Pac-12 with 6.5 assists per contest on the season. Fellow guard Kris Wilkes (17.1 points) and center Moses Brown (10.5 points) join Hands (13.8) in double digits for UCLA, which averages a conference-most 78.6 points but also ranks 11th in the Pac-12 with 14.4 turnovers per outing.

ABOUT COLORADO (17-11, 8-8): The Buffs have the benefit of closing out the regular season with three home games, and they started on the right foot last Saturday with a 71-63 win over visiting Utah. Sophomore swingman Tyler Bey led the way with a 17-point, 10-rebound performance in the contest - his third straight and sixth double-double in his last eight games. Bey (12.8 points), guard McKinley Wright (13.0), forward Lucas Siewert (10.4) and guard Shane Gatling (10.1) average double figures for Colorado, which ranks among the conference’s top five in field-goal percentage (46.0) and free-throw accuracy (73.4) but is next to last in 3-point shooting (32.4 percent).

TIP-INS

1. Colorado has won three straight versus UCLA, including an 84-73 road victory in their first meeting this season on Feb. 6.

2. The Buffs have won four straight and are 5-2 overall in Pac-12 home games while the Bruins are 3-4 in conference road tilts.

3. Behind Bey (second in the Pac-12 with 9.5 rebounds per game) and Brown (fourth with 8.7), Colorado and UCLA are tied for the conference’s best average rebound margin at 5.3 per contest.

PREDICTION: Colorado 82, UCLA 72