Pac-12 foes will clash when the Washington State Cougars (9-9) face off against the Colorado Buffaloes (14-5) at Wallis Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. Action starts at 9:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 23 and can be seen on PAC.
The Cougars are hoping to rebound after their 92-71 loss to Utah on Thursday. Josh Hawkinson was the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 16 points. The Buffaloes are coming off a 95-83 loss against Washington on Wednesday. Josh Scott scored 18 points and recorded 12 rebounds earning his 11th double-double of the season.
Second-chance points might be scarce for the Cougars in this matchup. They rank 277th in the nation in offensive rebounding (OR% of 27.0%), while Colorado is 24th-best in the nation on the defensive glass (DR% of 75.3%).
Washington State is a three-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 152 points. The Cougars come into this game 9-9 Straight Up (SU) and 8-9 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 3-7 ATS. The Cougars are one of the best in Division I in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting a superb .487 from the field. Washington State has been struggling of late. The Cougars have given up an average of 81.6 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 75.4 PPG. Opponents have consistently had their shots rejected by the Cougars, ranking 33rd in the country in blocks per game with 5.3.
Across the court, the Buffaloes have records of 10-6 ATS and 14-5 SU. The Buffaloes convert their three-pointers at a high percentage, ranking 17th in the nation at .398. The Buffaloes have controlled the glass with an average of 42.8 rebounds per game, seventh in the country.
These conference rivals meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Washington State won the last game in the matchup, but the win was not enough to overtake Colorado in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 1-5 SU over the last few meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 3-3 record. Colorado held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once, while Washington State was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Colo, ATS Winner – WashSt, O/U – Over
Notes
Washington State is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington State’s last 5 games.
Washington State is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington State’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington State’s last 5 games when playing Colorado.
Washington State is languishing at 1-5 SU against conference rivals, while Colorado has an even 3-3 SU record against its foes.
Colorado scores 74.2 points per away game (ranked 80th). Washington State ranks a poor 294th in points allowed at home, allowing 74.4 points.
Ranked 74th, the Colorado Buffaloes have an offensive rating of 111.1. The Washington State Cougars rank 228th with a defensive rating of just 105.0.
The Washington State Cougars have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking 23rd in the nation with a FG% of 48.7%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Colorado Buffaloes have a losing 1-2 record.
The Washington State Cougars rank higher based on their field goal percentage (23rd) than their effective field goal percentage (33rd). The Colorado Buffaloes rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (118th) than their field goal percentage (147th).
Colorado ranks 88th in assists, recording 15.1 per game. Washington State performs worse at 121st with 14.4 assists per game.
The Colorado Buffaloes average 42.8 rebounds per game and are ranked seventh. The Washington State Cougars average 34.4 rebounds per game, ranked 277th.
The Colorado Buffaloes rank 52nd in offensive rebounds. The Washington State Cougars rank 162nd in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, Washington State forces a turnover rate of 17.4%. When Colorado turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 8-4 record.
