Colorado Buffaloes vs Arizona Wildcats Prediction, 2/18/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Colorado Buffaloes vs Arizona Wildcats

Date: Saturday, February 18, 2023

Location: McKale Center in Tucson, AZ

TV: ESPN+

The Arizona Wildcats (22-4) are hosting the Colorado Buffaloes (14-12) at McKale Center on Saturday.

The Colorado Buffaloes took the court against Utah and ended up losing by a score of 73-62 in their last game. Colorado ended the contest having earned a 37.1% FG percentage (23 out of 62) and converted 4 out of their 18 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Buffaloes knocked down 12 of 13 tries for a percentage of 92.3%. In the matter of grabbing boards, they earned 28 with 9 of them being offensive. They also doled out 12 assists in the matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 4 steals. With respect to defending, Colorado let their opponent shoot 49.1% from the field on 27 of 55 shooting. Utah totaled 17 dimes and had 4 steals for this contest. On top of that, Utah had 36 rebounds (8 offensive, 28 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Utah ended up going 68.4% at the free throw line by knocking down 13 of 19 attempts. They made 6 of 17 shots from three-point range. In the matter of fouls, the Buffaloes ended up with 16 while Utah finished the game with 15 fouls.

KJ Simpson is someone who was a major factor for this game. He finished with 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting. He played for 32 mins played and grabbed 5 boards. He went 38.5% from the floor and dished out 5 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Best Bets Picks

Colorado heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 14-12 for the year. They are averaging 70.9 pts per contest (190th in D-1) while going 43.9% from the floor. The Buffaloes are shooting 31.8% on three-point shots (163 of 513) and 68.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, Colorado is pulling in 37.5 rebounds per game and is sitting with 336 dimes this season, which has them ranked 216th in the nation in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 13.7 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 16.5 fouls per contest.

When they are on the defensive end, the Buffaloes are able to force 14.7 turnovers per game while drawing 17.9 personal fouls. They are conceding 32.6% from 3-point land and they are 68th in D-1 in PPG allowed (65.9). The Buffaloes defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 41.9% (611 of 1,457) and they relinquish 33.2 rebounds per contest as a unit. They rank 42nd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 278 conceded so far this season.

For their last game, the Arizona Wildcats walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 88-79 when they played Stanford. The Wildcats collected 14 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 23 for this game. They coughed it up 11 times, while earning 6 steals in the game. Stanford was called for 19 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 11 attempts. They were able to make 9 of them for a rate of 81.8%. In the matter of shooting from beyond the arc, Arizona converted 14 of 35 attempts (40.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats ended up shooting 28 for 61 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.9%. The Wildcats allowed Stanford to convert 33 of their 54 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 61.1% for the game. They wrapped up this game 55.6% from 3-point land by connecting on 10 of 18 and ended up shooting 12 of 19 at the free throw line (63.2%). Concerning how they rebounded, Arizona permitted Stanford to get 33 in all (10 offensive).

Courtney Ramey ended up being important for the Wildcats in this matchup. He totaled 26 points in his 37 minutes on the court and accumulated 5 dimes for the contest. He buried 9 out of 18 for this game giving him a rate of 50.0%, and had 6 rebounds.

Arizona has a win-loss record of 22-4 for the campaign. As an offense, the Wildcats are hitting on 48.8% from the floor, which ranks 12th in D-1. Arizona has accounted for 2,163 points so far this year (83.2 per game) and they average 40.7 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 19.5 times per game (2nd in college basketball) and they turn it over 13.7 times per game. The Wildcats have committed 17.0 personal fouls every game and they connect on 72.5% from the free throw line.

The Arizona defense gives up 32.6% on shots from 3-point land (204 of 626) and their opposition knocks down 69.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 12.3 dimes and 33.2 boards per contest, which ranks them 155th and 126th in D-1. The Wildcats defensively are ranked 223rd in the country in points per game surrendered with 71.0. They are able to force 12.5 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.9% from the floor (47th in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Arizona

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here