Washington State Cougars vs Colorado Buffaloes Prediction, 12/31/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington State Cougars vs Colorado Buffaloes

Date: Sunday, December 31, 2023

Location: CU Events Center in Boulder, CO

TV: PAC12

The Washington State Cougars (9-2) are headed to CU Events Center on Sunday where they will attempt to beat the Colorado Buffaloes (9-2).

The Washington State Cougars faced off with Boise State and earned the victory with a final of 66-61 in their last game. Washington State ended having earned a 42.9% FG percentage (24 of 56) and buried 4 of their 14 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Cougars converted 14 of their 18 attempts for a rate of 77.8%. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they collected 37 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 9 assists for this game as well as creating 7 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In the matter of defending, Washington State let their opponent shoot 35.9% from the field on 23 out of 64 shooting. Boise State totaled 8 assists and had 5 steals in this contest. Furthermore, Boise State pulled down 35 rebounds (6 offensive, 29 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Boise State finished the game at 76.9% at the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of their 13 tries. They also converted 5 out of their 20 attempts from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Cougars ended up with 14 while Boise State totaled 18 personal fouls.

Isaac Jones is one player who came through for the matchup. He recorded 21 points on 7 out of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 minutes and also totaled 5 boards. He ended up going 53.8% from the field and also earned 2 assists.

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Washington State enters this one with a mark of 9-2 this season. They lose possession via turnover 10.3 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 18.4 fouls every game. As a team, Washington State is pulling down 40.0 rebounds per game and has totaled 144 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 289th in the country in terms of passing. The Cougars are connecting on 33.6% on 3-pointers (73 of 217) and 67.0% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 77.4 points per game (123rd in D-1) while going 48.3% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Cougars are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers every game and they draw 18.3 personal fouls. They relinquish 28.0% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 19th in college hoops in PPG allowed (62.5). The Cougars are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 37.3% (229 of 614) and they surrender 31.3 rebounds per game as a unit. They rank 3rd in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 90 surrendered for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Colorado Buffaloes got the victory with a final of 98-71 when they played Utah Tech. In relation to rebounding, Colorado allowed Utah Tech to pull down 17 in total (6 on the offensive side). They shot 30.0% from behind the 3-point line via 6 out of 20 and finished the game at 9 out of 14 at the free throw line (64.3%). The Buffaloes permitted Utah Tech to convert 28 of their 63 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 44.4% for the matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Buffaloes shot 35 out of 61 from the field which gave them a percentage of 57.4%. With regard to 3-point shots, Colorado made 9 of their 18 attempts (50.0%). They were able to bury 19 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 76.0%. Utah Tech had 20 fouls in the game which got the Buffaloes to the free throw line for a total of 25 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 15 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. The Buffaloes pulled down 24 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards for a total of 38 for the contest.

KJ Simpson was important for the Buffaloes for the game. He knocked down 8 of 14 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 57.1%, and earned 6 rebounds. He totaled 23 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and had 6 assists in this contest.

Colorado has a win-loss mark of 9-2 on the year. The Buffaloes are committing 15.5 personal fouls every game and they go 78.9% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 19.4 times per contest (8th in college basketball) and they are giving up possession 14.0 times per game. Colorado has totaled 948 pts on the campaign (86.2 per game) and they snag 38.7 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Buffaloes are connecting on 52.6% from the field, which ranks 1st in college hoops.

The Buffaloes are ranked 133rd in the country in PPG given up with 69.0. They are forcing their opponents into 13.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the floor (153rd in college basketball). The Colorado defense concedes 31.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (74 of 232) and opponents are knocking down 73.3% of their foul shots. They have conceded 9.3 assists and 27.3 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 11th and 2nd in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Colorado

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