Colorado Buffaloes vs Arizona Wildcats Prediction, 1/4/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Colorado Buffaloes vs Arizona Wildcats

Date: Thursday, January 4, 2024

Location: McKale Center in Tucson, AZ

TV: ESPN

McKale Center is the location where the Arizona Wildcats (10-3) will take on the Colorado Buffaloes (11-2) on Thursday.

The Colorado Buffaloes stepped onto the hardwood against Washington State and went home with a win by a final score of 74-67 in their last contest. In the matter of fouls, the Buffaloes ended up finishing with 13 while Washington State racked up 21 fouls. They also buried 5 of 15 shots from beyond the perimeter. Washington State finished the game at 75.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 6 of 8 attempts. On top of that, Washington State snagged 27 rebounds (6 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Washington State doled out 12 assists and had 5 steals for the game. When discussing the defense, Colorado allowed the other team to go 48.3% from the field on 28 of 58 shooting. They also recorded 12 assists for the matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When it comes to rebounding, they earned 26 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Buffaloes made 22 of 26 attempts for a percentage of 84.6%. Colorado walked away from the contest with a 50.0% field goal percentage (24 of 48) and converted 4 of 9 three-point shots.

KJ Simpson is one guy who was a major factor for the matchup. He totaled 34 points on 10 out of 18 shooting. He played 37 minutes played and also snagged 2 rebounds. He shot 55.6% from the field and also earned 2 assists.

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Colorado comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 11-2 for the campaign. They are averaging 84.2 pts per game (26th in college basketball) while connecting on 51.8% from the field. The Buffaloes are connecting on 40.8% on shots from beyond the arc (91 of 223) and 78.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Colorado is pulling down 38.8 rebounds per game and has racked up 239 assists this season, which is 21st in Division 1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 14.0 times per contest and as a team are committing 15.4 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Buffaloes have forced 13.2 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. They are ranked 18th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 128 relinquished on the year. The Buffaloes defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 42.2% (320 of 759) and they surrender 27.6 boards per game as a squad. They are giving up 32.1% on 3-pointers and they rank 124th in college basketball in points per game from their opponents (68.8).

When they last stepped on the court, the Arizona Wildcats took a loss by a score of 100-82 when they played Stanford. The Wildcats were able to pull down 21 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 32 for this game. They turned the ball over 8 times, while recording 8 steals for the matchup. Stanford was called for 17 fouls for the game which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for 15 attempts. They were able to convert 11 of those for a rate of 73.3%. When it comes to 3-point attempts, Arizona made 7 out of 26 tries (26.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Wildcats finished shooting 32 for 73 from the field which gave them a rate of 43.8%. The Wildcats permitted Stanford to make 36 of 62 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 58.1% in this contest. They went 64.0% from distance by connecting on 16 of 25 and ended up shooting 12 of 14 from the free throw line (85.7%). In the matter of rebounds, Arizona allowed Stanford to get 31 in total (5 offensive).

Caleb Love pitched in for the Wildcats in this contest. He made 9 of 19 in the matchup giving him a rate of 47.4%, and had 3 rebounds. He recorded 23 points in his 33 mins on the court, but didn't record an assist.

Arizona has a record of 10-3 on the season. The Wildcats commit 16.6 fouls per contest and they shoot 74.0% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 19.8 times per game (6th in D-1) and they are turning it over 12.5 times per contest. Arizona has accumulated 1,200 pts on the campaign (92.3 per game) and they pull in 44.2 boards per contest. When it comes to offense, the Wildcats are shooting 49.5% from the field, which ranks them 26th in D-1.

The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 242nd in the nation in points per game surrendered with 73.4. They have forced 14.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.3% from the floor (156th in the nation). The Arizona defense allows 34.2% on shots from beyond the arc (113 of 330) and opponents are knocking down 68.1% of their foul shots. They have given up 14.2 dimes and 31.2 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 287th and 35th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Colorado

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