Bruins Look To Handle Buffs Before Heading Home
The No. 4 UCLA Bruins are full steam ahead into their final homestand of the season, but first they have a pitstop Sunday to face the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder.
The Bruins, who wrap up the regular season at home against Arizona State and No. 8 Arizona in early March, are riding a seven-game Pac-12 Conference winning streak after dispatching Utah Thursday behind another 20-point game from Jaime Jaquez.
Four straight games with 20 or more points is a career-high for the soon to be All-American Jaquez, whose 3-pointer with a minute left iced the Utes.
“Jaime is a bigtime player. He’s tough. He can make threes, he can beat you off the dribble. If you put a tall guy on him, he goes by. You don’t guard him, he knocks in a shot. He’s got the pull-up. He is a tough cover,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin, whose team locked up the Pac-12 regular season title when Arizona State hit a buzzer-beater from beyond halfcourt to shock No. 8 Arizona Saturday, told the media.
Despite a 15-14 record, the Buffaloes are a tough out at home, going 11-3 overall and 5-3 in conference play, and they gave the Bruins a game in Westwood, leading 39-31 with 14 minutes left before a 17-0 run by UCLA put the game out of reach.
Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson are the main weapons for head coach Tad Boyle and one or the other has led the Buffaloes in scoring in all but three games this season.
Since Jan. 1, da Silva is the second-leading scorer in the conference with 18.4 points per game while shooting 50.8% from the field and 45.6% from 3-point range.
Let’s check the latest college basketball news, stats, injury reports and college basketball lines for UCLA vs Colorado. We’ve got plenty of NCAA basketball picks for you to consider.
Campbell breaks shooting slump
Tyger Campbell had a bounce-back effort against Utah, ending a shooting slump that led to a string of five straight games scoring in single digits, his most in two years.
The senior point guard made three 3-pointers, his most since the first game against Utah Jan. 12, to put to rest a 7-of-24 streak covering six contests.
“I expect it. I work really hard, so when games like this happen, it’s not really anything surprising,” Campbell told the media of his 18-point, five-assist game against Utah. “I’m still thankful I had a good game and my teammates found me. I’m happy we won.”
Campbell, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has averaged 12.3 points, 5.83 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in six career games against Colorado, including a 21-point game last season and an 11-assist contest against them as a freshman.
O’Brien getting chance to start for Buffs
The Buffaloes have had to do without leading rebounder J’Vonne Hadley for the last six games, leading to more playing time for the likes of guard Luke O’Brien.
The junior from Littleton, CO, has been an able fill-in, averaging 9.7 points and seven rebounds in those games, up from 5.6 points and 5.0 rebounds overall.
“Luke’s our best rebounder, so let’s get him out there,” Boyle told the media after the Buffaloes were outrebounded by 12 boards vs. Utah in a loss Feb. 5. “Let’s at least shore that piece of it up. From a rotational standpoint, it’s a little bit of a challenge.”
O’Brien doesn’t give much in terms of shooting as he is making just 41.7% from the field and 29.5% from 3-point land, which is probably why he was coming off the bench.
UCLA vs Colorado Game Injuries
UCLA vs Colorado Head-to-Head
The Bruins have claimed six of the last seven victories against the Buffaloes to improve to 17-7 in the series. UCLA is just 5-5 against Colorado in Boulder.
UCLA vs Colorado Game Information
- Game: UCLA (25-4, 15-2 Pac-12) vs Colorado (15-14, 7-11)
- Location: CU Events Center, Boulder, CO
- Day/Time: Sunday, Feb. 26, 4 p.m. ET
- UCLA vs Colorado Live Stream:TBS.com
UCLA vs Colorado Betting Lines
UCLA vs Colorado Picks & Prediction
The Bruins, who are favored by 7 points on the NCAAB lines, are 6-2 with one push against the spread ATS as a road favorite. The Buffaloes are 5-3 with one push ATS as an underdog this season.
The last five games between the Bruins and Buffaloes have finished under the total.
UCLA is listed at -305 in our Las Vegas NCAAB odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Bruins, you have a chance to win $33. Colorado is +253, offering a chance to win $253 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives UCLA a 75.31% chance to win, with the Buffaloes 28.33%.
UCLA vs Colorado Trends
UCLA vs Colorado Edge
UCLA vs Colorado Results
UCLA vs Colorado Game Summary
