The UCLA Bruins (17-5, 13-3 Pac-12) travel to meet the Colorado Buffaloes (18-7, 12-6) Saturday at Coors Events Center for a 10 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we analyze the UCLA-Colorado odds and lines, with NCAA college basketball picks and predictions.
UCLA at Colorado: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:10 p.m. ET.
- Money line: UCLA +230 (bet $100 to win $230) | Colorado -275 (bet $275 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: UCLA +6.5 (-110) | Colorado -6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 136.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
UCLA at Colorado: Three things to know
- The Bruins sit atop the Pac-12 standings by a half-game over crosstown rival USC, but they’re underdogs by more than two buckets? Talk about a lack of respect. UCLA routed Utah 76-61 in Salt Lake City to easily cover as a one-point favorite. The Bruins have won four in a row while covering the spread in two of their last three.
- Colorado roughed up USC by an 80-62 count Thursday, easily covering a 3.5-point number. It propelled UCLA into first place. Now, the Buffaloes look for the SoCal sweep. Despite the big win over the Trojans, the Buffs are just 2-2 straight up and 1-3 ATS over their previous four outings.
- These teams met at Pauley Pavilion Jan. 2, with the Bruins coming away with a 65-62 win as one-point favorites. The Under (136) connected.
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UCLA at Colorado: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
UCLA 70, Colorado 67
Money line (ML)
UCLA (+230) is a value play as a big underdog in Boulder. The Bruins have been playing well, and Colorado has just been mediocre lately, sans the USC game.
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Against the spread (ATS)
UCLA +6.5 (-110) is a great play if you’re not feeling them straight up. The Bruins are 6-1 ATS in their past seven games as underdogs, and 10-3-1 ATS in their past 14 following a cover.
They’re also 15-6-1 ATS in the previous 22 games after a straight-up win. While Colorado is 9-3 ATS in its past 12 at home, the Buffaloes are also just 2-5 ATS in their past seven as favorites.
The underdog cashed in five of the past seven games in this series.
Over/Under (O/U)
The projected total of 136.5 is just too close to call for me. The trends are all over the board, with the Under going 5-1 in CU’s past six but the Over is 20-6-1 in its past 27 at home.
The Over is 7-3 in UCLA’s past 10 games on the road, but the Under is 5-2 in its past seven as an underdog.
The best bet is to AVOID.
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