We’re just hours away from the Colorado Buffaloes’ biggest challenge so far this season in No. 5 UCLA. A win for Tad Boyle’s young squad would be a massive upset in the world of college basketball.
Yet the Buffs did beat these Bruins 70-61 in the waning days of last season. However, that was before UCLA shocked many in its run to the NCAA Final Four.
Both Colorado and UCLA enter this early season Pac-12 matchup at 6-1. The Buffs’ lone blemish remains courtesy of Southern Illinois while UCLA’s was a little more respectable — an 83-63 defeat to then-No. 1 Gonzaga. With all that in mind, the Bruins are favored somewhat heavily as of Wednesday morning.
All Betting Lines are Courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook
- Line: UCLA -12.5
- Over/Under: 139.5
- Moneyline: Colorado (+570), UCLA (-900)
As you can see, the Bruins are expected to handle this one easily in a high-scoring affair. We haven’t yet seen Colorado in a true road environment and facing UCLA at Pauley Pavilion should be a good barometer of where this young team is at.
For the Buffs to win, they’ll have to play better defensively than they did against Stanford and somehow contain Johnny Juzang, who is averaging 17.4 points. Jamie Jaquez Jr. leads the Bruins with 6.7 rebounds per game, but I am confident Jabari Walker and Evan Battey can make his life hard on the boards.
Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. MT (6:30 p.m. PT) on the Pac-12 Network.
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