The Colorado Buffaloes (6-1) and No. 5 UCLA Bruins (6-1) tussle in a 9:30 p.m. ET game Wednesday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. Below, we look at the Colorado vs. UCLA odds and lines and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Colorado is coming off an 80-76 win over Stanford on Sunday. F Evan Battey piled up a season-high 22 points in the Buffs’ victory.
CU has played in four consecutive close games; the most recent three games in that stretch have been Colorado victories. But over that same span, the Buffaloes are 0-3-1 against the number.
The Bruins rebounded from a Nov. 23 loss to No. 3 Gonzaga by clocking a 73-51 win at UNLV Saturday. UCLA held the Rebels to a 30.4% shooting performance while going 8-of-17 from beyond the arc. For the season, the Bruins have shot 38.7% on 3-pointers; that mark ranks 48th in the nation.
Colorado at UCLA odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:34 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Colorado +600 (bet $100 to win $600) | UCLA -1000 (bet $1,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Colorado +13.5 (-115) | UCLA -13.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 138.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Colorado at UCLA odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
UCLA 80, Colorado 63
Money line
PASS on these prices.
Against the spread
Colorado’s win over Stanford is a bit suspect due to the nature of the Buffs’ high shooting percentage (36.8% on 3-pointers) and low turnover rate in that game.
Youthful Colorado looks to be dependent on big nights from beyond the arc, and a first road game coming against a Bruins team that takes care of the ball and rebounds well doesn’t leave much room for error.
The Buffs trailed for long stretches against recent foes Duquesne and Brown, both of which are bottom-150 teams.
The Bruins have shown an ability to get out and pound a double-digit lead into something more.
TAKE UCLA -13.5 (-112).
Over/Under
The Over is 5-2 through UC’s seven games, and it’s 4-0 in UCLA’s last four times out as a home favorite.
Colorado has the ability to get enough 3-pointers and free throws to spiral this total into the 140s, and the Bruins have had some really good shooting performances at Pauley Pavilion (shooting 42.4% on 3-pointers at home).
Still, this number is solid: consider a partial-unit play on the OVER 138.5 (-108).
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:
Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / USC / Wisconsin / College Football News
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]