The No. 3 UCLA Bruins (24-4, 15-2 Pac-12) face the Colorado Buffaloes (15-14, 7-11) Sunday. Tip from CU Events Center is at 4 p.m. ET (CBS). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the UCLA vs. Colorado odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
UCLA won the first meeting between these programs 68-54 at home as a 12-point favorite on Jan. 14.
The Bruins enter off a 78-71 victory at Utah Thursday. UCLA will look to grow its lead atop the Pac-12 Conference in Colorado following Arizona’s last-second loss to Arizona State Saturday.
Colorado has a tall task to hand UCLA its first loss outside of the Quad 1 in the NET rankings. The Bruins rank 7th in the nation with 59.8 points allowed per game and the Buffaloes score just 70.4 per game (t-205th). The home team is going to have to play strong defense to try to avoid UCLA running it out of the gym.
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UCLA at Colorado odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:20 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): UCLA -280 (bet $280 to win $100) | Colorado +225 (bet $100 to win $225)
- Against the spread (ATS): UCLA -6.5 (-110) | Colorado +6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 134.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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UCLA at Colorado picks and predictions
Prediction
UCLA 68, Colorado 60
Moneyline
PASS.
UCLA (-280) is a decent price as it should be closer to -325, but you should never wager nearly 3 times your potential return on a team straight up. As an addition to a parlay, it would be solid.
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Against the spread
UCLA -6.5 (-110).
The Bruins beat Colorado by 14 points in the previous meeting this season and are coming off a 7-point win at Utah on Thursday.
Colorado is coming off an 84-65 home loss to USC as it looks to rebound and salvage a mediocre season.
The No. 3 Bruins are not going to take this game lightly. Which is not good for the Buffaloes. UCLA will control the pace and make this a comfortable margin of victory.
The Bruins failed to cover the 7.5-point spread Thursday, but this time they get it done.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 134.5 (-110)
UCLA has gone Under in 5 straight games against a team with a winning record, and Colorado has gone Under in 5 straight home games against teams with a road winning percentage over .600.
This game has all the hallmarks of an Under play.
UCLA will hold down a Colorado squad that averages just 70.4 points. UCLA’s offense is not high-powered (74.2 points per game) while the Buffaloes’ defense allows a respectable 66.7 (84th). The scoring struggle will be real for both squads and an Over is not likely.
I like the Under as long as this number stays above 132.5.
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