Colorado at UCLA: How to watch, Game time, TV Schedule
Colorado (16-8, 7-6 Pac-12) looks to get back into the win column after falling to No. 8 Arizona 79-99 this past Saturday. The Buffs had three players in double figures, but saw a perfect home winning streak snapped at 13 straight. KJ Simpson and Tristan da Silva combined for half of CU’s points against the Wildcats. J’Vonne Hadley contributed 13 points and led the Buffs with six rebounds.
The UCLA Bruins (13-11, 8-6 Pac-12) come into the game on a five-game winning streak after defeating Cal 61-60 on the road. Adam Bona led the Bruins in scoring with 13. Dylan Andrews had 12 and Lazar Stefanovic finished with a double-double on the night. His 12 points and 13 rebounds was his second two-banger game of the season.
This will be the lone meeting of the season between the Buffs and Bruins. Tad Boyle’s team needs to find a way to come out on top in the first part of their final road trip to Southern California. They have a single non-neutral site victory this season. Historically, It has been a struggle for CU against UCLA, having lost five straight in the series. The Bruins have also won seven of their last 11 games at home this season.
To say that UCLA can play defense is an understatement. They comes in allowing the fewest points per game in the Pac-12 at 64.0 (16th nationally). However, the Bruins offense is mediocre with only 66.2 points per game, which puts them dead last in the conference. A tale of two worlds. They’re led by freshman Sebastian Mack who averages 13.3 points pet game and he leads the team in steals with 38 on the season. Lazar Stefanovic has been on fire the past eight games for the Bruins, averaging 15 per game and 8 rebounds during that time. Stefanovic has played outstanding in his first season with UCLA after transferring from Utah. He hails from Belgrade, Serbia and has represented the Serbian National team, along with NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
In this five-game winning streak, Dylan Andrews has been averaging nearly 17 points per game for the Bruins. A breakaway from defense being “bread and butter” and look for them to be a headache for the Buffs top scorers.
The Buffs lone Pac-12 road win came against the Washington Huskies on Jan. 24th. They’ll need to figure out a way to win to keep their NCAA tournament hope alive. In the most recent Bracketology by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, he has the Buffs as the sixth team out. Missing out on the NCAA tournament with the type of talent this Buffs team has would be a horrific way to end the year. Colorado remains to be one of the best shooting teams in the nation. They’re 14th in the nation in field goal percentage at 49.2, and better from beyond the arc at 38.6 percent (10th nationally). CU also comes in 40th in the nation in scoring, averaging 80.7 points per game which is still third-best in the Pac-12. The Buffs will need to produce on offense if they want to come out with a win.
CU now has five players averaging double figures in points . KJ Simpson leads the way at 19.4, along with Tristan da Silva (15.5), Cody Williams (14.0), J’Vonne Hadley (11.5), and Eddie Lampkin Jr. with (10.0). All these players are shooting over 49 percent from the field with Williams leading the way at 56 percent. The Buffs have proven that they can score on a nightly basis, but they will need to come up big defensively against the Bruins. They have allowed 70 or more points in their last five games including nearly allowing the century mark to Arizona. Boyle will need to come up with a strong defensive game plan to come out with a win in Los Angeles.
CU has shown that they have all the talent in the world when it comes to scoring, but they need to find a way to be consistent on the defensive end, and more importantly they need to find a way to win on the road. The Buffs biggest missing piece of the puzzle is winning on the road a win at Pauly Pavilion could help put together that final piece of the puzzle for them
Colorado vs. UCLA
Tip: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Cory Alexander) Available on Fubo
Radio: KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM (Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Satellite: Sirius XM 384 & SXM App (974)
