Colorado vs. No. 8 Arizona: How to watch, Game time, TV schedule
Colorado (16-7, 7-5 Pac-12) is coming off a big win at home against Arizona State this week. The Sun Devils made it close but in the end the Buffs were able to pull away with the 82-70 win. Tad Boyle’s team had four players in double-figures with J’Vonne Hadley leading the way. He notched his first career double-double with 19 points and 11 boards. The Buffs improved to 13-0 at the CU Events Center and set a new school record of most consecutive wins at home, passing the previous mark set back in 1968-69 when they won a Big Eight Championship.
No. 8 Arizona (18-5, 7-3 Pac-12) handed Utah their first loss at home of the season, getting the overtime win in Salt Lake City by a score of 105-99. The Wildcats had five players in double-figure for the victory. Pelle Larsson had 27 in the game and both Caleb Love and Omar Ballo each finished with double doubles. They come into Boulder on a four-game winning streak and look to hand the Buffs their first home loss of the season in the friendly confines of the CU Events Center.
The last time these two teams met was a one-sided affair in favor of Arizona. It was a 37-point blowout with the Buffs shooting a measly 36 percent from the floor, which was their second worst performance of the season. Colorado was also without both Tristan da Silva and Cody Williams.
Arizona comes into this matchup leading the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 89.7 points per game and ranks second in the nation behind Kentucky. On the season, the Wildcats are led by Love who is averaging 18.9 points per game, which is fourth-best in the conference. Many believe he’s the best player in the conference. Keshad Johnson is another player to look out for against the Buffs. He was one of 10 players named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award late season watch list and has averaged 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Ballo is averaging nearly a double-double on the season, dropping 12.8 points a game.
Colorado, like Arizona, has players that can put up numbers. The Buffs have five players averaging double-figure and are led by Wooden Award late season top 20 watch list member KJ Simpson, who averages 19.4 points and 4.4 assists per game. He also is tremendous on the boards, averaging 5.5 rebounds per game, putting him right behind Eddie Lampkin Jr. who averages 7.4 boards. The two big keys this game for the Buffs could be the pieces that they were missing in the last game. Da Silva is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game, and Williams is third at 14.4 points per game. Colorado can score like the Wildcats can, averaging 80.7 points per game.
This is very much a revenge game for CU after being blown out in the first game. The Buffs have won five in a row against Arizona at the CU Events Center and hope to make it six. The good news for the Buffs is the fact that the Wildcats are coming to Boulder with tired legs after the overtime win at Utah which saw four players play 44 minutes or more. They will have their full arsenal of players this time and if there is one thing that they can take from the blowout loss is motivation into Saturday’s game.
Colorado vs. No. 8 Arizona
Tip: 8 p.m. MT
TV: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Sean Farnham) Available on Fubo
Radio: KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM (Voice of the Buffs Mark Johnson, Scott Wilke)
Satellite: Sirius XM TBA & SXM APP TBA
