Bouncing Back vs. the Buffs? ESPN BPI Sees WVU as the Favorite Over Colorado

West Virginia is looking to improve to 3-1 in Big 12 Conference play.

West Virginia University guard Toby Okani | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Here in just a few hours, the West Virginia Mountaineers will look to get back on track and put the loss to Arizona behind them when they meet up with the Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday afternoon.

What the ESPN BPI says

According to the ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI), West Virginia has a 58.9% chance to win while Colorado has a 41.1% chance to hand the Mountaineers their second straight loss. This projection doesn't feel terribly off, but I am surprised this isn't more of a 50/50 pick with WVU being on the road.

West Virginia's recent games

The Mountaineers saw its seven-game winning streak, which started with a win over Arizona, come to an end with a loss to the Wildcats earlier this week. West Virginia looked fatigued, especially on the defensive end of the floor, where they gave up too many easy baskets. In their two previous games against Kansas and Oklahoma State, nothing came easy, as they allowed just 61 and 50 points, respectively.

Colorado's recent games

The Buffs began the season 9-2, with their only two losses coming to Michigan State and Iowa State. They did have a one-point win over UConn in the Maui Invitational, but things haven't been as joyous since league play began. Colorado is 0-3 in Big 12 play, dropping games to Iowa State, Arizona State, and UCF. It's not time to panic for the folks in Boulder, but if they don't get one in the win column soon, their chances of making the NCAA Tournament will erode.

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