Colorado Basketball will host Washington State on Thursday, Jan. 23. What do the Buffaloes have to do to get a bounce-back win?
Colorado Basketball takes their #23 AP Top 25 ranking into the game against the red-hot Washington State Cougars. The tip-off will be Saturday at 8:00 p.m. MT in the CU Athletic Center and will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks. Both teams are looking for their fourth win in Pac-12 Conference play.
The Buffaloes (14-4, 3-2) made their way into the AP Top 25 after their 74-65 win at home over #12 Oregon (15-4, 4-2) on Jan. 2. Now, Colorado has to regroup after a futile offensive performance in their 75-54 loss at #22 Arizona (13-5, 3-2) on Jan. 18.
This match-up has gained more importance as the Buffaloes (#21 NET) find themselves tied for fourth place with Arizona (#11 NET) in the Pac-12. After a sweep of the Oregon schools at home last week, the Cougars (#100 NET) are now just a half-game behind the Buffaloes and alone in sixth place.
Last week, Colorado defeated Arizona State (#60 NET) 68-61 on Jan. 16 in Tempe, before traveling south to Tucson and losing to the Wildcats while producing a season-low 54 points. In addition, Arizona out-rebounded the Buffs 39-25 as big man Evan Battey struggled with foul trouble and finished with zero points and one rebound in 22 minutes of play.
While the Buffs should be double-digit favorites over the Cougs, Washington State is a team with newfound confidence. The Cougars are coming off of victories at home over Oregon (#16 NET) 72-61 on Jan. 16 and Oregon State (#67 NET) 89-76 on Jan. 18. The Buffaloes will need to address the following in order to avoid the upset at home.