Colorado Basketball: 2019-20 keys for home game against Washington State

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.