NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Friday, Jan. 8, 9:00 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
Arena: Coors Events Center, Boulder, Colo.
Line: Colorado (-1)
After upsetting the Duke Blue Devils a few weeks ago, the Utah Utes followed up their performance with two straight blowout wins in which they scored over 100 points, giving many the impression that they could be the real deal in college basketball. Since then, however, Utah has lost two straight road games to the Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears to give them zero true road wins on the season and zero conference wins.
Next up for the Utes is yet another road game, as they travel to Boulder, Colorado, to face off with the Colorado Buffaloes in what should be a great matchup between two of the best big-men in the country, Josh Scott and Jakob Poeltl.
Colorado started off the season with a loss to the Iowa State Cyclones, but then they reeled off 11 straight wins before losing two of their last three to the SMU Mustangs and Stanford. The losses are disappointing, but the Buffaloes will firmly believe that they still have a great chance to make the 2016 NCAA tournament by avoiding any bad losses for the remainder of the season.
Expect both of these teams to make the 2016 NCAA tournament, so Friday night’s showdown will have the feel of a Sweet 16 game. Colorado and Utah both struggle on defense but look good on offense and have great frontcourts. Both of these teams are capable of controlling games against anyone in the country from the inside; therefore, this game should come down to guard play.
The Buffaloes have the far superior guards in terms of attacking talent in George King and Josh Fortune, and Utah has been miserable on the road. Give this one to Colorado in a tight affair that feels like a preview for March and will boast two of the more underrated teams in college basketball.
Prediction: Colorado 68, Utah 66
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