Arizona State vs #24 Colorado | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

No. 24 Colorado is still in the running for the Pac-12 regular-season title, and the Buffs will be home favorites over unranked Arizona State, which has disappointed this season in part due to injuries and COVID.  Colorado is a +25000 long shot to win the national title.

How to Bet Arizona State at Colorado NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

• When: Thursday, 9 PM ET
• Where: CU Events Center
• TV: ESPN2
• Stream: ESPN app
• Radio:com
• Opening NCAAB Lines: TBA (Colorado will be favored)

Last Meeting

It’s the only scheduled meeting between the schools, although they could play in the conference tournament. Last year, the Buffs swept the two games. The one in Boulder was 68-61. An 11-0 CU run midway through the second half run pushed its lead to 44-32 with 10:35 left. The Sun Devils pulled within 49-44 with about 7 minutes left but couldn’t get closer. ASU shot just 30% from the field in the second half, including 4 of 19 (21%) from 3-point range.

Why Bet on Arizona State? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

ASU (10-11) won its third in a row Saturday, 77-74 in OT at home over Washington State in the Sun Devils’ home finale. Jalen Graham blocked a short jumper by DJ Rodman with about 20 seconds to play. The Sun Devils played for the final shot and put the ball in preseason All-American Remy Martin’s hands, and he delivered with a three-pointer from deep beyond the arc with 0.4 seconds remaining.

“I think senior day for us it was a fitting end for how that game ended and what Remy did is what he’s been doing here for years, he’s hit so many big shoots in his career at Arizona State,” Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley said.

Martin led the way for the Sun Devils with 23 points, hits eighth straight 20-point game in conference play. That’s three shy of the school record. Martin is averaging 25.4 points in the past 10 games. He has 1,718 points (114 games/15.1 ppg.) and 454 assists career, the only Sun Devil to reach both of those figures.

Kimani Lawrence added 14 points and five rebounds and Verge added nine points and a career-high nine assists. Jalen Graham and Jalen House also stepped up, as Graham finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds and House finished with 10 points and two steals.

The Sun Devils continued to be without starters Marcus Bagley (ankle) and Josh Christopher (back) while John Olmsted also missed the game due to illness. All are in doubt here. Holland Woods is the only Sun Devil to play in every game. ASU is 16-7 in games of six points or less past two seasons. It leads the league in turnover margin (+4.76). Graham’s .619 field goal mark (60-of-97) is second-best in the Pac-12.

Arizona State was to play Washington State again Monday but it was canceled due to COVID issues with the Cougars. The Sun Devils will close the regular season Saturday at Utah and the Pac-12 Tournament begins Wednesday, March 10 in Las Vegas.

Why Bet on Colorado? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

Colorado (19-7) won its third in a row Saturday , 70-61 over visiting UCLA. The Buffs outscored UCLA by a 15-4 margin over the final seven minutes of the game to secure a series split with the Bruins in the regular season. After Tyger Campbell’s 3-point basket gave the Bruins a 57-57 advantage with nearly seven minutes to play, Colorado scored the next nine points of the game. That gave the Buffaloes a 64-57 cushion with 4:41 remaining.

 Johnny Juzang led the visiting Bruins with 25 points, connecting on 7 of 12 shots. He made 3 of 4 attempts from 3-point range. Jaylen Clark (10 points) was the only other UCLA player to score in double figures. UCLA committed 14 turnovers, including nine in the second half.

Colorado star McKinley scored 26 points and handed out six assists. Evan Battey added 12 points and six rebounds for Colorado and Jeriah Horne chipped in 10. The Buffs shot 46.3% for the game, but hit 54.5% in the second half (12-22) while holding the Bruins to 10-for-24 shooting after half. Colorado finished with a 23-1 edge in points off turnovers.

The Buffs’ bench outscored their UCLA counterparts 22-10, and CU had a 38-24 edge in points in the paint. CU also showed again why it is the nation’s leading free throw shooting team, hitting 15 of 18 tries. It was the 18th game that the Buffaloes have shot 80 percent or better this season.

Colorado has held its last four opponents to 62 points or less (60.0 ppg) and under 70 points in six of the last seven and eight of the last 11 games. It was the 19th time in 26 games the Buffaloes missed three or fewer free throws.

It gave CU another Quad 1 win for the NET rankings and should also help their Kenpom rankings, both of which will be critical when the NCAA Selection Committee makes its seedings.

Expert College Basketball Prediction

Colorado 79, Arizona State 68

 

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