College Basketball Odds, Pick & Preview for Washington State vs. Colorado (Thursday, Jan. 6)
Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: DJ Rodman.
- The Washington State Cougars take on the Colorado Buffaloes in Pac-12 college basketball action on Thursday.
- The Cougars have a team capable of making a run in the conference, while the Buffaloes' impressive record could be smoke and mirrors.
- Kyle Remillard breaks down how to bet this conference showdown below.
Washington State vs. Colorado Odds
| Washington State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -110 | 129.5 -110o / -110u | N/A |
| Colorado Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 -110 | 129.5 -110o / -110u | N/A |
Washington State and Colorado hope to get back into Pac-12 play on Thursday after both programs experienced a few cancellations due to COVID-19.
Washington State opened the season by winning its first five games by an average margin of 20 points. Since then, the Cougars have won just three of their last eight with all five losses coming by less than six points. The last game the Cougs played was a loss to Boise State on Dec. 22.
Colorado is 9-3 on the season but ranks 130th in terms of strength of schedule, according to TeamRankings. It’s beaten up on teams that rank outside the top 100 but suffered double-digit losses to both UCLA and Tennessee.
We haven’t seen much to be impressed with from either program at this point in the season, but we should learn a lot as conference play resumes.
Washington State Cougars
Head coach Kyle Smith hinted that he should have his full squad back after the two-week pause.
Washington State proved it can compete with the top tier of the Pac-12 after defeating Arizona State and taking USC to the wire. The Cougars look to get back on track after dropping three of their last four games.
Washington State will have a size advantage, boasting a trio of players standing above six-foot-10.
Mouhamed Gueye, Efe Abogidi and Dishon Jackson have combined to average 18 points and 15 rebounds per contest. The three have led the Cougars to grab offensive rebounds on 36% of their misses, good for 17th in the country. They’ve also helped with guarding 2-point field goal attempts, holding opponents to 44%.
Michael Flowers is the leading scorer for the program, and he's averaging 14 points per game while hitting 40% of his 3-point attempts.
Smith utilizes a deep bench that has nine players seeing the court for over 16 minutes per game. With that has come a well-balanced offensive attack, as all of those players average over five points per game.
Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado will be playing its first game in 19 days after COVID-19 ran through the program.
Though the Buffaloes are 9-3 on the season, they haven’t had many marquee victories. The group needed overtime to beat both Montana State and Duquesne. It also only beat Brown and Eastern Washington by one point.
The source of the offense comes from the charity stripe, as the group ranks seventh in the nation in free-throw attempts per field goal attempt. Of all of the team’s total points, 23% have come from the free-throw line, which ranks 11th in the country.
The offense has put up an average of 60 points over the last five games, which includes three opponents that rank outside the top 200 nationally.
The Buffs have been horrid from 3-point range, shooting just 31% as a team which is good for 272nd in the nation.
Defensively, the group has been mediocre, allowing 65 points per game but ranking 29th in the country in limiting offensive rebounds. That stat will surely be tested by the bigs of Washington State.
Washington State vs. Colorado Betting Pick
I’m not high on this Colorado team and believe the 9-3 record is a bit deceiving. The group has snuck past some bottom feeders and lost by double digits in its only two matchups against solid competition.
The Buffaloes have underperformed and are just 2-7-1 against the spread this season.
Washington State held Arizona State to 29 total points in its conference opener. The Cougars followed that performance with a two-point loss to USC.
The group has been favored in each game this season, and for good reason. It features a tremendous coach and a deep group that has the potential to make a run in the Pac-12 this season.
Colorado struggles to make shots and finds most of its offense at the free-throw line. Coming off a 19-day layoff certainly won’t help this offense.
Wazzu will lean on its depth and height to get the job done on the road.
Pick: Washington State +1.5 (Play to -2)
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