Colorado vs Arizona: Predictions, Picks, & Odds (2/18/23)

Colorado visits Arizona in a big Pac-12 clash. Colorado is coming off a hard-fought win against Arizona State on the road, while Arizona is coming off a blowout win against Utah at home. This should be an interesting matchup because Colorado still has slim NCAA Tournament chances. Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this game!

Colorado vs. Arizona Prediction & Pick

Prediction: Arizona -12

Arizona rebounded really well with a blowout win against Utah after a bad loss to Stanford on the road last week.

Azuolas Tubelis is poised for a big game against Colorado because he was pretty quiet against Utah. He leads the Wildcats in scoring, rebounds, and steals per game for the season. Oumar Ballo is another player poised for a big game after also being quiet against Utah. He’s second in scoring and rebounding and leads the team in blocks per game for the season. Kerr Kriisa and Courtney Ramey have been lights out recently and need to continue their hot streak for Arizona to move forward in March. Kriisa didn’t miss a three-pointer last game and also still leads the whole conference in assists per game for the season.

As a team, Arizona’s excelled more on offense than on defense this season. They’re top five in scoring averaging 83.4 points per game, their top-10 in field goal percentage, and top-15 in point differential. They’re also top five in rebounds per game at 40.5.

On the other side, Colorado’s been very inconsistent this year, with them having a win against Tennessee, but bad losses to Washington and Oregon State.

Colorado’s lead by Tristan da Silva on offense with him leading the Buffaloes in scoring this year. KJ Simpson has been very good this year too and is second in scoring and then leads the team in assists and steals per game for the season. J’Vonne Hadley and Julian Hammond III have also been very good at the guard spot for the Buffaloes when needed.

As a team, Colorado excels more on defense than on offense. They have two very good players on offense, but the rest hasn’t been great and needs to be more consistent.

Colorado is coming off a good win against Arizona State, but Arizona needed a rebound and got it in a big way against Utah with a 26-point win. Arizona is set up to win and cover this spread easily against an okay at best Colorado team on a day they need to impress for the selection committee.

Colorado vs. Arizona Odds

Arizona is a 12-point home favorite against Colorado and is also at -775 on the money line. The over/under is also at 148. Arizona being favored by this much makes sense because they’re at home and are coming off a big win against Utah. The over/under also makes sense because Arizona is most likely going to control the pace, so both teams will get a lot of possessions and have opportunities to score a lot. This spread could move before tip-off too just because it opened in double digits.

Colorado vs. Arizona Key Matchups

Can Tristan da Silva matchup with Azuolas Tubelis? Can Kerr Kriisa matchup with KJ Simpson?

Azuolas Tubelis vs Tristan da Silva

Azuolas Tubelis is set up to have a big game against Colorado. He averages 20 points, 2 assists, and 9 rebounds per game for the season. He’ll be matched up against Tristan da Silva most of the game, who averages 16 points, 1 assist, and 5 rebounds per game for the season. This will be the matchup that decides the game. Tubelis the better player, but da Silva is Colorado’s best player and is going to put up a fight. Look for whoever wins this matchup to win the game.

KJ Simpson vs Kerr Kriisa

KJ Simpson has been very good for the Buffaloes this year. He averages 16 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds per game for the season. He’ll be matched up against Kerr Kriisa, who averages 11 points, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds per game for the season. This is the biggest guard matchup in this game. Simpson has been the best guard for Colorado this year, while Kriisa has been the best passer in the Pac-12. This is a big matchup because both of these two players are the engines for their teams.