WSU Cougars vs Colorado Buffaloes Preview

[The Q]

Washington State Cougars (9-6) vs Colorado Buffaloes (10-4)
Saturday January 7
Coors Events Center
4:00PM
Moneyline: Colorado -200, Washington State +175
Spread: Colorado -4.5
O/U: 139

Washington State

The Washington State Cougars are looking for a reset after a road loss to Utah, the worst team in the league. It was an odd result as generally you win if you hit more than 50% of your long range attempts. The other stat that really stood out was how poorly Washington State shot from the free throw line. They were a horrible 10 for 22. In a game than went to overtime, it is clear that a couple of extra makes at the line could have made all the difference.

Against Utah forward Brock Motum had the game of his life with 27 points and 8 rebound. That included 3 for 3 from three for the tall forward who is showing that he is developing an outside touch this year. The problem is that nobody else backed him up. Lead guard Faisal Aden was the only other player to crack double digits, with 11 points, but he had a terrible shooting night and was sloppy with the ball. The loss was a shocker and confirms how far this program has fallen this year. There are more to come.

Colorado

While the Cougars were struggling with Utah the Colorado Buffaloes played a great game on Thursday, beating the Huskies by 18 points. I thought Washington was finally starting to come around but Colorado proved there is still much to fix with that club. Also, with the win, Colorado sits atop the conference standings. They are the only team yet to lose in PAC 12 play and that should still be the case after they play Washington State on Saturday.

In a down year for the conference is it possible that Colorado could actually win it? Against Washington they were sizzling from the field and had 5 players score in double figures. One of those was freshman wing Spencer Dinwiddie. This has become somewhat of a regular thing for him of later as after a slow start he has scored 12 or more points in the last 9 games. Also, forward Andre Roberson continues to be a beast on the board. Only twice all season has he not collected double figure boards. All indications are that the reign of the Buffalo can continue through the weekend.

Score Prediction: Colorado 72 - Washington State 62