The Oregon Ducks are sitting one game behind the Arizona Wildcats for first place in the PAC-12 and have their eyes on a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, their opponents on Saturday afternoon, the Colorado Buffaloes, need to practically win out in order to make the Big Dance. Colorado was one of the two teams that defeated Oregon in conference play earlier and the Ducks are looking at this as a chance for revenge.
At 3 p.m. ET, tune into FOX for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, February 18, 2017, at Matthew Knight Arena. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Colorado is just 5-8 in conference play and has not performed well away from home. The Buffs are just 1-6 SU and 2-4-1 ATS in road conference games, but did take both Washington schools to overtime before losing by two points to each and also lost to Arizona State by just one. Their last six PAC-12 road games have all gone over the total, and most went over by a healthy margin.
Oregon has had its own share of road woes, but has been pretty impervious at home. The Ducks are 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS in PAC-12 games in Eugene, including a blowout win over Arizona two weeks ago. Five of their seven home wins have come by double digits or more and the Ducks have held all but UCLA to 70 points or less in these games.
Player to Watch
We saw how important Dillon Brooks was to Oregon early in the season. While Brooks was out of the line-up the Ducks struggled and then he was rushed back to stabilize their season. Still, they looked shaky until he was fully healthy, but once he got to full strength, the Ducks showed what they were capable of.
Oregon has increasingly looked like one of the teams to beat in the nation and Brooks’ play is the main reason why. He has scored at least 18 points in five of his last six games, and the one time he didn’t was the aforementioned loss to Colorado. Brooks isn’t just a scorer though, he’s a playmaker through and through. He plays shutdown defense on opposing players and this team has been much tougher to score on since he got healthy.
Last Meeting
Brooks was nowhere to be found the last time these teams met, finishing in single-digits in points and committing six turnovers. His play underscored an awful night for the Ducks, as Oregon ended up shooting just 38.6 percent from the floor. Chris Boucher also had a bad night as fouls plagued him throughout. He finished with just 9 points in 24 minutes of action.
The personal foul disparity wasn’t as bad as it can be in college basketball in the meeting in Boulder, but still played a part in the defeat. Three Ducks players ended up fouling out and Brooks finished the night with 4 fouls. On the other hand, Colorado had no one finish with more than three fouls and that meant they had no issues with minutes down the stretch.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
This spread may come out in the double-digits but don’t let the large number scare you away. Oregon is going to run away with this game. The Ducks are a team on a mission and are virtually impossible to beat on their home court. Oregon is going to hound this team defensively and it would be a surprise if Colorado cracked 70 points. Meanwhile, the Buffaloes have been pretty porous on the defensive end, especially away from home, and the Ducks should pour in the points. Look for Oregon to run away with this game.
College Basketball Odds: Oregon 85, Colorado 68
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