The Colorado Buffaloes and BYU Cougars hope to be in contention for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament come March. Both would gain a nice win next time out, but only one can get it in what should be a competitive affair.
BYU is the home team and hopes to defend that turf but the Buffaloes are coming off an impressive win over a ranked Xavier squad and have been the better team this season. The spread may not be especially high with a pair of teams that seem to have close to the same potential.
At 10 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, December 10, 2016, at the Marriott Center.
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Colorado is 7-2 straight up on the season and 6-3 against the spread. The Buffaloes have only played one true road game thus far and they covered the spread in a win over Portland.
Brigham Young is 6-3 straight up and 4-3-1 against the spread. The Cougars have played five games at home with mixed the results, covering twice, failing to twice and pushing in one of the contests. BYU has lost three of its last five games after a hot start and needs to get back on track to boost its March Madness candidacy.
Matchup to Watch
BYU’s offense against Colorado’s defense - This is a matchup of strengths, and if the Buffaloes can adequately keep the Cougars in check they will have a strong chance at pulling out the road win.
BYU is averaging 86.6 points per game this year, which is one of the highest marks in college basketball. The Cougars or their opponent has surpassed 90 points scored in four of their past five games, so this is a team which is used to pushing the pace and playing in high-scoring affairs.
BYU is led by Eric Mika, who is averaging 21.4 points per game along with 8.7 rebounds. The sophomore shooting guard is shooting a sparkling 59.3 percent from the field and leading the team in scoring despite playing only 24.9 points per game.
His playing time has shot up in recent games and he has responded with 29 and 26 points the past two times out. Mika will be a big key and Colorado must slow him down. The Cougars’ other top scorers are Nick Emery, who is averaging 15.3 points per contest, and T.J. Haws, who is adding 11.8 points per contest.
Colorado only allows 64.7 points per game and has given up more than 72 points just one time this year. The Buffaloes will have a tall task ahead of them but recently held No. 13 Xavier in check so could very well do it again.
Player to Watch
Derrick White - The Colorado senior guard is the most well-rounded player on the team and one BYU most focus on keeping in check. He has been really solid in all phases, averaging 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
White tore up the Division II level for the past several years and has not missed a beat as he jumped up to the highest level. White should continue to get better as he gets more experienced in these games, but he’s already equipped himself quite nicely.
BYU is prone to allowing some big performance to opponents and White will aim to take advantage of that for the Buffaloes.
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It hasn’t been a perfect start for either team but there have been flashes of excellence. Colorado is feeling good after knocking off a ranked opponent and will aim to keep up the success as it continues through the non-conference slate.
BYU lost to USC by seven points earlier in the schedule in its lone matchup against a high-major opponent. The Cougars have shown through the years they are capable of hanging with Pac-12 foes, and get the advantage of playing at home in this one.
This should be a competitive matchup, with the Cougars the choice to come away with the win in an entertaining back-and-forth affair.
College Basketball Odds: BYU 85, Colorado 81
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