College Basketball on Wednesday and we will see the Colorado Buffaloes travel to Stanford, California to take on the Stanford Cardinal. The game is scheduled for an 11:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN 2. Currently the Odds for the game have Stanford favored by 3.5 points while the total sits at 134.5.
Analysis: The Buffaloes are 28th in the RPI rankings, a number that should land them a spot in the NCAA Tournament if they can maintain it. Colorado can impress the selection committee even more with a Bay Area sweep and another victory over first-place Oregon on March 7. Colorado freshman forward Josh Scott, who is averaging 11.4 points and five rebounds, missed the Utah game with a concussion suffered in a 63-62 overtime loss to Arizona State on Feb. 16. Scott will make the trip and coach Tad Boyle said he expects the 6-10 forward to play at some point. Andre Roberson, a 6-7 junior forward, leads the nation in rebounding at 11.8 per game and had a career-high 20 in Colorado's 76-54 victory over Stanford on Jan. 24. Though they shoot a solid 45 percent from the floor, the Buffaloes are still scoring just 69 points per game. Part of the issue is the amount of one-on-one plays they rely on as they rank at the very bottom of the Pac-12 in assists (10.3 ppg). Colorado is solid defensively, holding teams to 63.5 points per game on 40 percent shooting. Roberson (10.3 ppg, 11.8 rpg) is a double-double waiting to happen as well as the leading rebounder in the nation. The 6-foot-7 forward is also pesky on defense blocking 1.4 shots while collecting 2.3 steals per game. Spencer Dinwiddie (15.3 ppg) is the leading scorer for the Buffaloes with Askia Booker (13.4 ppg) also averaging in double figures, despite inconsistencies shooting the ball.
As for Stanford, losses in three of its last four outings has its NCAA Tournament hopes severely damaged. The Cardinal are a mediocre 16-12 overall, while their 77-66 loss to Oregon on Saturday dropped them below .500 in league action (7-8). Stanford has a 10-4 mark at Maples Pavilion this season where it will be again on Sunday against Utah. Stanford became yet another victim of Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena by shooting just 37.7 percent from the field, including a dismal 4-of-17 effort from beyond the arc. The Cardinal also committed 17 turnovers which led to 25 points for the Ducks. Josh Huestis (10.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.0 bpg) managed a double-double in the losing effort with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The 6-foot-7 forward has posted seven double-doubles in his last eight games as he continues to put in a stellar effort down the stretch. Teaming with Huestis in the frontcourt, as well as leading the Cardinal in scoring, is Dwight Powell (15.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg). Powell is the only player in the Pac-12 to be averaging at least 15 points and eight rebounds per game this season. In the backcourt Chasson Randle (13.7 ppg) is the most productive commodity though he is shooting just 38.7 percent from the field. Stanford is the worst shooting team in the Pac-12 (.414 FG percentage), and ranks 11th in assists (11.7 pg).
Pick: I like the over in this one. Colorado Struggles to score on the road, but Stanford's defense is not very good right now, allowing 72.3 ppg in their last 5 games. Offensively the Cardinal has been very good of late as they have averaged 76 ppg in their last 3 games. At home on tyhe year they have put up 71.4 ppg, including 75.3 ppg in their last 4 games here. The Buffaloes have not been all that bad on defense, but they have allowed 65.2 ppg n the road this year. 74-65 sounds about right for this one.
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