Washington @ Colorado preview
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Last Meeting ( Mar 15, 2019 ) Colorado 61, Washington 66
Colorado played without Pac-12 rebounding leader Tyler Bey on Thursday but played well, dominating Washington State on the glass in a 78-56 home win. The Buffaloes expect to have Bey back Saturday night as they close out a two-game homestand against slumping Washington.
Bey, averaging 9.3 rebounds per game, injured his right hand in practice Tuesday and spent Thursday’s game in uniform on the bench with two of his fingers taped. Bey could’ve played if needed, head coach Tad Boyle said afterward, but it didn’t prove necessary as a trio of Colorado players notched double-doubles in the 22-point home win. Forwards Evan Battey and Lucas Siewert, Bey’s replacement in the starting lineup, collected 10 rebounds apiece as the Buffs finished with a 45-28 advantage on the glass. Washington, meanwhile, comes to Boulder having lost four of its last six, including back-to-back heartbreakers against Oregon (64-61 in overtime) and Utah (67-66) in which the Huskies squandered double-digit second-half leads and wound up watching the opposition hit winning shots in the waning seconds.
TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1
ABOUT WASHINGTON (12-8, 2-5 Pac-12): The Huskies led 56-45 with 5:30 remaining Thursday night in Salt Lake City, but saw the host Utes close the game with a 22-10 run, including a 13-of-14 showing from the free-throw line as Washington was whistled for a rash of untimely fouls. Jaden McDaniels (14 points), Isaiah Stewart (13), Hameir Wright (12) and Nahziah Carter (10) all scored in double figures for the Huskies, but McDaniels and Wright each wound up fouling out as Utah finished with a telling 24-11 free-throw advantage and a 38-29 edge on the glass despite shooting only 33.9 percent against the Huskies’ bothersome zone. Stewart, a 6-9, 250-pound freshman, is averaging 18 points and a team-most 8.9 rebounds while shooting 58.4 percent from the field, and had 25 points and 19 boards in the home loss to Oregon last Saturday.
ABOUT COLORADO (15-4, 4-2): Junior point guard McKinley Wright, averaging a team-leading 13.3 points and 5.3 assists per game, has asserted himself as the Buffs’ top player of late, averaging 16.1 points, 7.1 assists and 5.6 rebounds over his last eight contests. Wright’s 10-point, 10-assist outing Thursday joined Siewert (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Battey (12, 10) in the double-double category. Bey (13.1 points) and guard D’Shawn Schwartz (10.8) also are averaging double figures for the Buffs, who rank second in the conference in scoring defense (61.7 points allowed per game) and rebounding margin (6.79).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Washington has beaten Colorado five straight times, with the most recent win a 66-61 Pac-12 Tournament semifinal victory last March in Las Vegas. Siewert, a senior, is the only Colorado player who has participated in a win over the Huskies, doing so as a freshman in 2017.
2. The Huskies continue to lead the Pac-12 in field-goal percentage defense (36.9) and 3-point percentage D (29.9).
3. Colorado is 9-2 at home this season while Washington is 0-3 in true road games so far, with the Huskies’ losses coming by a combined 10 points.
PREDICTION: Colorado 66, Washington 64