by Chuck Sommers
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2023
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Venue: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, OR
Where to watch:
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Check back later
FanDuel: Check back later
BetMGM: Check back later
Caesars: Check back later
Season record
Colorado: 12-9 (4-6 Pac-12)
Oregon: 11-9 (5-4 Pac-12)
We’re nearing the halfway mark of the college basketball season and it’s been quite the ride so far. Will Rogers is going hard in the last 30 days with a 16-10-1 run, while Kyle Hunter has also had a strong run of form as of late at 28-24-0 (+$1,700). If they’ve been killing it as much as they were in the first half, what does the second half have in store? The only way you’re going to find out is by staying locked on bigal.com and following what our champion handicappers are up to heading into the second half. Trust us, you want to know.
Colorado - Oregon preview, prediction and analysis
Recent form
Colorado: won 58-55 vs. Washington State
Oregon: lost 71-64 at Stanford
In a battle of two struggling teams in the Pac-12, the Oregon Ducks will try for their third win in four games when they host the Colorado Buffaloes after they ended a three-game losing streak the other day.
In a battle of two struggling teams in the Pac-12, the Oregon Ducks will try for their third win in four games when they host the Colorado Buffaloes after they ended a three-game losing streak the other day.
Oregon is coming off a 71-64 loss at Stanford on Saturday to end that two-game winning streak, which included a win over No. 6 Arizona by 19 points. The Ducks haven’t had the season they’ve wanted, but you’d like to think that the Arizona win would get them back on track.
Jermaine Couisnard had a game-high 18 points but did so on 4 of 12 shooting, and Rivaldo Soares had 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting. But the Ducks were held to just 38 percent shooting while the Cardinal made half of their field goals in the 7-point loss for Oregon.
Oregon’s inconsistencies on the court have also showed up on the books. The Ducks have failed to cover in six of the last 10 and were 4-point favorites against the Cardinal. For context, they were 8-point favorites against Cal and 4-point dogs at home against Arizona. Sometimes basketball just doesn’t make sense and you have to wonder why in the world things are they way they are, especially on the books.
Colorado is coming off a 58-55 win over Washington State that ended a 3-game losing streak. The good news: They won. The bad news: They dropped to 4-6 in conference play and don’t really have any prospects to improve as this season goes on.
KJ Simpson hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds left to give Colorado the win. Tristan da Silva added 27 points on 11 of 13 shooting to propel the Buffaloes’ offense. The weird thing is you’re not going to find a team take just 42 shots, make half of the, only hit two 3-pointers the entire game and one of them be the game-winner. If you needed more proof on how out of balance this conference is, please allow me to direct you.
But Colorado has also failed to cover in four straight and seven of the last 10 despite winning six of 10. The problem for the Buffs is they haven’t had that season-defining win yet, but they could with a season-series sweep of Oregon. Colorado knocked off the Ducks in Boulder, 68-41, on Jan. 5. You just know the Ducks are looking for revenge.
Prediction
Colorado has won three of the last four meetings with two of those wins coming by double digits. I can’t see Oregon faltering at home knowing that they need to win to stay in the middle of the pack. Oregon 78, Colorado 70
Betting trends
Check back later for trends.
Projected starting lineup
Colorado:
PG: K.J. Simpson
SG: Nique Clifford
SF: J'vonne Hadley
PF: Tristan da Silva
C: Lawson Lovering
Oregon:
PG: Will Richardson
SG: Brennan Rigsby
SF: Jermaine Couisnard
PF: Rivaldo Soares
C: N'Faly Dante
Statistical leaders
Colorado:
Points: K.J. Simpson -- 17.4
Rebounds: J'vonne Hadley -- 6.3
Assists: K.J. Simpson -- 3.8
Oregon:
Points: Will Richardson -- 14.0
Rebounds: N'Faly Dante -- 7.6
Assists: Will Richardson -- 5.4
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Colorado Buffaloes - Oregon Ducks prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college basketball projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
