Washington vs Colorado Odds and Picks

• The Colorado Buffaloes take on the Washington Huskies as part of the Far West Classic in Las Vegas Sunday, Dec. 20 at 10:00 p.m. ET
• The Buffs are coming off a 91-49 win over the Summit League’s Omaha on Wednesday, while the struggling Dawgs were stunned at home Wednesday by Montana 66-58
• Read below for odds, analysis, and our best bet for this matchup

The Buffaloes (4-1, 0-0 Pac-12) take on the struggling Huskies (1-5, 0-2 Pac-12) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Even though its between a pair of Pac-12 programs, this game will not count in the conference standings. Good thing for CU because the Buffs have lost six straight Pac-12 outings dating back to a 70-66 win over USC Feb. 20. UW is the slumping squad in the here and now. The Huskies’ lone victory this season came against Seattle University Dec. 9.

The Buffaloes leading scorer, McKinley Wright IV, had 17 points and eight assists against the Mavericks Wednesday in the blowout victory. Meanwhile, the Huskies’ frustrating home loss to the Grizzlies was the first non-conference defeat in Seattle outside of a pair of losses to Gonzaga during Mike Hopkins’ tenure.

Despite the neutral court factor, it’s no surprise Tad Boyle’s boys are big favorites for this one.

Colorado vs Washington Odds

Odds taken Dec. 19 at FanDuel

CU Later

Colorado is off to a 4-1 start, but its wins are against a pair of Summit League squads, Northern Colorado from the Big Sky and Big 12 also-ran Kansas State.

Colorado entered its game against Omaha ranked No. 10 nationally in scoring defense (allowing only 55.0) and No. 16 in opponents’ field-goal percentage defense (.354). Now, the Buffs are No. 6 (53.8) and No. 13 (.344) respectively after allowing only 49 points to the Mavs.

After beating Northern Colorado 81-45 Monday, the program posted back-to-back sub-50-point defensive efforts and have yet to allow an opponent more than 61 points this season.

Offensively, this team won’t be confused for a juggernaut any time soon. Wright and senior forward Jeriah Horne are the only players on the roster scoring in double-figures (and Horne barely is, going for 10.4 points per game). But as long as the Buffaloes can play this type of defense (they held the No. 9-KenPom-rated Tennessee Volunteers to 56 points in their lone loss), Colorado — which is rated No. 31 by KenPom — can play with anyone.

Dawg Days

UW is off to its worst start since 1993 — and the eight-point loss to the Griz at Alaska Airlines Arena was the latest embarrassment. The team’s leading scorer — Quade Green — finished with just four points on 1-of-11 shooting from the field.  Sophomore forward Nate Roberts scored 13, but Washington’s three other starters combined for just 10 points.

This is not a recipe for success going against a squad as defensively-sound as Colorado.

We’ll be talking about last night for quite some time. Big win over the Huskies!

📰 https://t.co/p7Z2SzEGBE#GrizHoops #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/D3pz0x2aGD

— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) December 17, 2020

With a 1-5 mark, it seems Hopkins’ hope to focus on 3-point shooting and perimeter play isn’t working. Washington ranks near the bottom of the 323 Division I teams on three-pointers, shooting just below 26-percent.

The Huskies may have found an alternative to its four-guard lineup in Roberts, an athletic 6-foot-10 product from Washington’s well-known basketball factory, the Brewster Academy.,

But unless the Dawgs figure something out, this historically bad season might get worse.

History on UW’s Side

Prior to a 76-62 loss to Colorado in Boulder Jan. 25, Washington had beaten CU five straight times by an average margin of roughly nine points a game. The personnel is different Sunday, but the trend is definitely UW’s friend.

Colorado has gotten fat early on against vastly inferior opponents (Kansas State is the highest-rated opponent by KenPom it has beaten at No. 147). Meanwhile, Washington has scuffled, albeit against vastly superior competition than that of CU’s (including defeats to a pair of KenPom top-25 rated teams like No. 2 Baylor and No. 22 Oregon).

The spread is an awfully big number, especially considering the programs’ respective recent history against conference foes and each other. Plus, Washington will be hungry to put Wednesday’s debacle behind it prior to conference play resuming New Year’s Eve back home against Arizona. I do like the Dawgs getting 9.5 at a neutral site, but the number I really like, based on Colorado’s defensive aptitude and Washington’s offensive ineptitude, is the under.

The pick: Under 131.5 (-110)