No. 2 Arizona Basketball looks to avenge previous loss to Colorado

Fresh off a battle against Stanford, No. 2 Arizona Basketball (29-3, 18-2) looks to avenge their previous loss to Colorado (21-10, 12-8) in the Conference Semi-Finals. 

The Pac-12 Tournament is well underway as the Wildcats have advanced to the conference semifinals following a close win over Stanford. However, now the challenge is even greater as No. 2 Arizona Basketball returns to action to take on Colorado.

The last time these two teams met, Colorado came away with the big win, beating Arizona but 16 points on the road. Luckily, that was all in the past and it is a new day of basketball.

However, that doesn’t mean that a win will be easy in this one. The Buffaloes are playing well, winning their last three games, and even worse, the Wildcats will likely be without Kerr Kriisa who went down late against Stanford with an ankle injury.

Even with a No. 1 seed likely locked up for Arizona, hopefully, Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats stay sharp from the start as the Wildcats look to continue their winning ways in their rematch versus Colorado!

Getting to Know the details of Arizona Basketball’s opponent, the Colorado Buffaloes.

Team: Colorado Buffaloes

Conference: Pac-12 Conference

2020-21 Record: Finishing the year with a 23-9 (14-6) record in 2020-21, the Buffaloes ended up as the No. 3 team in the conference. Colorado then went to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed before losing to Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Head Coach: Tad Boyle is in his 12th season with the Buffaloes and has compiled a 253–153 (118–100) in Boulder with five NCAA Tournament appearances. Overall, Boyle has a 310–219 record as head coach after previously coaching at Northern Colorado from 2006-10.

Keys to the Game:

Make up for losing Kerr Kriisa – As we are all aware, Kerr, unfortunately, went down late in yesterday’s game against Stanford with what was an apparent ankle spring. And at this point, it is unlikely that he plays against Colorado.

So with Kriisa out, Arizona is going to have to make up for his production on the court. Kerr does a lot of things well and he is a spark for the Wildcats, his loss won’t be an easy one to recover from.

Put the Buffaloes Away – Arizona has been letting teams hang around of late, and this is the time of year where you need that killer instinct to be able to put teams away. Against Stanford, luckily, the Wildcats were able to hold on and come away with the win.

But against Colorado, if Arizona has the opportunity to do so, they need to put the Buffaloes away. The longer they let teams, and in particular, Colorado hang around, the higher the likelihood of a loss.

DEFENSE – Against Stanford, the Cardinal were red hot from three, shooting 6-8 from beyond the arc and were 14-28 from the field in the first half. At one point, Stanford was even 9-11 from three ended the game 11-20 from beyond the arc, and 32-59 from the field.

Against the Buffaloes, that kind of shooting cannot be allowed if the Wildcats are going to win. To me, it starts and ends with the defense, and Arizona needs to step up there if they are going to win.

Arizona Basketball versus the Colorado Buffaloes game information and details:

Date: Friday, March 11, 2022

Time: 7:00 P.M. MST / 6:00 P.M. PST

Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nev. (18,000)

Spread: -9.0 Arizona (Also, don’t forget to use WynnBet to enhance your overall betting experience)

Television: Pac-12 Network

Radio: 107.5 FM (Tucson) / 1290AM (Tucson) | Arizona IMG Sports Network

Team Records:

No. 2 Arizona Wildcats (29-3, 18-2): The Wildcats are back to their winning ways and coincidentally, their last loss was to Colorado on the road. Coming into this one, Arizona will likely have a battle on its hands, especially without Kriisa.

Colorado Buffaloes (21-10, 12-8): Entering this game with three straight wins, the Buffaloes are rolling and are peaking at the right time. They defeated Oregon fairly handily and should face an Arizona team that will likely be without Kriisa.

Head-to-Head Record (since 1949-50): Since 1949-50, Arizona has had the upper hand in this head-to-head matchup, owning a 22-16 advantage over Colorado with 15 of those wins coming in the last 21 meetings.

Last Meeting vs. Arizona: The last time the Wildcats played the Buffaloes was in Boulder just two weeks ago. The Wildcats were dominated on the road, falling to the Buffaloes by a 79-63 final.

My Prediction: Arizona 72 Colorado 81 – The Buffaloes are rolling! They are playing with everything on the line, and a win here would do wonder in getting into the NCAA Tournament.

As for Arizona, the Wildcats likely have a No. 1 seed locked up and will also be playing without Kriisa. Because of those factors, I think the Wildcats put up a fight, but come up just short in their battle against Colorado, as the Buffaloes earn the win here.