Pac 12 Tourney – Buffaloes vs Ducks NCAAB Handicapping Prediction
Both Colorado (20-11) and Oregon (22-8) are on the Big Dance bubble in a somewhat weak Pac 12 season and the loser of this conference quarterfinal may be NIT bound.
Venue/ Stadium: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Time/Date: 11:30 PM EST Thursday, March 8, 2012
NCAA Odds From: Bovada
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Ducks -3.5
Over/Under: 140
Colorado Buffaloes vs. Oregon Ducks Preview
Oregon finished the season well winning their last 4 games, including beating the Buffaloes in their house, while the same cannot be said for Colorado, as they lost 3 of their last 5 games.
This may be a MUST win for Colorado, as they not only finished 5th in the Pac 12 standings, but their RPI is 86th while Oregon is 51st.
In their last games of the season Colorado snapped their 2-game losing streak by beating a weak Utah team 53-41 in the first round of the conference tourney and Oregon crushed Utah 94-48 in their regular season finale.
This season Colorado is 13-14 ATS with an O/U record of 11-16 and Oregon is 16-11 ATS with an O/U record of 13-14.
Both teams shot well in their match near the end of the season, but the reason Oregon came out on top is that they were 8/14 beyond the 3-pt arc while Colorado was only 5/17. Oregon ranked 3rd in the Pac 12 in 3-pt FG% while Colorado only ranked 9th and the Buffaloes have to keep the Ducks from bombing away from deep.
Devoe Joseph (16.8 ppg) leads the Ducks in scoring and in his last 2 games averaged 22.5 ppg. He scored 24 points in the win over Colorado at the end of the season and he is the guy the Buffaloes must key on. He and G Garrett Sim (12.3 ppg) combined to score 43 points in that win over the Buffaloes. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Buffaloes are a better team on the glass and while Oregon will need some inside scoring from E.J. Singler (13.2 ppg 5.5 rpg) his, as well as Olu Ashaolu’s (8.6 ppg 5 rpg), work on the boards may be more important.
Colorado’s 2 leading scorers of G Carlon Brown (12.3 ppg) and Andre Roberson (11.5 ppg 11.2 rpg) have been playing decent they have not got much help lately. Roberson is a stud rebounder and if the Ducks can keep him from dominating the boards, like they did in their last season win over them with only 8 rebounds, they have a great chance to win this game.
In some betting trends for this Pac 12 quarterfinal match up Colorado is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall, 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record, and they have an Under record of 6-2 in their last 8 games.
Oregon is 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record, 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games overall, and they have an Over record of 5-1 in their last 6 games following a S.U. win.
Jason’s Pick: Have to go with Oregon in this game, as they are playing well and have a better backcourt. Take the Ducks to win this game and cover the spread.
