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The McKale Center is the venue as the Arizona Wildcats try to get their season back on track when they host the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday night. The Wildcats will be hoping that home-court advantage can see them bounce back from their latest defeat this season, and here we look at their chances of success in our latest NCAAB betting picks.
- What; 2023/24 NCAA Men’s Basketball
- Who; Arizona Wildcats vs. Colorado Buffaloes
- Where; McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona
- When; Thursday, January 4th 2024
- Time; 9.30 pm ET
This is a Pac-12 showdown. So far this season, the Wildcats are 1-1 in the conference, with the Buffaloes at 2-0. Despite this, Arizona is still the favorite to win the Pac-12 at odds of -155 with BetOnline.
Their closest rivals are Thursday’s opponents, the Colorado Buffaloes, who are +400. Also in the running to top the conference are Utah at +750 and Oregon at +900. Despite the up-and-down nature of Arizona’s season, the best college basketball betting sites seem to believe it’s still their title to lose.
Betting to win the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship
Moving on and in the latest betting to win the 2024 Championship, the Wildcats are still in the mix. Currently sitting at No.10 in the latest AP Rankings, the Wildcats are the second favorites in the betting to win the 2024 Championship match at +1000. The favorites are the Purdue Boilermakers at +900.
These two have been slugging it out at the top of the betting all season, often swapping places and on occasions, sharing the favorites tag. It also depends on which bookmaker you bet with. Some are favoring the Boilermakers, others the Wildcats. We’re using BetOnline odds for this article, and they are in the Boilermakers’ camp.
Elsewhere in the betting, the defending champions, the UConn Huskies, are joint-third in the betting with Houston at +1200, with Kansas and Marquette next, both at +1400.
For any Colorado fans looking to loyally back their team, you can get +7500 on the Buffaloes to pull off a shock win in the Championship match.
Arizona Wildcats vs. Colorado Buffaloes Match Betting
Some sportsbooks haven’t got a money line available for this match at the time of writing. Some have, and of those offering NCAAB betting lines on the match outcome, the Wildcats are the -650 favorites to win on the money line. As for the Buffaloes, they are +475 on the money line to cause an upset.
On the handicap, the Colorado Buffaloes are receiving an 11-point start. To win with the spread, the Buffaloes are -110. The Arizona Wildcats are -110 to win and cover the spread.
The total points spread is 162.5. Over and under are both -110. More betting options are available on our college basketball odds table. For our odds, we only use the top-rated NCAA betting sites.
| Arizona Wildcats vs. Colorado Buffaloes |  |  |  |
| Arizona | -650 | N/A | N/A |
| Colorado | +475 | N/A | N/A |
| Arizona (-11) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Colorado (+11) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Over 162.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 162.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Wildcats vs. Buffaloes; Latest Form
Overall this season, the Arizona Wildcats have a 10-3 record. In their most recent match, they went down 100-82 to Stanford in a horrendous defeat. The Wildcats were outplayed in both halves. They were 44-35 down at the halfway point. But things didn’t improve, as they were also nine points worse off in the second half.
Stanford's 3-point barrage overpowers No. 4 Arizona 100-82 https://t.co/h0gCWRQO6f pic.twitter.com/yZMEyqDW5G
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 31, 2023
The loss was their second in their last three matches, having also lost to FL Atlantic 96-95 in their final fixture before Christmas. Sandwiched between the two defeats, was a 100-81 win over the California Golden Bears.
In contrast to the stuttering form of the Wildcats, the Colorado Buffaloes are on a six-match winning streak dating back to the end of November. In their most recent outing, Colorado defeated the Washington State Cougars 74-67 in Boulder at the end of 2023. Five of the six wins have come at the Coors Events Center in Boulder.
The win on the road was against the Miami Hurricanes in New York, where they won 90-63 at the Barclays Center, with a commanding second-half performance seeing the Buffaloes run out convincing winners.
Arizona Wildcats vs. Colorado Buffaloes Betting Picks
The Wildcats are averaging 92.3 points per game in college basketball this season, giving them the second-highest average rate overall. In their last ten games, they are 7-3 against the spread, and they also beat their opponents by an average of just under 19 points a game.
The Buffaloes are outscoring their opponents by 15.4 points for a game and are putting up 84.2 points a match. Pretty impressive stuff.
But as impressive as the Buffaloes have been, we don’t see that being enough to stop the Wildcats in Arizona. We are not backing Arizona to win at -650 on the money line though. That is just way too short.
Instead, we are looking to the handicap spread, where we feel the bookmakers have got it about right with eleven. The Wildcats will have to play well to cover that. But Tommy Lloyd’s team will want to lay down a marker. They know that the Buffaloes are their closest rivals in the Pac-12, and they will want to send a message to the rest of the NCAA with a statement win. After all, they are one of the favorites to win the NCAA Championship match!
For our betting pick, we are going for Arizona to win and cover the spread.
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