The West Virginia Mountaineers will be back at the Hope Coliseum (where they are 11-0 this season) when they host the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday evening. After a bit of a statement win against Kansas at home last Saturday, the Mountaineers were humbled on the road at Houston in a 77-48 beatdown, and are now looking to get back to their winning ways. Here's everything you need to know to follow along with the game.
How To Watch: WVU vs. Colorado
Date: January 17
Time: 6:00 PM EST
Venue: Hope Coliseum, Morgantown, W.Va
How to Watch: CBS Sports Network
TV Commentary: Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas
Radio: Mountaineer Sports Network/Varsity Network
Radio Commentary: Tony Caridi, Brad Howe
WVU Record: 11-6
Colorado Record: 12-5
Tickets
Tickets
For fans who want to attend Saturday's game in person at Hope Coliseum, tickets can be bought online through the West Virginia athletic department at WVUGAME.com or via resale on SeatGeek, which serves as the official fan-to-fan ticket marketplace of the Mountaineers.
Odds
The Mountaineers will enter Saturday's game as 5.5-point favorites, and the over/under is currently set at 145.5 points.
Colorado Preview
How They Got Here
The Colorado Buffaloes will enter Saturday night’s matchup against the Mountaineers with a 12-5 (2-2) record. In their non-conference slate, the Buffs picked up notable wins over Providence and Washington while falling to Colorado State, Stanford, and Northern Colorado.
In Big 12 Conference play, Colorado won their first two games (Arizona State, Utah) and has lost their two most recent matchups. Last Saturday, Texas Tech beat Colorado 75-73 in Boulder. Colorado then fell on the road at Cincinnati by a final score of 77-68 on Wednesday night.
Numbers to Know
78.1
Colorado holds the best free-throw shooting percentage in the Big 12, making 78.1% of their shots from the charity stripe this season. In their two conference wins, the Buffs' efficient free-throw shooting made a big difference. Against Arizona State, Colorado got to the line 38 times and made 32 (84%) of their attempts. The trend continued in the win at home over Utah, as the Buffs made 19-of-21 free throws for just over 90%. In 4 Big 12 games, the Buffs are knocking down a rather remarkable 84% of their free throws.
36.5
Colorado’s three-point defense has been the worst in the Big 12. Opponents are knocking down 36.5% of their shots from downtown. West Virginia’s Honor Huff, who has made more threes this season than anyone in the Big 12, will certainly be looking for his shot against this Colorado defense.
17
Although they are amongst the top teams in the Big 12 in terms of fewest turnovers per game, Colorado turned the ball over 17 times in the road loss to Cincinnati. The Buffs will certainly be hoping to clean that up as they make the trip to Morgantown for Saturday’s matchup.
Players to Know
Colorado’s roster features a strong balance of freshmen, returning players, and transfers. The leading scorer for the Buffs is the freshman guard, Isaiah Johnson, who is averaging nearly 16 points per game while knocking down 44% of his three-pointers on 3.4 attempts per game. Johnson is not the only freshman having a big impact this season. Alon Michaeli is averaging nearly 10 points and 5 rebounds per game.
Sebastian Rancik is a 6’11 sophomore big man from Slovakia who is averaging nearly 14 points and 6 rebounds per game in his second season with Colorado. Rancik is joined in the front court by another returner in the 7-foot Bangot Dak, who has elevated his production in year 3 with the Buffaloes. Dak is averaging 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Finally, 6’1 guard Barrington Hargrress is a transfer from UC Riverside, where he put up 20 points per game as a sophomore. He has been a bright spot in Boulder, where he is averaging nearly 14 points and 5 assists per game. Though he doesn’t shoot a ton of threes (over 2 attempts per game), Hargress is making over 52% of his shots from beyond the arc.