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The importance of this weekend cannot be overstated. UCLA has never swept a road series in the Steve Alford era. That needs to change this weekend. If it doesn’t, the likelihood of a Pac-12 title drops significantly.
Tonight, the Bruins start their Mountain road trip with a game against the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder. The Buffs are winless in Pac-12 play so far. They need a win almost as much as UCLA, if not more so. Look for Colorado to come out hungry.
The Buffs finished a respectable 10-3 under head coach Tad Boyle before entering a tailspin when conference play began.
Three Buffaloes are averaging double-digits in scoring. Senior Derrick White leads the team with an average of 15.8 ppg while Mater Dei HS grad Xavier Johnson is second on the team with 14.7 ppg. Junior George King is the other Buffalo averaging in double figures with 10.4 ppg. The Buffaloes are 7-0 this season when four or more players reach double figures in the points column.
Look for Wesley Gordon to be the guy Colorado counts on to rebound the ball. Gordon leads the team with an average of 8 rebounds per game while King is second with 7.3 rebounds per game.
Tonight’s game will be tough for the Bruins because Colorado has won 15 of its last 16 and 25 of 27 at home. This is the first Pac-12 home game for the Buffs who bring an eight-game home winning streak against conference opponents into tonight’s game. In the Tad Boyle era, Colorado is has an .856 winning percentage (95-16) at the Coors Events Center.
#4 UCLA Bruins (16-1, 3-1)
Opponent: Colorado Buffaloes (10-6, 0-3)
When: Thursday, January 12, 2017, 8:00 pm PT
Where: Coors Event Center, Boulder, CO
Game Notes:
TV: Fox Sports 1 with Justin Kutcher and Bill Raftery
Stream: FoxSportsGo.com and the Fox Sports Go app
Radio/Audio:
- 570 AM in Los Angeles with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
- Sirius Channel 84 & XM Channel 84 (Colorado feed)
- And, of course, the Bruins Nation Game Thread!
Live Stats: UCLA Bruins StatBroadcast
Go Bruins!