UCLA hosts Simpson and Colorado

Published Feb. 14, 2024 3:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Colorado Buffaloes (16-8, 7-6 Pac-12) at UCLA Bruins (13-11, 8-5 Pac-12)

Los Angeles; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Colorado faces the UCLA Bruins after KJ Simpson scored 20 points in Colorado's 99-79 loss to the Arizona Wildcats.

The Bruins have gone 7-4 in home games. UCLA is 6-1 in games decided by at least 10 points.

The Buffaloes are 7-6 in Pac-12 play. Colorado ranks fourth in the Pac-12 giving up 72.3 points while holding opponents to 43.8% shooting.

UCLA is shooting 41.7% from the field this season, 2.1 percentage points lower than the 43.8% Colorado allows to opponents. Colorado averages 6.6 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.9 fewer makes per game than UCLA allows.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Sebastian Mack is scoring 13.3 points per game and averaging 3.7 rebounds for the Bruins. Lazar Stefanovic is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for UCLA.

LAST 10 GAMES: Bruins: 7-3, averaging 66.3 points, 33.1 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 41.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.0 points per game.

Buffaloes: 5-5, averaging 79.1 points, 37.2 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.3 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.