Gameday guide: How to watch, what to know about No. 8 Arizona basketball vs. Colorado
The CU Events Center has been a safe haven for Colorado men's basketball this season.
Whether it's the elevation or just the Buffaloes' ability to defend their home court, or perhaps a combination of both, Colorado is 13-0 at home for the first time in program history. Arizona State, which never led the Buffs at any point on Thursday night, was the latest victim.
Senior guard J'Vonne Hadley notched his first career double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds) as Colorado knocked off the Sun Devils, 82-70, to end a two-game skid.
Star freshman Cody Williams returned to the lineup in the win over Arizona State after missing last Saturday's loss to Utah. The possible No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, who caught an elbow to the eye in practice, wore a face mask during the game for the first time ever.
A great opportunity to improve their NCAA Tournament resume awaits the Buffs this weekend as they sit just two games back of first-place Arizona in the Pac-12 race. The No. 8 Wildcats will be in Boulder a month after beating a shorthanded Colorado squad by an embarrassing margin (47 points) on Jan. 4.
Here's a look at everything to know about Saturday's game:
What time does Colorado vs. Arizona start?
Date: Saturday, Feb. 10
Start time: 8 p.m. MT
What channel is the Colorado vs. Arizona basketball game on?
The Colorado and Arizona game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Who are the announcers for the Colorado vs. Arizona basketball game?
Play-by-play: Dave Pasch
Analyst: Sean Farnham
What are the records, rankings?
Colorado enters Saturday's game at 16-7 (7-5 Pac-12) with a perfect 13-0 record at home this season. Arizona sits at 18-5 (9-3 Pac-12) after four consecutive wins, including a triple-overtime thriller vs. Utah on Thursday night.
The Wildcats are the No. 8-ranked team in both the USA TODAY coaches poll and the AP poll.
Who are the coaches?
Tommy Lloyd is in his third season as Arizona's head coach and is 78–16 (.830) during that span. Tad Boyle is in his 14th season as Colorado's head coach and is 288-179 (.617) since 2010-11.
Series history
Arizona leads the all-time series 25-16 (7-3 in last 10 matchups) and has beat Colorado in three consecutive meetings. However, the Buffs are 12-3 all-time vs. the Wildcats at home.
Stadium information
The game will be at the CU Events Center in Boulder. The CU Events Center has a capacity of 11,064.
Who are the top players to watch?
Here are some players for each team who will be key to the game:
ARIZONA
Caleb Love: The former North Carolina star is still one of the best guards in America and just notched his first double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) of the season during Thursday's 3OT win over Utah. Love is averaging a career-high 18.9 points per game, but it will be interesting to see how he responds after playing a season-high 48 minutes vs. the Utes.
Pelle Larsson: Like Love, Larrson played a season-high 48 minutes on Thursday night, notching a season-high 27 points in the process. The 6-foot-6 senior from Sweden dropped 18 points (8-for-12 shooting) on Colorado when these two teams last met over a month ago.
Oumar Ballo: The 7-foot senior from Mali is a walking double-double and proved that once again on Thursday night, scoring 10 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Ballo struggled against the Buffs last month (four points on 1-for-7 shooting) but has reached double-digit points in seven of his last nine games.
COLORADO
KJ Simpson: Simpson has scored a combined 67 points over his last three games and gone nearly perfect from the free throw line during that span (15-for-16). The 6-foot-2 senior will take on the challenge of guarding Love while leading Colorado this season in points (19.4 per game), assists (4.4) and steals (1.8).
Tristan da Silva: da Silva missed the Buffs' 97-50 loss to Arizona last month with an ankle injury. The 6-foot-9 senior hasn't shot the ball particularly well as of late (13-for-39, 33% from the field over last three games) but he's capable of a scoring explosion on any given night.
Cody Williams: A face mask didn't stop Williams from recording 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block on Thursday night in his return after a one-game absence. The projected top-10 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, who has missed nine games this season, is averaging 14.4 points (third on team) and leading the Buffs in field goal percentage (56.9%) and 3-point percentage (48.3%).
Follow Colorado Buffaloes sports reporter Scott Procter on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: What channel is Arizona basketball vs. Colorado on?
