The Colorado Buffaloes will square off against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in the consolation game of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic this Thursday night.
The Colorado Buffaloes dropped to 7-4 on the season after a disappointing 53-50 loss to the George Washington Colonials this past Tuesday. Colorado struggled from the floor as they shot only 36.5% from the field and just 8.3% (1-12) from three-point range. Josh Scott led the Buffaloes with 10 points and 8 rebounds. The Buffaloes were up 45-40 late in the game, however missed free-throws and poor offensive production doomed the Buffaloes late. On the season, Colorado have been led by Askia Booker (14.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.3 apg), Josh Scott (14.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.9 bpg), and Xavier Johnson (13.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg). Offensively, the Buffaloes are averaging 68.5 ppg (ranked 168th) on 45.5% shooting (ranked 99th). Colorado will look to improve on getting open shots for each other as currently they are averaging just 11.6 assists per game as a team (ranked 241st). Defensively, the Buffaloes are allowing their opponents to score an average of 60.1 ppg (ranked 53rd) on 38.7% shooting (ranked 57th). Colorado does a nice job on the defensive glass pulling down an average of 26.18 defensive rebounds per game (ranked 68th).
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors were defeated 80-79 in overtime match-up against the 11th ranked Wichita State Shockers this past Tuesday. It was a heart-breaking loss for the Warriors as Wichita State’s Rashard Kelly was able to put back an offensive rebound with 3.8 seconds remaining to win it for the Shockers. Hawaii did everything they could to win this game as they outshot the Shockers from both the field (44.1% to 39.7%) and three-point range (43.5% to 25.0%). Hawaii did have trouble with fouls as they committed 25 personal fouls which led to the Shockers hitting 28 of 36 of their free-throw attempts. Leading the way for the Warriors was Isaac Fleming who had 17 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. On the season, Hawaii have been led by Aaron Valdes (16.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg), Garrett Nevels (12.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg), and Roderick Bobbitt (9.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.9 apg). Offensively, the Warriors average 74.5 ppg (ranked 58th) on 43.2% shooting (ranked 186th). Hawaii crashes the offensive glass well as they average 13.38 offensive rebounds per game as a team (ranked 43rd). Defensively, the Warriors are allowing their opponents to average 68.6 ppg (ranked 229th) on 40.3% shooting (ranked 108th).
The Buffaloes are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games following a ATS loss however, just 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. loss. The Warriors are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
The Buffaloes have really struggled away from home this year as they just can’t seem to put together a complete game on the offensive end. It’s an important game for the Buffaloes as head coach Tad Boyle knows that his team can’t drop too many games if they want to be considered for an at-large bid in March, however until the Buffaloes prove that they can play on the road, I’m going to stay away from them as favorites. Although I’m worried that Hawaii left everything on the floor against the Shockers on Tuesday, I think they will follow-up with another solid performance and cover with the points. Take Hawaii and have a great Holiday!