Arizona State vs. Colorado Prediction and Odds for Thursday, December 1 (Trust Sun Devils' Elite Defense)
By Josh Yourish
The Pac 12 began its conference schedule last night, but today they’ve given us four games to enjoy. Neither the Arizona State Sun Devils or Colorado Buffaloes have a spot in the latest AP Top 25 rankings, tonight's matchup may end up the most entertaining of all the Pac 12 games on the board. Arizona State is 7-1 with a win over Michigan this year, most recently taking down Alcorn State, 76-54.
Colorado is only 5-3, and as that record indicates they’ve had a very up and down start to the season. Their first eight games include a 78-66 win over No. 13 Tennessee and an 83-74 loss to Grambling state. They also have a big win over Texas A&M and a close loss to UMass. This team could do anything on any given night, so let’s see what version of the Buffaloes show up against Arizona State.
Here are the odds for this Pac 12 matchup.
Arizona State vs. Colorado Odds, Spread and Total
Arizona State vs. Colorado Prediction and Pick
These teams are super similar offensively, both scoring about 74 points a game, but the differences show up on the defensive end of the floor.
Arizona State is one of the best defensive teams in the entire country. They only allow their opponents to score 59.7 points, the second best of any Pac 12 team, but more importantly their opponents are shooting 34% from the field and 22% from three. Both are top five of any team in the country.
Colorado only makes about 31% from deep on 22 attempts a game, so this high number of threes makes them a high variance team. They shot 50% from three in their 103-75 win over A&M, but shot just 20% from behind the arc in their 68-55 loss to Boise State. The Aggies allow opponents to shoot 37% from three while the Broncos hold them to 28.1%. This is the most instructive stat for how Colorado is going to play and Arizona State is elite in that category.
The Sun Devils won’t deter Colorado from taking threes, they will just prevent the Buffaloes from making them and ASU will win on the road.
Pick: Arizona State +155
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change