ESPN’s Matchup Predictor Has a Heavy Favorite for West Virginia-Colorado Game

West Virginia and Colorado will meet for just the third time in program history on Saturday, with tonight being the Buffs’ first-ever trip to Morgantown.

The ESPN BPI matchup predictor is leaning heavily in West Virginia’s favor for tonight’s game.

What the BPI says

According to the ESPN Basketball Power Index, the Mountaineers have an 82.1% chance to remain perfect inside Hope Coliseum, while Colorado has just a 17.9% chance to send WVU fans home in a bad mood.

Although the two teams boast similar records coming into tonight’s contest, the Mountaineers are just a different animal at home. Since the start of last season, West Virginia is 24-4 when playing at home, winning fourteen straight dating back to the tail end of last season with their victories over Cincinnati, TCU, and UCF.

80% may seem strong, but quite frankly, it’s deserved.

West Virginia’s recent games

It’s been a tale of two teams for West Virginia in its last two times out. They weathered the storm against Kansas a week ago, turning an eight-point deficit into an eight-point lead within the snap of a finger, thanks to a 22-2 run. The defense smothered the Jayhawks out of the paint, allowing WVU to go on to win by double digits.

Tuesday’s affair with Houston went about as poorly as one could imagine. It was one of the worst offensive first half performances in program history, and likely would have been had it not been for true freshman forward DJ Thomas knocking down shots from range. Now, the focus shifts back to taking care of your own floor.

Colorado’s recent games

After opening league play with victories over Arizona State and Utah, the Buffs have dropped two straight to Texas Tech and Cincinnati.

Despite trailing to Tech 43-27 at the break, they made it an interesting game, in large part due to their free-throw shooting, 14/16 from the line in the second half alone. A three from Sebastian Rancik made it a two-point game with 43 seconds left, and after a defensive stop, Barrington Hargress missed what would have been a game-winning three at the buzzer.

Against Cincinnati, the first half proved to be a problem again, burying themselves a 43-25 hole. They outscored the Bearcats 43-34 in the second half, but the free-throw line was their enemy this time. Cincinnati shot 24/35 on the day from the stripe.

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