Colorado Buffaloes vs Cincinnati Bearcats Prediction, 1/14/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Colorado Buffaloes vs Cincinnati Bearcats

Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Location: Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH

TV: Peacock

The Cincinnati Bearcats (8-8) will try to beat the Colorado Buffaloes (12-4) at Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday.

The Colorado Buffaloes took the court against Texas Tech and went home with a loss by a final score of 73-71 in their last game. Colorado finished the contest with a 39.7% FG percentage (23 out of 58) and buried 6 of their 21 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Buffaloes made 19 of their 22 attempts for a rate of 86.4%. With respect to hauling in rebounds, they compiled 33 with 5 of them being offensive. They also recorded 14 dimes in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. In the matter of the defense, Colorado allowed the other team to shoot 41.4% from the field on 29 of 70 shooting. Texas Tech totaled 20 assists and had 5 steals for the game. In addition, Texas Tech grabbed 44 rebounds (15 offensive, 29 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Texas Tech finished 40.0% at the charity stripe by burying 4 of 10 attempts. They made 11 of their 31 tries from beyond the arc. When talking about personal fouls, the Buffaloes ended up finishing with 9 and Texas Tech accounted for 20 personal fouls.

Isaiah Johnson is a player who played a role in the game. He recorded 21 points on 3 of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 31 mins and also pulled down 1 rebound. He finished the game shooting 27.3% from the field and totaled 2 dimes.

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Colorado comes into this contest with a record of 12-4 for the campaign. They average 85.5 pts per contest (44th in D-1) while hitting 49.1% from the field. The Buffaloes are shooting 36.3% from downtown (109 of 300) and 78.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Colorado is pulling in 37.1 rebounds per contest and has totaled 260 dimes on the season, which is 109th in D-1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 10.2 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Buffaloes are forcing 11.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.5 fouls. They concede 36.5% from 3-point land while they are 294th in college in opponents points per game (77.6). The Buffaloes are allowing a FG percentage of 44.8% (444 of 992) and they concede 32.9 rebounds per game as a squad. They currently rank 110th in college in giving up assists with 208 conceded for the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Cincinnati Bearcats walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 73-72 when they faced UCF. When discussing rebounding, Cincinnati permitted UCF to get 26 in all (4 offensive). They finished 42.9% from three-point range by connecting on 6 of 14 and ended up going 7 out of 9 at the charity stripe (77.8%). The Bearcats allowed UCF to bury 30 of 52 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 57.7% for the game. When the game finished, the Bearcats finished shooting 32 out of 67 from the field which gave them a percentage of 47.8%. When it comes to shots from 3-point land, Cincinnati converted 3 out of 19 attempts (15.8%). They were able to bury 5 of those for a rate of 62.5%. UCF committed 14 fouls for the game which took the Bearcats to the charity stripe for 8 tries. They coughed up the ball 7 times, while getting 9 steals for the matchup. The Bearcats earned 16 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards for a total of 25 for the game.

Moustapha Thiam was important for the Bearcats in the matchup. He had 24 points in his 31 minutes on the court, but didn't get an assist. He converted 10 out of 15 for this contest for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and had 5 rebounds.

Cincinnati has a win-loss record of 8-8 this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Bearcats are connecting on 42.5% from the field, which has them ranked 308th in Division 1. Cincinnati has totaled 1,177 points for the campaign (73.6 per game) and they pull in 38.3 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 17.4 times per game (44th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 12.5 times per game. The Bearcats are committing 16.4 fouls per game and they connect on 63.8% from the free throw line.

The Bearcats defensively are ranked 25th in college in PPG given up with 65.8. They are forcing 14.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.7% from the field (54th in Division 1). The Cincinnati defense surrenders 31.7% from downtown (122 of 385) and opponents are knocking down 70.0% of their free throw shots. They allow 13.1 dimes and 34.9 rebounds per contest, which is 166th and 205th in those categories on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Colorado

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