Colorado Buffaloes vs Utah Utes Prediction, 3/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Colorado Buffaloes vs Utah Utes

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Location: Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, UT

TV: ESPN+

The Colorado Buffaloes (16-12) are on their way to Jon M. Huntsman Center on Tuesday where they will try to defeat the Utah Utes (10-18).

The Colorado Buffaloes stepped onto the hardwood against Houston and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 102-62 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Buffaloes walked away with 21 and Houston recorded 14 personal fouls. They converted 10 of 17 shots from beyond the arc. Houston ended up going 77.4% at the charity stripe by knocking down 24 of 31 attempts. On top of that, Houston pulled down 31 rebounds (7 offensive, 24 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Houston recorded 20 dimes and had 8 steals in this matchup. With respect to defense, Colorado allowed the other team to go 59.6% from the floor on 34 out of 57 shooting. They also doled out 14 assists for this contest as well as forcing the opposition into 4 turnovers and getting 3 steals. In regard to hauling in boards, they collected a total of 18 with 2 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Buffaloes knocked down 13 of 18 shots for a percentage of 72.2%. Colorado walked away from the game with a 46.0% FG percentage (23 of 50) and converted 3 out of their 14 3-point shots.

Isaiah Johnson is a player who was a major contributor in the game. He finished the contest at 77.8% from the floor and also earned 4 dimes. He played for 33 minutes and snagged 3 rebounds. He finished with 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting.

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Colorado will enter this contest with a record of 16-12 on the season. They average 80.1 pts per game (90th in the nation) while shooting 46.8% from the field. The Buffaloes are shooting 35.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (209 of 592) and 75.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, Colorado is collecting 35.1 rebounds per contest and has tallied 439 assists so far this year, which ranks 103rd in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 10.3 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.3 fouls every game.

On defense, the Buffaloes are forcing their opponents into 11.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.7 personal fouls. They are 165th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 379 relinquished on the campaign. The Buffaloes defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.4% (765 of 1,686) and they surrender 34.8 rebounds per game as a unit. They give up 36.4% on three-point shots and they rank 292nd in the country in opponents points per game (77.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Utah Utes took a defeat with a final score of 73-60 when they faced Arizona State. When it comes to rebounding, Utah permitted Arizona State to grab 26 overall (7 on the offensive side). They went 52.9% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 9 of 17 and ended up shooting 10 of 12 at the free throw line (83.3%). The Utes permitted Arizona State to make 27 out of their 55 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 49.1% in the game. When the game finished, the Utes finished 23 out of 59 from the field which had them sitting at 39.0%. Regarding 3-point attempts, Utah knocked down 8 out of 22 attempts (36.4%). They were able to knock down 6 of those for a clip of 66.7%. Arizona State had 6 personal fouls for this contest which took the Utes to the free throw line for 9 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while getting 4 steals in the matchup. The Utes snagged 22 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 32 for the game.

Keanu Dawes ended up having an impact for the Utes for the matchup. He buried 5 of 10 in this game for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and added 4 rebounds. He totaled 16 points in his 28 minutes on the court and accumulated 2 assists for the matchup.

Utah has a mark of 10-18 on the year. The Utes commit 16.3 fouls per game and they connect on 72.7% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 13.8 times per contest (196th in Division 1) and they turn the ball over 11.6 times per game. Utah has tallied 2,100 pts for the season (75.0 per contest) and they grab 34.3 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Utes are shooting 45.3% from the field, which is ranked 182nd in Division 1.

The Utes defensively are ranked 299th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 78.3. They are forcing their opponents into 9.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.2% from the floor (329th in college hoops). The Utah defense allows 33.6% on 3-pointers (197 of 586) and their opponents are making 70.5% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 13.8 assists and 35.6 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 213th and 257th in college.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Utah

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