Colorado Buffaloes vs West Virginia Mountaineers Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Colorado Buffaloes vs West Virginia Mountaineers

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV

TV: CBSSN

The Colorado Buffaloes (12-5) are hitting the road to WVU Coliseum on Saturday where they will try to beat the West Virginia Mountaineers (11-6).

The Colorado Buffaloes took the court against Cincinnati and took a loss by a score of 77-68 in their last contest. Concerning personal fouls, the Buffaloes ended up walking away with 24 and Cincinnati recorded 17 personal fouls. They also converted 3 of their 16 shots from distance. Cincinnati ended up going 68.6% from the charity stripe by making 24 of 35 attempts. Furthermore, Cincinnati pulled down 28 rebounds (5 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Cincinnati dished out 18 assists and had 9 steals in this matchup. When talking about the defense, Colorado allowed the other team to shoot 44.6% from the floor on 25 of 56 shooting. They also distributed 15 dimes for the contest as well as forcing 10 turnovers and having 5 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they collected 27 with 7 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Buffaloes made 11 of 15 attempts for a rate of 73.3%. Colorado ended the contest with a 44.6% FG percentage (25 of 56) and made 7 out of their 20 three-point shots.

Isaiah Johnson is someone who was important for the contest. He accounted for 21 points on 3 out of 11 shooting. He played for 31 minutes and totaled 1 rebound. He finished the contest at 27.3% from the field and also dished out 2 assists.

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Colorado enters this contest with a mark of 12-5 this season. They are averaging 84.5 points per outing (56th in the country) while connecting on 48.9% from the field. The Buffaloes are shooting 36.3% on three-point attempts (116 of 320) and 78.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, Colorado is pulling down 36.9 rebounds per game and is sitting with 275 assists this year, which is 99th in college in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 10.6 times per game and as a group are committing 17.3 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end of the court, the Buffaloes are forcing their opponents into 11.1 turnovers per game while drawing 20.3 fouls. They give up 35.8% on shots from downtown while they are 286th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (77.5). The Buffaloes are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 44.8% (469 of 1,048) and they concede 32.8 rebounds per game as a unit. They rank 172nd in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 226 conceded on the season.

When they last stepped on the court, the West Virginia Mountaineers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-48 against Houston. When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, West Virginia permitted Houston to snag 36 in total (12 offensive). They finished 31.4% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 11 of 35 and finished the contest at 16 of 21 from the free throw line (76.2%). The Mountaineers allowed Houston to bury 25 of their 58 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.1% in this contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Mountaineers walked away from this one shooting 17 for 46 from the floor which had them shooting 37.0%. When it comes to shots from downtown, West Virginia knocked down 9 of 25 attempts (36.0%). They were able to knock down 5 of those for a percentage of 50.0%. Houston earned 14 fouls for the game which took the Mountaineers to the free throw line for a total of 10 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 15 times, while getting 4 steals for the matchup. The Mountaineers collected 20 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 25 in this matchup.

DJ Thomas was important for the Mountaineers in this matchup. He made 6 out of 8 for the matchup for a rate of 75.0%, and accumulated 2 rebounds. He had 16 points in his 22 mins of playing time, but wasn't able to get an assist.

West Virginia has a mark of 11-6 this year. As an offensive unit, the Mountaineers are hitting on 45.1% from the field, which is 202nd in the nation. West Virginia has earned 1,245 pts so far this year (73.2 per game) and they grab 35.8 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 13.5 times per game (241st in college) and they turn it over 11.0 times per contest. The Mountaineers are committing 15.0 fouls per contest and they shoot 68.6% from the free throw line.

The West Virginia defense gives up 34.4% from downtown (125 of 363) and opponents are connecting on 73.6% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 12.8 dimes and 32.5 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 135th and 72nd in Division 1. The Mountaineers on the defensive side of the court are 7th in the nation in PPG given up with 63.2. They are able to force 12.1 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.4% from the field (46th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Colorado

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