No. 5 Colorado vs. No. 12 Georgetown preview for NCAA Tournament first-round matchup

The NCAA Tournament begins on Thursday, March 18th with the First Four, and then moves on to the first round on Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16. The No. 5 seed Colorado Buffaloes will face the No. 12 seed Georgetown Hoyas in the first round. Game time has yet to be announced but we will update this article with that and game odds as soon as it comes available. For now, we’ve got a preliminary preview of the two teams to get you ready for March Madness!

Once the odds from DraftKings Sportsbook are made available for this game, we’ll add that information below. We’ll also add the game time and TV channel once it’s settled.

Game date: Saturday, March 20
Game time: 12:15 p.m ET
TV channel: CBS
Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse

Odds: Colorado -5
Over/Under: 138.5

No. 5 Colorado

The Colorado Buffaloes are back in the NCAA Tournament with hopes to find themselves in the second weekend of play. The Buffaloes have a slow style of play, ranking No. 295 in all of college basketball in possessions per game, but they are inside the top 25 in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. In addition, the KenPom ratings might like them more than the selection committee does.

Colorado has a rotation that goes 10 players deep. Ten players average at least nine minutes per game, and the Buffaloes are led by senior guard McKinley Wright IV, who averages 15.3 points per game and leads the Pac-12 with 5.7 assists per game. Senior forward Jeremiah Horne averages 11.5 points and a team-high six rebounds is a very good shooter at 44.3% from the three-point line and 91.1% on free throws.

Record: 22-8, 14-6 Pac-12
KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency: 17
KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency: 29
ATS: 17-12
Over Total: 10-18-1
Odds to win NCAA Championship: +3000

No. 12 Georgetown

The Georgetown Hoyas are headed to the NCAA Tournament after a magical run in the Big East conference tournament that ended with them beating Creighton 73-48. Patrick Ewing led the Hoyas into the conference tournament as the eighth seed. But despite their record of 13-12, they upset the No. 1-seed Villanova Wildcats and rode that momentum all the way to the conference title. This season, Georgetown is averaging 71.4 points per game, while holding opponents to only 70.7 points per game. But what will help them in the NCAA tourney is their rebounding as they are ranked 20th in the country (40.2 per game).

Senior guard Jahvon Blair and sophomore center Qudus Webb are two players to keep an eye out for in the NCAA Tournament. Blair is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.8 points per game, while also adding 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Webb is a presence inside for the Hoyas, recording a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game and scoring 12.4 points per game. Georgetown will need these two in particular to play well, for them to have a chance in the NCAAs.

Record:13-12, 7-9 Big East
KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency: 85
KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency: 41
ATS: 16-9
Over Total: 11-14
Odds to win NCAA Championship: +10000