The Boise State Broncos take on the Colorado Buffaloes in a play-in game for the No. 10 seed in the South region on Wednesday, March 20. The winner of the First Four matchup will face No. 7 Florida in the Round of 64. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. ET, and the game will air on TruTV.
No. 10 Boise State vs. No. 10 Colorado picks
Spread: Colorado -2.5
Over/Under: 139
Moneyline: Colorado -135, Boise State +114
Boise State (22-10, 13-5 MWC) fell to eventual Mountain West champion New Mexico in the conference tournament after earning the No. 3 seed in the Mountain West. Two of the last three games of their season saw them defeat New Mexico and current No. 5 seed San Diego State. The Broncos rank 39th overall at KenPom and 29th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Colorado (24-10, 13-7 Pac-12) fell to Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship Game after defeating Utah and Washington State as the No. 3 seed in the conference. The Buffaloes had a strong finish to the regular season, winning six games straight to finish the year. They rank 26th overall at KenPom and 25th in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Pick: Boise State +2.5
The Mountain West is a generally underseeded conference in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The conference was much stronger than some give it credit for, and Boise State was able to hang with the best of them. Boise State has a strong perimeter defense, which will be highly utilized as they go up against a Colorado offense that went 39.4% from the three-point line this year.