No. 11 Buffs Closeout Road Slate: Five Things to Know

LOS ANGELES – No. 11 Colorado is headed to the Golden State for its final Pac-12 road trip. The Buffaloes will face another pair of ranked opponents, taking on No. 7 Southern California (Friday) and No. 12 UCLA (Monday).

Colorado (20-5, 10-4 Pac-12) fell out of the top 10 in the rankings for the first time since the preseason poll, after last Friday's one-point loss at Utah. The Buffs are 4-5 this season against AP-ranked opponents after suffering back-to-back losses to then No. 18 Oregon State and then No. 22 Utah.

USC (20-4, 10-4 Pac-12) moved up three spots to No. 7 this week and has the longest current winning streak in the Pac-12 at six games. The Trojans are 13-1 at the Galen Center this season, falling to only Washington back on Jan. 28.

UCLA (20-5, 9-5 Pac-12) split its series last weekend with the Oregon schools. The Bruins fell victim to Oregon State (79-77) before bouncing back with a 74-55 win at Oregon. UCLA will open this week with No. 18 Utah on Thursday night.

Five things to know

Running the Gauntlet Pt. 2 – Colorado is in the middle of four consecutive games against ranked opponents. This stretch is the second time CU has played four straight-ranked teams this season. So far, the Buffaloes are 0-2 in the stretch with close losses to No. 17 Oregon State and. No. 22 Utah. CU went 2-2 in the last stretch that featured games against No. 8 Stanford, No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 USC and No. 25 Oregon State.
Two Down – Colorado has lost two straight games for the first time since Feb. 19 and Feb. 23, 2023 (at Arizona & at Stanford). CU hasn't lost three consecutive games since an 0-4 stretch from Jan. 14-23, 2022.
National TV – Monday's game against UCLA will be on ESPN2, marking the Buffs' first regular season game on a mainstream ESPN network since playing at Kansas State on Feb. 8, 2004. The Buffs are 1-0 this season on national broadcasts, defeating No. 1 LSU to start the season on TNT.
On Fire % – CU has shot 50.0% or better in 10 games this season. The Buffs hit an even 50.0% from the field in their loss at Utah. It snapped a streak of 34 straight wins when shooting 50.0% or better.
Close Calls – The Buffs are 4-2 in games decided by five points or less since the start of the 2022-23 season. Colorado is 2-1 this season and had won four straight games decided by five points or less before its loss at Utah last Friday.

Ann Schatz and Tammy Blackburn will have Friday's call on the Pac-12 Network (8 p.m. MT). Beth Mowins and Stephanie White will be courtside for ESPN2 on Monday (7 p.m. MT).

Cory Lopez and Carol Callan will have pregame coverage starting 30 minutes before tip-off on the Colorado Radio Network.

No. 11 Buffs Closeout Road Slate: Five Things to Know

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