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The North Alabama Lions take on the Colorado Buffaloes. Check out our college basketball odds series for our North Alabama Colorado prediction and pick.
The North Alabama Lions have played a lot of teams ranked No. 275 or lower in the NET rankings, one of the main metrics used to evaluate teams for seeding and selection purposes in the NCAA Tournament. Alabama A&M, Hampton, Mississippi Valley State, Morehead State, and Alabama State are all in that group. Therefore, while North Alabama has a 6-4 record, the Lions have a few non-Division I wins plus some victories over bottom-tier opponents in NCAA Division I competition. The win over Hampton was a late comeback in which UNA trailed for a good portion of the second half. Even though playing a lot of manageable and beatable opponents, this season has not been a smooth ride for the Lions, who will now play a buy game and get a fat check from the University of Colorado for making the trip to Boulder.
The Colorado Buffaloes — this is not an exaggeration or embellishment — are the most volatile and hard-to-predict team in college basketball. They hammered Tennessee in Nashville, a result no one anticipated. That might be the single most baffling outcome of any single game played in the first five weeks of the college basketball season. Colorado has also beaten Texas A&M and Colorado State by 28 points apiece. When this CU team is good, it's really good.
When it's bad, it's horrid. Colorado has lost to Grambling State and UMass, and it is 0-2 in Pac-12 play after blowing a 15-point lead at home against Arizona State and then losing at a shorthanded Washington team. Colorado has been all over the map this season. We will see if this team stabilizes in the coming weeks.
Here are the North Alabama-Colorado NCAA Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: North Alabama-Colorado Odds
North Alabama Lions: +21.5 (-105)
Colorado Buffaloes: -21.5 (-115)
Over: 147.5 (-110)
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Under: 147.5 (-110)
Why North Alabama Could Cover the Spread
Colorado is a crazy, nutty, impossible-to-read team. Because of that, it's not really a question that the Buffaloes are unreliable. They have some potential, but you wouldn't want to absolutely count on them in a one-game situation. It's true that Colorado has beaten some high-end teams such as Tennessee, but the Buffs have also lost to some opponents they had absolutely no business losing to. Until we see a more stable and consistent version of the Buffaloes, they have not earned the benefit of the doubt in situations such as this one.
If you were to think about this game and consider whether Colorado will come out crisp and focused or distracted and imprecise, the fact that the Buffaloes are 5-5 through 10 games — with losses to Grambling and UMass — should help make the decision a lot easier for you. This is an up-and-down team; those kinds of teams drift through games such as this one instead of playing a complete game for 40 minutes.
Why Colorado Could Cover the Spread
This is a very bad opponent, far worse than the 6-4 record might indicate. North Alabama has played a lot of lower-tier opponents so far this season. The Lions, playing at altitude — which they are not used to — will struggle with the conditions and with Colorado. This game simply does not set up well for them.
Colorado might be volatile and unreliable, but the Buffs just did hammer Colorado State by 28. If they can do that, they can certainly beat North Alabama by 22 and move forward with their season. Colorado is likely to improve, even though the first five weeks of the season have been exasperating. The Buffs have some talent and just need to find a way to put it together more regularly. They will here.
Final North Alabama-Colorado Prediction & Pick
You have seen Colorado play this season. You know the Buffs are not trustworthy, even though you also know North Alabama isn't very good. Stay away from this game, then. That's the smartest thing to do here.
Final North Alabama-Colorado Prediction & Pick: Colorado -21.5
