College Basketball Crown Quarterfinals: Oklahoma vs Colorado Preview, Odds, Predictions (April 1)

• The Sooners exited from the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
• The Buffaloes lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
• This marks the 138th all-time matchup between the two squads.

The second annual College Basketball Crown has finally arrived as it begins with a quarterfinal matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Colorado Buffaloes. The former comes out as the solid favorite, paving the way for an intriguing showdown between two decent high-major squads.

How to Watch

• When: Monday, April 1, 8 pm ET
• Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
• How to Watch: FS1

NCAA Matchup Odds & Lines

Game Preview

The Sooners (19-15), the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament, went 2-1 in the SEC Tournament as the No. 11 seed, posting an 86-74 first-round win over No. 14 seed South Carolina and an 83-63 second-round victory over No. 6 seed Texas A&M before falling 82-79 to No. 3 seed Arkansas in the quarterfinals. They led the SEC in league play with their 39% 3-point field goal mark and ranked fourth with their 9.6 treys per outing. Nijel Pack, a first-year Sooner who is in his sixth year overall, leads active Division I players (ranks 19th all-time) with 426 career 3-pointers and third with 2,307 points. Pack paces the SEC with his .452 3-point field goal percentage (ranks fourth nationally) and with his 3.3 treys per game.

The Buffaloes (17-15) were victors in three of their last five league games before falling to Oklahoma State, 92-83, in the conference tournament first round. Three Buffaloes are not traveling to the College Basketball Crown: Isaiah Johnson (16.9 ppg and three apg), Sebastian Rancik (12.3 ppg and 5.6 rpg) and Bangot Dak (11.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg). Barrington Hargress stands out as the leading scorer amidst these absences, producing 14.2 points and 4.5 assists per game.

Oklahoma vs Colorado Head-to-Head

The two programs have had 137 meetings in their history, and the result is 88-49 for the Sooners. The last matchup was in January 2011 when Oklahoma won 67-60 at home.

Oklahoma vs Colorado Predictions

The winner of the Colorado-Oklahoma game will meet either Baylor or Minnesota on Saturday, April 4. Colorado is significantly shorthanded with three of their top four scorers leaving the squad for the transfer portal. This presents a huge advantage for Oklahoma to set the tone early on and overwhelm the Buffaloes squad throughout the course of the game. Our betting pick here is for the Sooners to defend a 10-point spread.

• Free NCAAB pick: Oklahoma Sooners -10