After a hard-fought loss in Berkeley last week, Stanford men’s basketball (11-10, 3-6 Pac-12) looks to bounce back at home this week as it hosts Colorado (12-10, 2-7) on Thursday and Utah (15-6, 6-3) on Saturday.

Although Stanford is tied 9-9 all time against Colorado, the Cardinal dropped the six last contests, including a 75-91 loss in Colorado last January. During what was the Cardinal’s biggest loss to Colorado, the Buffs shot 68 percent from distance and ended the game with 49 percent shooting overall. This season, senior Derrick White leads the Buffs in scoring with 16.3 points per game, while junior Reid Travis leads the Cardinal with 16.6 points per game.

Against the Utes, the Cardinal are 12-17 all time but have won four of the last seven contests. Last year, Stanford earned a 70-68 win at home in overtime before falling in Utah 74-96. In both of last year’s games, Marcus Sheffield scored in double digits, posting a 17-point performance during Stanford’s overtime win, and he became the first Cardinal freshman to score 17 or more points since 2012. Junior Kyle Kuzma leads the Utes in scoring and rebounding, averaging a double double (15.6 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game) this season.

This week Stanford will need to be strong defensively as Colorado averages 76 points per game, and Utah averages 81 points per game and is ranked 32nd in the country with a shooting percentage of 51 percent. In comparison, the Cardinal average 68 points per game, while allowing 68.3 points per game.

Both games will be held at Stanford’s home court in Maples Pavilion. Thursday’s game against the Buffs is at 8 p.m. and will be live on Pac-12 Networks, and Saturday’s game against the Utes is at 1:30 p.m.

Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.