:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71893667/usa_today_19757334.0.jpg "TJ Bamba injury update: Status of guard for Washington State vs. Colorado on Sunday")
The Washington State Cougars close out a two-game road trip with a visit to Boulder to face the Colorado Buffaloes on Sunday at 6 p.m. in Boulder. Washington State dropped to 9-11 and 5-5 in conference place when they lost to Utah 77-63 on Thursday. Colorado is in the midst of a three-game losing streak and has dropped to 11-9 and 3-6 in conference play. Colorado is a five-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook.
The Cougars are hoping to get their top scorer back for this game. Guard T.J. Bamba has missed three straight games since suffering a hand injury. He was averaging 15.1 points per game to go along with 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists coming out of the team's upset of No. 5 Arizona.
On Tuesday, head coach Kyle Smith was feeling better about Bamba's chances of returning this week.
“I think we might have him this week,” Smith said. “But we're not out of the woods there. I'm hoping.”
Bamba traveled with the team to Utah but was not available to even come off the bench. It's possible he comes off the bench on the back half of the road trip. The Cougars won home games over Cal and Stanford without Bamba, but things get more difficult after the Boulder trip with home games against No. 11 Arizona and an Arizona State squad that is in fifth place and 6-3 in the Pac-12.