The Arizona Wildcats are looking to win the PAC-12 regular season title outright, but have one more major test before they can raise the banner. The UCLA Bruins are one of the most exciting teams in college basketball and can score points on any team in the country. UCLA knocked off Oregon a couple weeks ago to move Arizona into first, and knows that it needs a win here to keep its slim conference title hopes alive.
At 8:15 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at McKale Memorial Center. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
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UCLA may have gone 8-2 overall in their last 10, but the Bruins haven’t done near as well against the spread. Some of that is a product of their own success, as the Bruins have faced some pretty daunting spreads, but they have also eeked out some wins. Somewhat surprisingly, three of their last four have finished under the total.
Arizona has had its own issues covering spreads. The Wildcats are 1-4 ATS over their last five games, failing to cover big spreads against Washington, Cal, and Stanford. They haven’t been a great team to bet on at home either with an ATS mark of 4-8-2.
Matchup to Watch
No team is putting up the numbers that the Bruins are on offense. UCLA is playing a different game than most other teams in the country today, trusting in their athletes to outperform opponents without much structure. Rather than run a set offense, the Bruins play more of a playground style with Steve Alford allowing his players to have a ton of freedom.
That has created one of the most exciting teams to watch. Lonzo Ball has been a joy during his one and only season in college, creating and sinking shots like few others in the country, and TJ Leaf has been fantastic too. As a whole, they are shooting 53.3 percent from the floor with Leaf leading the way, averaging an outstanding 62.8 percent from the field. The Bruins are averaging over 92 PPG, but will be facing one of the Top 20 defenses in the nation in the Wildcats.
Player to Watch
While Allonzo Trier’s return has meant a lot for Arizona, the continued development of Lauri Markkanen may have the biggest impact on the Wildcats’ March Madness hopes. Markkanen was dominant against the Washington schools, putting up a double-double and hitting over 50 percent of his shots from the floor against those teams, but has had issues with consistency.
Markkanen was a total non-factor in Arizona’s blowout loss to Oregon and put up terrible performances against Cal and Stanford as well. The skinny 7-footer has a ton of tools, but at times can struggle to put them together and he can get dominated on the glass by smaller, larger guys.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
When these two teams met in Los Angeles earlier this season, it was Arizona that got the better end of it. The Wildcats hit 50 percent from the floor and sunk 90 percent of their free throws to pull out a 96-85 victory over the Bruins in a game in which they were 5.5-point underdogs. For UCLA, Ball had a phenomenal game, with 24 points and 8 assists, but the other players struggled to match his performance, combining to go 22-56 from the floor.
The best bet here is going to be the over. UCLA is going to want to run and Arizona is going to be alright with that. The Wildcats won a high-scoring affair last time and feel confident they can do so again. These teams should play a game that finishes in the 180s and is a competitive back and forth affair.
College Basketball Odds: Arizona 92, UCLA 89
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