The UCLA Bruins finally got the win they were looking for right before Christmas. UCLA went to New Orleans to take on Kentucky and for the second straight season, knocked off the Wildcats in the regular season. It was a great way for the Bruins to wrap up their non-conference schedule and now they are looking to build on that in conference play. They will be welcoming the Washington State Cougars to town on Friday night.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, December 29, 2017, at 11 p.m. ET at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Friday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Washington State turned a lot of heads when it won the Wooden Legacy tournament a month ago. The Cougars were underdogs by at least eight points in all three games, but knocked off St. Joseph’s, Saint Mary’s, and San Diego State in consecutive weeks in order to take down the tournament. Unfortunately, the team’s season went off the rails afterwards. Washington State has now lost four of its last six games. Under has cashed in each of the Cougars last four games.
UCLA is sitting at 9-3 on the year, but has not been very good against the number. The Bruins are 4-8 ATS and failed to cover in three of their last four. Over has been a big winner in their games as of late as the offense has improved with four of their last five ending north of the total.
Players to Watch
Two players are responsible for scoring 40 percent of Washington State’s points this season, and those two are who UCLA will need to shut down on Friday night.
Robert Franks is the primary option for the Cougars. Franks is averaging 18.1 PPG and is hitting 50 percent of his shots from the floor through this point of the season. He has really stepped it up in his junior year now that he is a starter, and he played great during the Wooden Classic.
Malachi Flynn is Washington State’s second-leading scorer. He is averaging 15.8 PPG, but is more of a volume scorer more than anything else. Flynn has hit just 40.4 percent of his shots this year, and his recent cold streak coincided with Washington State’s losing streak.
Key Stats
UCLA plays at a very fast pace. The Bruins are one of the highest tempo teams in the country and there are typically a lot of shots taken in their games. That’s why their games are some of the highest scoring in the country.
The games are high scoring, but this team isn’t particularly great from the free throw line. UCLA is hitting just 68.2 percent of its freebies this season and only one rotation player is hitting better than 80 percent from the line. That’s an issue with a team that runs as much as this one does.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
UCLA has been decent at stopping opponents from the field this season. The Bruins are holding teams to 42 percent shooting from the floor and that’s not too bad. However, they have had some trouble stopping perimeter shooters. Opponents have sunk 35.5 percent of their threes against this team and that puts them in the bottom half of the nation.
That’s an area that Washington State can exploit. The Cougars have been able to hit 39.2 percent of their threes this season, a number that is in the top 50 in the country. Carter Skaggs and Viont’e Daniels have both been great from downtown.
The ability to help the three will help the Cougars stay within the number here. Washington State might even win this one outright, so back the Cougars.
College Basketball Odds: UCLA 79, Washington State 75
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