The Pac-12 Conference has a bunch of teams on the NCAA Tournament, and a pair of them will face off in a critical showdown this week. The UCLA Bruins will hit the road to face off with the Utah Utes as each pushes hard for a berth in March Madness.
In ESPN’s projections, both teams are currently right outside the cutoff and can ill afford very many more losses. UCLA has been the slightly better team this season but the location of the game is expected to make it the underdog in this matchup.
Utah has found a groove and another win over a quality opponent could really get the attention of the selection committee.
At 9 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Thursday, February 22, 2018, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Thursday schedule.
Odds Analysis
UCLA is 19-8 straight up and 13-13-1 against the spread. The Bruins have covered in three of seven attempts on the road this season. They are 4-4 against the spread as the underdog this season.
Utah is 17-9 straight up and 14-9-1 against the spread. The Utes are an impressive 7-2-1 against the spread as the home team this season. Utah has covered in nine of 12 attempts as the favorite and hopes to keep that going.
Last Meeting
These teams matched up in the beginning of conference play and it wasn’t a contest, as UCLA cruised to the 83-64 victory. The Bruins were at home in that one so they were favored to win but made it look much easier than many expected.
Aaron Holiday had 20 points in the game to lead the way for the Bruins, and the team shot a sparkling 51 percent from the field and 52 percent from three-point range to cruise to the win. UCLA led by eight points and then slowly but surely pulled away in the second half as Utah never really threatened.
Utah had five more turnovers in the game and didn’t shoot well from downtown, which is an easy recipe for losing big.
Key Stat
4. That’s the number of wins in a row Utah has picked up to get back into the NCAA Tournament conversation. The Utes began this streak with a home win over Stanford and swept the weekend by knocking off California. Both of those wins came by double digits, and while the next two games were tougher, the Utes still got the job done.
They beat Washington by 12 points and then knocked off Washington State by seven. The back-to-back road victories were impressive, and Utah enters this game playing as well as it has all season. Utah hasn’t lost since getting defeated by Colorado a few weeks back.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
Utah is one game behind UCLA in the Pac-12 standings, and a win would knot that up in case the selection committee considers conference placement in its conversations. The Bruins have also played well lately, winning four of five including an upset of Arizona on the road.
UCLA can take a huge step forward in claiming a spot in March Madness with the victory, and even though Utah is at home, the Bruins are the choice to pull the upset. Holiday is playing at a high level and UCLA has the talent advantage in this one.
The Bruins are the easy choice on the spread but also consider taking them for the upset on the moneyline. It could result in a lucrative payout. The Utes should do a good job of keeping this one low-scoring, so consider the “under” on the total.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: UCLA 70, Utah 67
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