Typically a showdown between the UCLA Bruins and Arizona Wildcats is for bragging rights in the Pac-12. Technically it still is, but it’s the Bruins doing all the bragging right now. Unbeaten seven games into the league schedule, UCLA faces the difficult swing through the Grand Canyon State concluding with Saturday’s matchup against the Wildcats. For the fourth straight meeting both teams are ranked among the top-15 in the country, though Arizona has faltered lately dropping two of three following a 19-point drubbing by Oregon. The Bruins haven’t lost since November winning 13 consecutive games ahead of their road trip.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 2 p.m. ET from the McKale Center in Tucson, AZ. The game will be televised live on ABC. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball schedule.
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Odds Analysis
It took an extra effort but the Bruins extended the longest winning streak among major conference teams to 13 with a 68-54 comeback over Colorado on Saturday. UCLA covered the 12-point line, though it looked precarious midway through the second half. That was the fourth straight game favored by double digits with UCLA earning payouts in three of them. Since consecutive losses to Illinois and Baylor in late November the Bruins are on a rampage going 13-0 SU and 8-5 ATS. They dropped the last two games last season to Arizona, including an 84-76 setback in the Pac-12 tournament championship when they blew a 12-point second half lead.
Through the early part of this month the Wildcats looked unstoppable. They won 14 of their first 15 games but were just 6-8-1 ATS. Seven of those games had a closing line of more than 20 points with an ATS mark of 2-4-1 in those games. Maybe the writing was on the wall with the last game of that stretch a close 70-67 over Washington as an 18.5-point favorite. There was another humbling loss as a favorite last weekend to the Ducks, 87-68, dropping the Cats to 0-4 ATS in their last four games and 1-5 ATS in their last six.
UCLA Bruins
When things weren’t going right offensively in the Colorado contest, the Bruins used stingy defense to get stops before the shots started to fall. And once they did it was lights out for the Buffs. Defense has been a common theme with the club allowing only 64.3 points per game while holding opponents to 31.9 percent from behind the arc. Forcing 23 turnovers and blocking 11 shots allowed UCLA to overcome a 9-point deficit to CU at the midway point of the second half.
“Teams that defend with national championships,” Mick Cronin said postgame. But scoring points is necessary and once the Bruins woke from hibernation they closed on a 33-10 run making the score much worse than it actually was. Leading scorer Jaime Jacquez Jr. finished with 23 points and the Bruins held the Buffs to 4 of 14 three-point shooting. They also conceded fewer than 60 points in six of their last seven games cashing the UNDER in all of them while going 5-2 ATS.
Arizona Wildcats
It could be a sign that Pac-12 hoops is really good or that the Wildcats played a soft non-conference schedule. At this point I’m betting on the former. Arizona has just three losses on the season after dropping a 19-point decision to Oregon with all three against unranked conference foes. About the schedule, there were some cupcake games mixed in with some fierce competition which the Wildcats thrived in. They beat ranked San Diego State, Creighton, Indiana and Tennessee in out of conference action.
Saturday’s matchup has strength against strength. Led by 20.4 points per game from Azuolas Tubelis the Cats average nearly 85 points to rank among the top-10 nationally while shooting the basketball at better than 49 percent from the floor. With their three lowest scoring games of the season coming in their losses where the Cats averaged just 65 points, the path to beating them is clear. However, stopping them isn’t easy with Oumar Ballo, Kerr Kriisa and Courtney Ramey all averaging double figures in scoring.
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For years this matchup has defined the Pac-12 and this season is no different. We haven’t yet reached the midway point of the conference schedule and the Cats find themselves looking past four other teams just to see UCLA at the top of the standings. Arizona has played to the level of its opponent losing to three unranked clubs while going 4-0 against ranked foes. And McKale Center is always a tough place to play giving Arizona the advantage in this one.
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