The Pac 12 has two teams that could win the national championship this season in the UCLA Bruins and the Arizona Wildcats. A team from this conference hasn’t gone on to win March Madness since Lute Olson led Arizona past Kentucky in 1997, but the Pac 12 is having its best season in quite some time. There are four teams that could make the NCAA Tournament as the West Coast is suddenly becoming filled with basketball talent. UCLA and Arizona are both in contention for seeds on the No. 1 and No. 2 line heading into February.
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Arizona is currently in line for a No. 1 seed. The Wildcats are 17-2 and in first place in the Pac 12 with an exciting up-tempo offense. They hammered Michigan earlier this season, and they went on the road and bested Illinois in mid-December before coming up short at Tennessee for their first loss just before Christmas. Arizona is 7-1 in conference play with the lone loss coming to UCLA last week.
The Bruins crushed the Wildcats 75-59 at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA shot the lights out, sinking 50% of its field goals and 47.1% of its three-pointers. Johnny Juzang didn’t have his best day from the floor, but he was much better than Arizona’s top players. Bennedict Mathurin wasn’t great and made just 5 of 22 field goals as the Wildcats’ leading scorer, while Kerr Kriisa and Dalen Terry combined to go 0-17 from the floor and 0-11 from beyond the arc.
UCLA also has just two losses. The Bruins knocked off Villanova in overtime and took down Marquette too, but they were pummeled by Gonzaga in non-conference play. They are 8-1 in conference with the only loss coming in overtime to Oregon on January 13.
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The Wildcats have the 13th best offense in the country according to Ken Pomeroy. They rank in the top ten in two-point percentage, making almost 57% of their shots from inside the perimeter, and they also block nearly twice as many shots as their opponents. The only thing they don’t do well is shoot threes, as they are collectively hitting just 33.1% of their treys.
Bennedict Mathurin is the leading scorer for Arizona. Mathurin is averaging 17.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG, and he is making 45.7% of his field goals and 36.5% of his three-pointers. Azuolas Tubelis is the second-leading scorer on the Wildcats with 14.2 PPG while making 54.6% of his field goals.
Center Christian Koloko is averaging 13.0 PPG and leads the Wildcats with 7.5 RPG. Kerr Kriisa is the main distributor with 5.1 APG, but he has struggled to make opponents pay with his own shooting.
It’s been fun watching Johnny Juzang develop. The 6’7 forward is one of the most exciting players in the Pac 12, and he is averaging 18.1 PPG while making 45.6% of his field goals and 39.5% of his threes. Juzang might not be available for this game though due to COVID protocols.
Tyger Campbell is a reliable three-point shooter for the Bruins. He is averaging 11.1 PPG while making 42% of his triples this season.
UCLA Bruins at Arizona Wildcats Free Pick
UCLA is efficient on the offensive end and does the little things well. The Bruins rank in the top five in turnover percentage and in the top 20 in block percentage, steal percentage, and non-steal turnover percentage on offense. That will give them an edge over the Wildcats here as long as Juzang is on the court.
Bruins at Wildcats Best Bet: UCLA
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