UCLA Bruins NCAA NCAA Basketball Betting
In his second season as head coach of the UCLA Bruins, Mick Cronin led the historic program to the Final Four. Much like former UCLA coach Ben Howland, Cronin is becoming a prisoner of that early success. Cronin has not come close to matching that initial success. In 2024-25 UCLA did show modest improvement after missing the NCAA Tournament in the previous season. UCLA returned to the Big Dance in 2025 but bowed out meekly in the second round. Like every coach who followed legendary John Wooden, Cronin is facing impossible demands based on a program that was practicing under the table NIL in the 1960s and 70s to forge a dynasty that can never be replicated.
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
2025 UCLA Bruins Season Recap
Overall, the UCLA Bruins are 23-10 straight up, 18-12-1 against the spread, and 13-18 over/under the total. UCLA has national metrics of 146th for scoring offense, 58th for field goal percentage, 97th for 3-point field goal percentage, 240th for free throw percentage, and 305th for offensive rebounding. While defensively, UCLA is 22nd for scoring defense, 116th for field goal percentage permitted, 86th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 30th for defensive rebounding.
Late on, UCLA has covered three of its previous five games and has gone over the total in four of its last six outings. Tyler Bilodeau is the first among UCLA scorers, with 13.9 points per game.
The No. 7-seeded UCLA Bruins' season ended in defeat. They fell to the No. 2-seeded Tennessee Volunteers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky. After a strong first half, the Bruins were not able to keep pace with a hot-shooting Volunteer team.
The Bruins battled tough through the first 20 minutes of the contest, holding the lead at multiple stages of the half until the Volunteers went on an 8-0 scoring run to end the first half, putting the Bruins down by seven. The lead would only grow larger, and the Bruins ultimately were bested, 67-58.
Tennessee was red-hot from 3-point land, shooting 50% and knocking down 11 triples. Senior guard Chaz Lanier posted a game-high 20 points, going 4-5 from downtown, while adding four rebounds and two assists. Senior guard Zakai Ziegler finished with 15 points, six assists, and three steals.
Despite Tennessee's strong 3-point shooting, the Bruins were unable to establish themselves in the rebound game. They were -10 in rebounds, leading to 13 second-chance points. The Volunteers also scored 15 points off of UCLA's turnovers—it finished with 11.
The Bruins struggled to shoot the ball for most of the contest. After the fast start, they went ice cold, finishing the game shooting 35.8% (19-53) from the field and 30.4% (7-23) from triple range.
Junior guard Skyy Clark did not play much in the first half but gave the Bruins somewhat of an offensive boost with a team-high 18 points while adding two steals. The only other Bruin to score in double figures was junior forward Tyler Bilodeau, who recorded 15 points and four rebounds.
Sophomore center Aday Mara was a force in the first half, scoring 7 points with five rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. In his first two tournament games, Mara had eight total blocks and is going to be a promising piece for this team over the next two seasons. His ceiling is extremely high.
Even though the season is over, the Bruins have to be proud of what they accomplished this year. This team, which had very little chemistry entering the season with a litter of first-year transfers, was able to compete atop the Big Ten while making it to the Round of 32.
Immense credit goes to UCLA seniors Kobe Johnson and Lazar Stefanovic. Two of the hardest-working leaders on the team benefitted this group in more ways than one.
Latest NCAA Tournament Results
| YEAR |
RESULT |
| 2025 |
Lost Second Round vs. (2) Tennessee 58–67 |
| 2023 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (9) Gonzaga 76–79 |
| 2022 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (8) North Carolina, 66–73 |
| 2021 |
Lost Final Four vs. (1) Gonzaga, 90–93 (OT) |
| 2018 |
Lost First Four vs. (11) St. Bonaventure, 58–65 |
| 2017 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (5) Kentucky, 75–86 |
| 2015 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (7) Gonzaga, 62–74 |
| 2014 |
Lost Sweet Sixteen vs. (1) Florida, 68–79 |
2024-2025 NCAA Basketball Top Teams
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