The No. 9 Arizona Wildcats (27-6) will look to defeat the depleted No. 2 UCLA Bruins (29-4) in the Pac-12 Tournament Championship in Las Vegas Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Arizona vs. UCLA odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
These have been the 2 best teams in the Pac-12 all season. So it is fitting they have a chance to meet for a 3rd time in the tournament finals to decide the champion.
The teams have played 2 entirely different games this season with Arizona winning the 1st meeting in a defensive showing 58-52 while UCLA won the rematch in Los Angeles 82-73 in a more offensive focused game.
With injuries to key players for UCLA in recent games, the Bruins will be without elite defender Jaylen Clark for the season. This will make it difficult to beat a top-10 Arizona team playing at full strength. It also may cost them a chance to win a National Championship.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
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Arizona vs. UCLA odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Arizona -110 (bet $110 to win $100) | UCLA -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Arizona +1.5 (-120) | UCLA -1.5 (+100)
- Over/Under (O/U): 147.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Arizona vs. UCLA picks and predictions
Prediction
Arizona 80, UCLA 72
Moneyline
LEAN ARIZONA -110.
While normally I would wager the Underdog here when I like them to win outright, UCLA is a different favorite than most.
Although it is dealing with injuries, UCLA is still talented enough to win this game. Hence while it is favored despite the issues it is having. I still see Arizona being able to pull this game off. But in this instance, I will use the extra 1.5 points of comfort and bet on the spread rather than the ML. But a sprinkle on the Arizona ML is not a bad play either.
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Against the spread
Take ARIZONA +1.5 (-120).
Arizona has been able to cover the spread in 8 of its last 10 games against a team with a win percentage above .600.
With Clark out for the season, UCLA will have a difficult time in defending the Wildcats, and this will allow Arizona to outscore the Bruins.
UCLA came down the stretch with so much promise. But injuries have derailed their hopes of a Pac-12 Championship, and more importantly for coach Cronin, a national championship. This should still be a competitive game, but the wrong team is favored. I will take the 1.5 points with Arizona.
Over/Under
OVER 147.5 (-115)
If both teams were at full strength, this would be an Under play. With the Bruins missing its best defender, this will allow the Wildcats to use its offense, which ranks 5th at 83.1 points to put up points against a UCLA defense that ranks 7th at 60.1 points.
This game will turn into a shootout as Arizona scores, and UCLA will be forced to keep up.
This game could easily hit 170. But at 147.5, the Over is a great value.
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