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The Long Beach State Beach (21-14) and Arizona Wildcats (25-8) meet Thursday for an NCAA Tournament first-round game. Tip-off from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Long Beach State vs. Arizona odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
Long Beach State, the 15th seed in the West Region, fired coach Dan Monson prior to the Big West Tournament, but allowed him to finish out the season. All he did was lead his team to a Big West Tournament championship, winning over UC Riverside, UC Irvine and UC Davis en route to a trophy. It also covered all 3 games while cashing the Over in 2 of the 3 outings.
Arizona secured the No. 2 seed in the West Region despite losing in the 2nd game of the Pac-12 Tournament March 15. The Under cashed in both of the tourney games while going 6-2 across the past 8 outings. Arizona is just 5-3 straight up (SU) in the 8-game span.
These teams meet for the 1st time since Nov. 24, 2019, a 104-67 win by the Wildcats. Arizona has won 5 straight meetings dating back to Nov. 19, 2012, going 4-1 against the spread (ATS) with the Over going 3-1-1 in the 5-game span.
Arizona is No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
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Long Beach State vs. Arizona odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook’s; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 10:15 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Long Beach State +1300 (bet $100 to win $1,300) | Arizona -3000 (bet $3,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Long Beach State +20.5 (-120) | Arizona -20.5 (+100)
- Over/Under (O/U): 163.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Long Beach State vs. Arizona picks and predictions
Prediction
Arizona 94, Long Beach State 71
Moneyline
Arizona (-3000) will cost you 30 times your potential return, and there is never a reason to ever bet such a heavy favorite. You would need to risk $100 just to net $3.33 in profit. It makes no sense, even including Arizona as part of a multi-team parlay.
AVOID.
Against the spread
ARIZONA -20.5 (+100) is a decent play at even-money. Long Beach State +20.5 (-120) might be able to hang for 10-15 minutes, but look for the Wildcats to pull away, using their size to beat down the Beach.
C Oumar Ballo will especially be a handful down low, as Long Beach State just doesn’t have to size to match up with the 7-foot Malian center.
Arizona is 9-5 SU/ATS in 14 games against teams in the NCAA Tournament, while Long Beach State is 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS in 2 games against tournament teams.
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Over/Under
OVER 163.5 (-110) is worth a look.
The Over has cashed in 3 of the past 4 games for Long Beach State, going for 74 or more points on offense in 5 in a row while allowing 70 or more points in 7 of the previous 8 contests.
Arizona was 1 of the highest scoring offenses in the nation, going for 89.5 PPG, while hitting at a 49.2% clip from the field and 37.4% mark from behind the arc. Defensively, Arizona allowed 73.2 PPG, which was in the bottom 3rd in the nation. The Wildcats score plenty, and allow plenty, leading to frequent Over results.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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