Arizona vs. UCLA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The two best teams in the Pac 12 will square off in one of the final regular season games of the 2022-23 college basketball season. The UCLA Bruins lost their first meeting with the Arizona Wildcats earlier this year, but they rallied to win nine straight games to cruise to the Pac 12 regular season title. UCLA is now looking to land a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the Bruins need to beat the Wildcats at home on Saturday night to give those hopes a boost.

On Saturday, March 4, 2023, the UCLA Bruins well welcome the Arizona Wildcats to Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. This game is scheduled to tip off at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Arizona Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins Betting Prediction

UCLA really struggled from the floor in the first meeting between these two teams. The Bruins made just 36.2% of their field goals and 20% of their three-pointers, and none of their guards had an Offensive Rating over 90. Arizona's defense is not THAT dominant, so UCLA's backcourt should perform much better in the rematch and lead the Bruins to a comfortable win.

Best Bet: UCLA -5
Score Prediction: UCLA 78 Arizona 70

Arizona Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins Betting Odds

Arizona Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins Betting Resources

Date: Saturday, Mar. 4, 2023
TV-Time: ESPN, 10:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Pauley Pavilion
Location: Los Angeles, California
Matchup
Expert Picks

Arizona Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins Betting Stats

Arizona Wildcats
SU: 25-5
ATS: 16-14
O/U: 16-14
PPG: 83.4
OPPG: 71.5

UCLA Bruins
SU: 26-4
ATS: 16-12
O/U: 14-16
PPG: 73.9
OPPG: 59.7

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Arizona Wildcats Betting Analysis

The Arizona Wildcats are led by their two big men. Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Bello have been a great one-two punch in the frontcourt for Arizona, and that will make this team a tough out in the NCAA Tournament. Tubelis is in line to earn all-conference honors once again as he is averaging 19.7 PPG and 9.1 RPG while making 57.6% of his field goals. Meanwhile, Bello is averaging 14.2 PPG and 8.7 RPG while making almost 65% of his shot attempts.

This offense ranks sixth nationally according to Ken Pomeroy as the Wildcats have two very good three-point shooters in Courtney Ramey and Cedric Henderson Jr. Ramey and Henderson are both making more than 41% of their threes, and Ramey has done that on over 180 attempts from beyond the arc. Kerr Kriisa is an above average perimeter shooter too, and he helps set up his teammates well with 5.4 APG.

Arizona has an above average defense. To no one's surprise, the Wildcats are great with their interior defense thanks to the presence of Tubelis and Bello, but they don't force a lot of turnovers and aren't great at defending the perimeter. That's something that will not work to their advantage against UCLA's guard-heavy offense.

UCLA Bruins Betting Analysis

There's a very good chance that the UCLA Bruins have the Pac 12 Player of the Year in Jaime Jaquez Jr. UCLA just claimed its first PAC 12 regular season title in a decade, and Jaquez has been a big reason for the team's success. Jaquez is a guard, but he is leading the Bruins with 17.3 PPG and 7.9 RPG. He is making 52.4% of his two-point field goals as he uses his size to get inside against smaller defenders.

Jaylen Clark has been one of the best all-around guards in the conference. Clark ranks second on the team in points and rebounds behind only Jaquez, and he is averaging 2.6 SPG to be one of the best in the nation in this regard. Unfortunately, both Clark and Jaquez are making less than 34% of their three-point attempts.

The only true forward in the rotation is Adem Bona. He had a solid outing against Arizona in Tucson back in late January, and that's great considering Arizona's size on the interior. You might think that this would put UCLA at a big disadvantage on the glass, but the Bruins grabbed seven more rebounds than the Wildcats and had 18 offensive boards in the previous meeting.

It's hard to imagine UCLA having another poor shooting performance against Arizona considering their matchup advantages. Additionally, the Bruins know how to take the Wildcats' guards out of the game, so expect a convincing UCLA victory.