Arizona vs UCLA Pac-12 Basketball Picks and Odds
Arizona vs UCLA Betting Preview
First place in the Pac-12 is on the line in tonight’s Arizona vs UCLA showdown in Tucson. At the time of posting, the Wildcats have opened as a 7-point home favorite over the visiting Bruins, with the total sitting at 149 points.
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| Thursday, February 3 | Pac-12 Basketball Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Arizona Wildcats -7 vs UCLA Bruins |
| Total: | 149 Points |
| Game Time: | 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT |
| Arena: | McKale Center in Tucson |
| TV: | ESPN |
Arizona vs UCLA Preview
On Thursday night, the third-ranked UCLA Bruins (16-2, 8-1 Pac 12) head to Southern Arizona to square off against No. 7 Arizona Wildcats (17-2, 7-1 Pac 12). Tipoff for the conference affair is slated for 8:00 pm ET at the McKale Center in Tucson.
The No. 3 Bruins are 5-0 against the spread in their last five games as a road underdog and have had the Wildcats’ number for the better part of the previous decade. While No. 7 Arizona has fared well against the spread when the two programs meet the last five years, the art of winning departed the Wildcats coaching staffs and players since the departure of Lute Olsen.
The Bruins have the opportunity to beat Arizona for the seventh consecutive time on Thursday night. A win would put the Bruins in the catbird seat for a conference title and, as a result, the no. 1 seed in the March Pac-12 postseason tournament.
The Wildcats have played to an Under the Total result in four of their last five games a McKale when declared the home favorite. In their last six road games, the Bruins have a perfect 6-0 record to the Under. The closing underdog in this series is 18-4 ATS across the last 22 meetings between the two west coast schools.
Arizona’s offensive production and their metrics in the distribution of points. The Wildcats have not been to the free-throw line over the last two weeks of conference play. The most significant factor in the Wildcats’ struggles on offense the previous two weeks is due to the high ankle-sprain of Azuolas Tubelis. His physical limitations and handicap have not allowed the forward to contribute offensively as he did when healthy. Furthermore, he has become a liability on the stop side of the court for the lone reason being his lack of mobility.
UCLA Short-handed in Tuscon
Like the Wildcats, the Bruins are also dealing with injury issues. However, UCLA’s ailments are equal to or greater than Arizona’s. UCLA guard Jaylen Clark (concussion protocol) remains out with head trauma. Clark was unavailable for the first game between these two in Westwood.
Guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (ankle) was declared a game-time decision by head coach Mick Cronin. Johnny Juzang, who scored 15 points against the Wildcats last week, entered COVID protocols a week ago but has been cleared to play and has traveled with the team to Tuscon.
While Arizona attempts to find their offensive mojo after two consecutive poor shooting performances, the Bruins coach Cronin believes that his crew need only continue to be as defensively effecient as they have been to win on their Westwood home wood.
UCLA held Arizona, California, and Stanford to below 60 points in the three games scheduled in five days at Pauley Pavilion last week.
A home court victory for U-of-A would leapfrog the Bruins and issue the Wildcats the top spot in the conference standings.
“When guys are defending because they want to, when guys are trying to tip passes because they want to, when guys are going after loose balls not because I’m making them, you can tell when a team’s just trying to win at all costs,” UCLA bench boss Mick Cronin told the press in Wednesday’s media session.
UCLA are winners of eight consecutive road games as a member of the AP Top-25. The eight straight road wins have come when the Wildcats are ranked in the top-5 Top 5 of the Associated Press poll.
Azu’s Injury Status
Azuolas Tubelis is expected to dress and play against the Bruins tonight as he was active and played in the first meeting between the top two teams in the Pac 12 standings. How much he’ll play and how well he moves while still dealing with a high ankle sprain remains the million-dollar question on the Arizona side of the court.
Before getting injured against Stanford on January 26, Tubelis sported a rock-solid 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 57 percent from the field. The 6’11” power forward came off a career-high 32 points against Utah before suffering the high ankle sprain.
The Wildcats need Azu’s offense, but the injury has prevented him from being effective. Since returning to action, the Wildcat Big has averaged seven points and six rebounds per game. And Tubelis is a porous 5 of 16 from the field in 36 minutes of game action across the last two games.
Arizona was out of character in Los Angeles last week, shooting a mere 30.7 percent on the Bruins home floor. The 30-plus percent shooting percentage as a team was the lowest game mark in almost two years. The Cats faced off against the Sun Devils in their last game and shot just 32.2 percent from the field.
On Wednesday, coach Tommy Lloyd was asked by the media what he would game plan for the Bruins in the second and final game between the two programs this regular season. Loyd was adamant that the Wildcats would not change their stripes. Instead, they would be the same players with the same skillset that got them to.
“We’re not waving the white flag,” Lloyd told the media on Wednesday. “We’re going to come out and play and try to make some adjustments. Usually, your adjustment starts with doing what we do and doing best better; you start there. I’m not going to blow up what we’ve done in our offense because we didn’t shoot well the last couple of games. I have a core, deep conviction in what we do, and we’re going to double down on that,” added Lloyd.
“It just seems like we’ve kind of lost our flow offensively a little bit, and maybe we aren’t making some shots that we hit early,” Lloyd added in the press conference. “Then maybe you have some guys questioning themselves a little bit, which is natural,” said Lloyd.
“So we’ve got to do a great job as a staff at building them back up, and they’ve got to do a great job as individuals of just making sure that they’re keeping their confidence at a high level,” the Arizona head coach added as the presser came to an end.
The ‘Cats’ Bennedict Mathurin and Kerr Kriisa were off-center in the loss to UCLA last week. Both shooters are struggling from the field in the loss against UCLA.
The Wildcats leading scorer Mathurin was 5-of-22 from the field, scoring 16 points and grabbing ten rebounds. Krissa missed all 12 of his attempts from the field in the game versus UCLA. The 0-of-9 performance from the 3-point range. In Arizona’s win over Arizona State, guard Kriisa made 2-of-8 from the field.
Arizona vs UCLA Forecast
When Arizona and UCLA concluded their league tilt in Westwood a week ago, the two teams didn’t compete as much as the Bruins flowed while the Wildcats scuffled. UCLA was lights-out from the field, and everything they did was right. Unfortunately, the Bruins will not be that good on Thursday night, and the Wildcats won’t be as porous as they were in last week’s event.
The 47 percent shooting on three-point takes for the Bruins won’t experience a rinse and repeat. Furthermore, the Bruins won’t dominate the glass. As a result, they likely won’t win the rebounding edge in this game. UCLA benefited in nearly everything they did from committing very few mistakes and attacking the glass at all costs.
This group of Wildcats didn’t all of a sudden forget how to shoot. And this mid-season rut isn’t uncommon for a young roster. U-of-A is coming off its two worst shooting games of the season, and that will be corrected asap.
The Wildcats split their last two games, losing in Los Angeles to UCLA two Saturdays ago, and scored a win versus Arizona State. Arizona shoots 10-of-51 from distance in the two games. However, the roles reverse tonight, with the Wildcats performing at a high level in what should be a good play double-digit win over the Bruins.
The WagerTalk pick to click is a play on the home team Wildcats minus the points.
Interested in placing a bet on Thursday’s Arizona vs UCLA Pac-12 showdown? Caesars Sports is offering up to a $1,500 match bet for first-time deposits in New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, New York and Louisiana.
College Basketball Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his College Basketball Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Thursday’s sheet, with notes on this Arizona vs UCLA contest.
Happy Hour Tip-Off Show
Get your daily fix of college hoops betting information with Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of handicapping guests. The Happy Hour Tip-Off Show will broadcast Monday through Friday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT. Pull up a barstool and join us as we break down tonight’s college basketball card, including this Arizona vs UCLA clash, from a sports betting perspective.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the college basketball point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Thursday’s NCAAB games, including this Arizona vs UCLA showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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