NCAAB
Saturday, March 15
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Pac-12 Championship betting preview: Arizona vs. UCLA
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Arizona Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins (+6.5, 137)
Arizona and UCLA have yet to be tested at the Pac-12 tournament, but that figures to change Saturday when the teams meet in the championship game in Las Vegas. The teams faced little resistance in their first two games, with top-seeded Arizona routing Utah (71-39) and Colorado (63-43) while No. 2 seed UCLA cruised past Oregon (82-63) and Stanford (84-59). The teams met once during the regular season in Los Angeles on Jan. 9, when Arizona held on for a 79-75 win despite committing a season-high 17 turnovers.
The Wildcats’ defense has been the story of the tournament after holding both Utah and Colorado under 30 percent shooting, but they’ll need another stellar effort in the title game. The Bruins shot 65.2 percent from the field in Friday’s semifinal win over Stanford, led by a season-high 22 points from guard Norman Powell. The game is a rematch of last season’s tournament semifinal, when UCLA won 66-64 after Arizona coach Sean Miller drew a controversial technical foul with under five minutes remaining.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
LINE HISTORY: The suggested odds out of Las Vegas are Arizona -6.5 and a total of 137.
INJURY WATCH: UCLA - Noah Allen (Out - eye)
WHY BET UCLA (25-8 SU, 20-12 ATS, 14-17 O/U): Guard Jordan Adams, who was named to the All-Pac-12 first team along with teammate Kyle Anderson, scored 24 points against Arizona in last year’s tournament semifinal before suffering a broken foot on the game’s final play. The sophomore had 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds against the Wildcats earlier this season, and he leads the Pac-12 with 89 steals. Anderson struggled offensively against Arizona’s Aaron Gordon earlier this season, but the 6-9 wing enters the game on a high note after shooting 55.2 percent from the field over his last three games.
WHY BET ARIZONA (30-3 SU, 20-12 ATS, 9-20 O/U): Arizona notched its 30th win Friday and advanced to the championship game for the third time in the last four years after limiting Colorado to five second-half field goals. “We haven’t played better basketball at any time this year than we did in the final 20 minutes (against Colorado),” Miller told reporters. Junior guard Nick Johnson, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, scored a game-high 16 points against the Buffaloes and had 22 in the Wildcats’ loss to UCLA earlier this season.
TRENDS:
* Bruins are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings.
* Under is 6-2 in the last eight meetings.
* Bruins are 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral site games.
* Wildcats are 6-1 ATS in their last seven neutral site games.
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Saturday, March 15
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Pac-12 Championship betting preview: Arizona vs. UCLA
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Arizona Wildcats vs. UCLA Bruins (+6.5, 137)
Arizona and UCLA have yet to be tested at the Pac-12 tournament, but that figures to change Saturday when the teams meet in the championship game in Las Vegas. The teams faced little resistance in their first two games, with top-seeded Arizona routing Utah (71-39) and Colorado (63-43) while No. 2 seed UCLA cruised past Oregon (82-63) and Stanford (84-59). The teams met once during the regular season in Los Angeles on Jan. 9, when Arizona held on for a 79-75 win despite committing a season-high 17 turnovers.
The Wildcats’ defense has been the story of the tournament after holding both Utah and Colorado under 30 percent shooting, but they’ll need another stellar effort in the title game. The Bruins shot 65.2 percent from the field in Friday’s semifinal win over Stanford, led by a season-high 22 points from guard Norman Powell. The game is a rematch of last season’s tournament semifinal, when UCLA won 66-64 after Arizona coach Sean Miller drew a controversial technical foul with under five minutes remaining.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
LINE HISTORY: The suggested odds out of Las Vegas are Arizona -6.5 and a total of 137.
INJURY WATCH: UCLA - Noah Allen (Out - eye)
WHY BET UCLA (25-8 SU, 20-12 ATS, 14-17 O/U): Guard Jordan Adams, who was named to the All-Pac-12 first team along with teammate Kyle Anderson, scored 24 points against Arizona in last year’s tournament semifinal before suffering a broken foot on the game’s final play. The sophomore had 12 points and a career-high 11 rebounds against the Wildcats earlier this season, and he leads the Pac-12 with 89 steals. Anderson struggled offensively against Arizona’s Aaron Gordon earlier this season, but the 6-9 wing enters the game on a high note after shooting 55.2 percent from the field over his last three games.
WHY BET ARIZONA (30-3 SU, 20-12 ATS, 9-20 O/U): Arizona notched its 30th win Friday and advanced to the championship game for the third time in the last four years after limiting Colorado to five second-half field goals. “We haven’t played better basketball at any time this year than we did in the final 20 minutes (against Colorado),” Miller told reporters. Junior guard Nick Johnson, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, scored a game-high 16 points against the Buffaloes and had 22 in the Wildcats’ loss to UCLA earlier this season.
TRENDS:
* Bruins are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings.
* Under is 6-2 in the last eight meetings.
* Bruins are 4-1 ATS in their last five neutral site games.
* Wildcats are 6-1 ATS in their last seven neutral site games.
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