The top two teams in the Pac-12 will match up in a battle of top-10 ranked teams as the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats (25-5, 14-5) take on the No. 4 UCLA Bruins (26-4, 17-2) Saturday night. The Bruins will host this one at the Pauley Pavilion, with tipoff scheduled for 10:00 pm ET.
The Bruins are the favorite in this one playing at home. They are -220 to win, while the Wildcats’ moneyline sits at +180. The spread features Arizona as 5.5-point underdogs (-114), and the over/under for total points is 147.5.
Wildcats Trying To Sweep The Season Series
While the Wildcats won’t be able to catch UCLA in the Pac-12 standings, they could at least take solace in sweeping the regular season series. They won 58-52 at home back on January 21, and they are hoping for a repeat performance Saturday on the road.
In that earlier victory, Oumar Ballo led the Wildcats with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Azuolas Tubelis added 14 points and 10 boards. Those two have led an Arizona offense that ranks fourth in the nation in scoring, averaging 83.5 points per game.
On the year, Tubelis is averaging 19.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, and two assists per game, while Ballo is adding 14.2 points and 8.7 rebounds. Other contributors include Courtney Ramey (11 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists), Kerr Kriisa (10.6 points, 5.4 assists), and Pelle Larsson (10.2 points, 4.3 rebounds).
On defense, the Wildcats struggle a bit more. They rank 206th in the nation, allowing 71.6 points per game (75.4 on the road).
Bruins Try To Stay Perfect At Home
At 17-2, the Bruins have secured the Pac-12 regular season title. On Saturday, they will look to avenge one of those two losses while also staying perfect on their home floor, where they are 16-0 this year. Luckily for UCLA fans, they come into this one hot on a nine-game winning streak.
Unlike Arizona, the Bruins rely on a shutdown defense for their success. They currently rank fifth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 59.7 points per game (56.5 at home).
On the offensive side, UCLA ranks 101st in the nation, averaging 73.9 points (77.6 at home). They are led by Senior guard Jaime Jaquez Jr who has been the catalyst for the offense, averaging 17.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
Guards Jaylen Clark (13 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.6 steals) and Tyger Campbell (12.7 points, 4.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds) have also had strong seasons.
Take UCLA To Win And Cover
Arizona comes into this one having gone 10-2 straight up and 8-3-1 against the spread in their last 12 games. In their last 19 against UCLA, though, they are just 6-13 against the spread.
As for the Bruins, they are undefeated in their last 20 home games and 5-1 against the spread in their last six against the Wildcats.
This is a classic matchup of elite offense versus elite defense, but it is hard to ignore the streak that the Bruins have been on. Since losing back-to-back games to Arizona and USC, the Bruins have rattled off nine in a row.
Especially playing at home, where the Bruins have been unbeatable this season, take UCLA to both win and to cover the 5.5-point spread (-106) over Arizona.
