UCLA Bruins vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, 12/19/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Saturday, December 19, 2020

Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: UCLA (+1)

The UCLA Bruins (5-1) travel to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Saturday where they'll take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1). UCLA opens this contest as 1-point dogs. The over/under opens at 135.

UCLA enters this one with a mark of 5-1 on the campaign. The Bruins are connecting on 35.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (43 of 121) and 69.9% from the charity stripe. They average 78.5 points per contest (96th in college basketball) while hitting 47.3% from the floor. They turn it over 11.3 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.2 personal fouls every game. As a unit, UCLA is collecting 38.0 rebounds per game and has accounted for 99 assists on the year, which ranks 66th in D-1 in terms of passing. When they are on defense, the Bruins have forced 14.0 turnovers every game and they draw 22.2 personal fouls. They are giving up 27.6% on 3-point shots while they are 107th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (65.8). The Bruins defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 40.3% (143 of 355) and they relinquish 31.8 boards per game as a unit. They currently rank 209th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 75 surrendered so far this season.

The UCLA Bruins took the court against the Marquette Golden Eagles and notched a win by a score of 69-60 in their last contest. UCLA wrapped up the contest having earned a 41.1% field goal percentage (23 out of 56) and made 6 out of their 23 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Bruins made 17 of their 21 attempts for a percentage of 81.0%. Pertaining to rebounding, they collected 30 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 13 dimes for the matchup while getting 6 steals and 4 rejections. Concerning defense, UCLA allowed the other team to shoot 41.1% from the field on 23 out of 56. Marquette doled out 9 assists and 3 steals in this game. In addition, the Golden Eagles collected 32 rebounds (9 offensive, 23 defensive) and added 4 blocked shots. Marquette finished the game at 80.0% from the free throw line by making 12 of 15 tries. They knocked down 4 of 20 attempts from three-point range.

Johnny Juzang is one guy who saw a lot of action for this contest. He recorded 9 points on 3 of 12 shooting. He played for 26 minutes played and grabbed 2 rebounds. Juzang walked away from this one shooting 25.0% from the floor and dished out 2 dimes. One more player that was a determining factor in the matchup for the Bruins was Jaime Jaquez. He snagged 6 rebounds and accounted for 2 assists. He finished the game at 58.3% from the field for the game by going 7-of-12 (18 points). When the final whistle blew, Jaquez played 28 minutes.

Ohio State has a win-loss mark of 5-1 this season. When it comes to offense, the Buckeyes are hitting on 43.2% from the field, which is ranked 236th in the nation. Ohio State has totaled 462 points this season (77.0 per game) and they average 37.2 rebounds per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.0 times per game (200th in college basketball) and they turn it over 9.5 times per game. The Buckeyes have committed 16.0 fouls per game and they shoot 77.7% from the free throw line. The Buckeyes are ranked 83rd in college hoops in PPG given up with 64.7. They have conceded 12.8 assists and 33.7 total boards per game, which is 171st and 116th in those defensive categories. The Ohio State defense gives up 38.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (50 of 130) and their opposition knocks down 75.6% of their free throw attempts. They have forced 14.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.5% from the field (113th in college basketball).

For their last game, the Ohio State Buckeyes took a defeat with a final score of 67-60 when they played the Purdue Boilermakers. The Buckeyes earned 19 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 29 in the matchup. They turned away 3 tries while earning 6 steals for the matchup. The Boilermakers were called for 19 fouls for the game which got the Buckeyes to the free throw line for 13 attempts. They were able to convert 10 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 76.9%. Pertaining to 3-point shots, Ohio State buried 6 of 24 tries (25.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Buckeyes shot 22 for 58 from the floor which had them sitting at 37.9%. The Buckeyes allowed the Boilermakers to convert 25 out of their 53 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 47.2% in the game. They shot 30.0% from three-point range by connecting on 6 out of 20 and finished the game at 11 of 13 at the free throw line (84.6%). Concerning rebounding, Ohio State permitted Purdue to snag 33 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Justice Sueing saw the court a lot for the Buckeyes for this contest. He converted 5 of 11 for this game for a rate of 45.5%, which earned him 14 points. Sueing totaled 5 rebounds in his 32 minutes played and had 2 dimes in the game. An additional guy who saw a lot of minutes for Ohio State was Duane Washington. He finished with 13 points in his 31 minutes played via 4 out of 14 shooting for the contest. Washington finished going 28.6% from the floor while totaling 2 assists and 4 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Ohio State (-1)

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