UCLA Bruins vs Alabama Crimson Tide Prediction, 3/28/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs Alabama Crimson Tide

Date: Sunday, March 28, 2021

Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: UCLA (+4.5)

Hinkle Fieldhouse is the venue where and the Alabama Crimson Tide (26-6) will take on the UCLA Bruins (20-9) on Sunday in the Sweet 16. The odds on this matchup have Alabama as 4.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 143.5.

UCLA enters this game with a record of 20-9 on the campaign. They have an average of 73.1 points per game (122nd in Division 1) on 46.3% from the field. The Bruins are connecting on 37.4% on shots from downtown (197 of 527) and 71.1% from the free throw line. As a team, UCLA is pulling in 35.0 rebounds per contest and has 392 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 52nd in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 10.7 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 16.0 fouls per contest. Defensively, the Bruins are forcing 11.7 turnovers every game while drawing 18.2 personal fouls. They are ranked 266th in the nation in giving up assists with 350 surrendered on the campaign. The Bruins defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 43.7% (711 of 1,628) and they surrender 31.0 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are relinquishing 34.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 109th in the nation in PPG allowed (67.9).

The UCLA Bruins stepped onto the hardwood against the Abilene Christian Wildcats and walked away with a win by a score of 67-47 in their last game. UCLA wrapped up the contest with a 46.6% field goal percentage (27 out of 58) and converted 7 of their 19 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Bruins made 6 of 13 tries for a rate of 46.2%. When it comes to hauling in rebounds, they earned 41 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 15 dimes in this game in addition to forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Regarding the defense, UCLA allowed the other team to go 29.8% from the field on 17 of 57 shooting. Abilene Christian distributed 13 dimes and had 3 steals for the matchup. Moreover, Abilene Christian collected 30 rebounds (7 offensive, 23 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Abilene Christian shot 81.8% from the charity stripe by converting 9 of their 11 tries. They also made 4 out of their 19 shots from 3-point range.

Johnny Juzang is one guy who was important for the matchup. He was able to score 17 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He played for 27 minutes played and collected 3 rebounds. Juzang finished 46.7% from the floor and distributed 1 assist. One more player that was a major contributor in this game for the Bruins was Cody Riley. He had 12 rebounds in his 31 minutes on the basketball court. He went 71.4% from the floor for this game by connecting on 5-of-7 (12 points). When the final whistle was blown, Riley tallied 1 assist.

Alabama has a record of 26-6 for the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Crimson Tide are shooting 43.5% from the field, which has them ranked 214th in the country. Alabama has scored 2,551 pts on the campaign (79.7 per game) and they pull in 40.5 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 14.2 times per game (100th in the nation) and they turn it over 13.9 times per contest. The Crimson Tide are responsible for committing 18.1 personal fouls every game and they go 71.9% from the charity stripe. The Crimson Tide defensively are ranked 155th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 69.5. They have conceded 11.1 dimes and 37.9 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 48th and 305th in those categories. The Alabama defense gives up 28.9% on shots from 3-point land (195 of 675) and opponents are making 68.4% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing 15.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.8% from the field (42nd in college hoops).

When they last stepped on the court, the Alabama Crimson Tide took home the win by a final score of 96-77 against the Maryland Terrapins. The Crimson Tide earned 24 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive boards for a total of 39 in this contest. They also turned it over 9 times, while earning 5 steals for this contest. The Terrapins earned 10 personal fouls for this contest which took the Crimson Tide to the free throw line for a total of 10 attempts. They were able to make 10 of the free throws for a rate of 100.0%. In regard to shots from distance, Alabama converted 16 out of their 33 attempts (48.5%). Overall, the Crimson Tide went 35 out of 66 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 53.0%. The Crimson Tide permitted the Terrapins to make 32 of 60 tries from the floor which left them shooting 53.3% for the matchup. They finished shooting 37.0% from behind the 3-point line by going 10 of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 3 of 7 at the free throw line (42.9%). When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, Alabama allowed Maryland to snag 19 in total (4 offensive).

Jaden Shackelford ended up being a factor for the Crimson Tide for the matchup. He made 6 of 11 for the contest giving him a rate of 54.5%, and had 3 rebounds. Shackelford scored 21 points in his 32 mins of playing time and accumulated 3 assists for this game. One more player who was a determining factor for Alabama was John Petty. He wrapped the game up with 2 dimes in 32 mins on the hardwood, and he converted 7 out of 15 from the floor. Petty finished going 46.7% from the field and also earning 20 points and 6 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UCLA (+4.5)

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