UCLA Bruins vs Arizona State Sun Devils Prediction, 1/7/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs Arizona State Sun Devils

Date: Thursday, January 7, 2021

Location: Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, AZ

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: UCLA (-1)

Desert Financial Arena is the site where and the Arizona State Sun Devils (4-3) will play the UCLA Bruins (7-2) on Thursday. The odds on this game have UCLA as 1-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 150.5.

UCLA comes into this game with a mark of 7-2 this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.8 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 16.3 fouls every game. As a unit, UCLA is collecting 36.4 rebounds per game and has earned 141 dimes this year, which has them ranked 96th in college basketball in terms of passing. The Bruins are shooting 35.5% from downtown (60 of 169) and 71.8% from the free throw line. They are averaging 75.3 pts per contest (130th in the nation) while hitting 46.3% from the field. On the defensive end of the court, the Bruins are able to force 12.7 turnovers per game and they draw 20.3 fouls. They are surrendering 29.7% on three-point shots and they are ranked 108th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (67.1). The Bruins defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.5% (217 of 510) and they surrender 30.9 rebounds per game as a team. They currently rank 171st in the nation in giving up assists with 105 relinquished for the year.

The UCLA Bruins played the Colorado Buffaloes and notched a win by a score of 65-62 in their last contest. UCLA walked away from the game having earned a 47.2% FG percentage (25 out of 53) and converted 3 of their 15 3-point shots. At the free throw line, the Bruins buried 12 of 14 shots for a percentage of 85.7%. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they collected 30 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 13 assists for the contest while having 4 steals and 2 blocks. With regard to defense, UCLA let their opponent shoot 47.2% from the floor on 25 of 53 shooting. Colorado recorded 9 dimes and had 5 steals in this game. On top of that, the Buffaloes grabbed 26 boards (7 offensive, 19 defensive) and had 2 blocked shots. Colorado finished the contest at 76.9% when shooting free throws by converting 10 of their 13 tries. They also buried 6 of 23 attempts from 3-point land.

Jaime Jaquez is a player who was a factor in the matchup. He ended up walking away with 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting. He played 38 mins and also grabbed 5 rebounds. Jaquez finished the game at 50.0% from the field and also distributed 2 assists. An additional guy that was a factor in the game for the Bruins was Jules Bernard. He had 7 rebounds and earned 2 dimes. He finished the game at 57.1% from the floor in this matchup by shooting 4-of-7 (12 points). When the final whistle blew, Bernard was on the court for 36 min.

Arizona State has a mark of 4-3 for the campaign. Arizona State has accumulated 540 points on the campaign (77.1 per contest) and they snag 31.1 boards per contest. The Sun Devils commit 20.4 fouls per contest while shooting 69.3% from the free throw line. As an offense, the Sun Devils are shooting 44.9% from the floor, which ranks them 175th in the country. They are getting an assist 11.7 times per contest (279th in the country) and they turn it over 11.6 times per game. The Sun Devils are ranked 290th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 76.6. They have surrendered 13.0 assists and 39.3 boards every game, which has them ranked 184th and 299th in college basketball. The Arizona State defense gives up 35.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (57 of 159) and their opponents are converting on 72.3% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing 17.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.6% from the floor (279th in the nation).

In their last game, the Arizona State Sun Devils walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 76-63 when they played the UTEP Miners. The Sun Devils were able to pull down 17 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive boards totaling 20 in the game. They rejected 6 tries while recording 10 steals in this contest. The Miners were called for 20 fouls for the matchup which got the Sun Devils to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to make 14 of the free throws for a rate of 66.7%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Arizona State knocked down 1 of their 18 attempts (5.6%). In all, the Sun Devils finished the game shooting 24 out of 60 from the field which had them shooting 40.0%. The Sun Devils allowed the Miners to convert 29 out of their 60 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.3% in this matchup. They went 36.4% from three-point range via 8 of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 10 of 11 at the free throw line (90.9%). Concerning attacking the glass, Arizona State permitted UTEP to get 42 overall (7 on the offensive glass).

Josh Christopher ended up being a major contributor for the Sun Devils in this game. He knocked down 10 out of 20 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, which had him sitting at 24 points. Christopher collected 6 rebounds in his 36 mins played and accounted for 2 assists in the game. An additional guy who came through for Arizona State was Alonzo Verge. He notched 13 points in his 30 minutes played by going 5 of 10 from the floor for the contest. Verge finished going 50.0% from the field while contributing 3 dimes and 3 boards.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UCLA (-1)

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