Northwestern Wildcats vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 3/18/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023

Location: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Northwestern (+8)

The Northwestern Wildcats (22-11) are en route to Golden 1 Center on Saturday where they will try to beat the UCLA Bruins (30-5). Northwestern opens this game as 8-point underdogs from oddsmakers. The total has been set at 127.5.

The Northwestern Wildcats faced off with Boise State and took home the win by a score of 75-67 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Wildcats left the arena with 16 while Boise State accounted for 17 fouls. They converted 6 out of their 23 shots from long range. Boise State ended up shooting 64.3% at the free throw line by burying 9 of their 14 shots. In addition, Boise State pulled down 38 rebounds (18 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Boise State doled out 15 assists and had 2 steals for the game. With regard to the defense, Northwestern allowed their opponent to shoot 40.0% from the floor on 26 of 65 shooting. They also recorded 9 assists for this contest as well as creating 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In reference to hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 30 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Wildcats buried 15 of their 18 tries for a percentage of 83.3%. Northwestern walked away from the contest having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (26 of 53) and knocked down 8 out of their 21 3-point shots.

Boo Buie is someone who was a major factor in this game. He ended up finishing with 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting. He played 36 minutes played and totaled 5 rebounds. He finished 57.1% from the floor and also earned 5 assists.

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Northwestern heads into this matchup with a win-loss record of 22-11 on the campaign. They are averaging 67.9 points per contest (275th in college hoops) on 40.8% from the field. The Wildcats are hitting 32.2% on 3-pointers (253 of 785) and 75.4% from the free throw line. As a team, Northwestern is pulling in 34.5 rebounds per game and is sitting with 423 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 178th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 9.7 times per contest and as a group are committing 16.2 fouls per game.

Defensively, the Wildcats are able to force 14.1 turnovers every game while drawing 16.6 personal fouls. They give up 33.6% on 3-point attempts and they rank 18th in college basketball in opponents points per game (62.6). The Wildcats defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.1% (723 of 1,757) and they surrender 35.3 rebounds per game as a unit. They rank 247th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 440 surrendered for the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the UCLA Bruins walked away with a victory by a final of 86-53 against UNC Asheville. With respect to rebounding, UCLA allowed UNC Asheville to get 19 overall (5 on the offensive side). They finished the game shooting 30.0% from downtown by going 6 of 20 and ended up shooting 9 of 13 at the free throw line (69.2%). The Bruins allowed UNC Asheville to convert 19 of 51 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 37.3% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Bruins walked away from this one shooting 34 for 63 from the floor which had them at 54.0%. In terms of shooting from distance, UCLA knocked down 5 of 16 tries (31.3%). They were able to knock down 13 of the free throw tries for a rate of 76.5%. UNC Asheville committed 15 fouls in the game which took the Bruins to the free throw line for a total of 17 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 7 times, while earning 11 steals for the matchup. The Bruins recorded 22 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 33 for this game.

Amari Bailey ended up having an impact for the Bruins in this game. He accumulated 17 points in his 30 mins of playing time and accumulated 6 assists in the game. He made 6 of 12 for the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and tallied 4 rebounds.

UCLA has a mark of 30-5 this season. On the offensive side of the court, the Bruins are shooting 46.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 83rd in Division 1. UCLA has scored 2,599 points on the year (74.3 per game) and they collect 35.8 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 14.5 times per contest (81st in the country) and they are giving up possession 10.2 times per game. The Bruins are responsible for committing 15.5 fouls per game while shooting 72.4% from the free throw line.

The Bruins are ranked 5th in D-1 in PPG given up with 60.1. They are able to force 15.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.6% from the floor (29th in college basketball). The UCLA defense surrenders 31.1% on shots from distance (228 of 734) and opponents are connecting on 69.7% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 11.1 dimes and 31.8 total rebounds per game, which ranks 61st and 51st in D-1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Northwestern (+8)

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