Arizona Wildcats vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 3/7/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Arizona Wildcats vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Thursday, March 7, 2024

Location: Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

Pauley Pavilion is the location where the UCLA Bruins (14-15) will meet the Arizona Wildcats (23-6) on Thursday.

The Arizona Wildcats took the court against Oregon and walked away with a win by a score of 103-83 in their last contest. Concerning fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 13 while Oregon finished the game with 17 fouls. They also buried 6 of 20 shots from distance. Oregon went 77.8% at the free throw line by burying 7 of their 9 tries. Furthermore, Oregon snagged 27 rebounds (10 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Oregon doled out 14 assists and had 8 steals in this contest. Regarding defending, Arizona allowed 52.2% from the floor on 35 of 67 shooting. They also dished out 27 assists for the game as well as forcing 12 turnovers and earning 8 steals. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 30 with 9 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Wildcats converted 11 of their 19 attempts for a percentage of 57.9%. Arizona finished with a 60.9% field goal percentage (39 of 64) and converted 14 of 25 shots from 3-point land.

Pelle Larsson is one player who played a role for this contest. He finished the game at 57.1% from the field and also distributed 6 dimes. He played 34 mins played and totaled 4 rebounds. He walked away with 22 points on 8 out of 14 shooting.

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Arizona heads into this game with a record of 23-6 for the season. They are losing possession via turnover 11.8 times per contest and as a team they commit 16.3 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Arizona is pulling in 43.1 rebounds per game and has totaled 556 assists this season, which is 4th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Wildcats are connecting on 37.7% on shots from 3-point land (231 of 613) and 72.3% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 90.3 pts per game (2nd in D-1) on 49.5% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Wildcats are forcing 13.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. They are ranked 264th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 414 conceded this year. The Wildcats are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 42.4% (776 of 1,831) and they concede 32.1 boards per game as a basketball team. They give up 33.7% from 3-point land and they are 226th in college basketball in points per game allowed (73.3).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the UCLA Bruins walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-65 against Washington State. Regarding how they rebounded, UCLA allowed Washington State to get 36 in total (15 offensive). They finished 36.8% from three-point range by going 7 out of 19 and finished the game at 24 of 33 at the free throw line (72.7%). The Bruins allowed Washington State to convert 23 out of 55 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.8% in the matchup. In all, the Bruins finished the game shooting 25 for 53 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.2%. In relation to shooting from downtown, UCLA buried 6 out of their 15 attempts (40.0%). They were able to convert 9 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 81.8%. Washington State committed 13 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Bruins to the charity stripe for a total of 11 tries. They also turned the ball over 6 times, while earning 5 steals in the matchup. The Bruins pulled down 18 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 22 for the contest.

Dylan Andrews ended up being a factor for the Bruins in the matchup. He made 6 out of 13 for this contest for a field goal rate of 46.2%, but didn't pull down a board. He racked up 21 points in his 35 mins of playing time and tallied 2 dimes in this contest.

UCLA has a mark of 14-15 for the campaign. The Bruins are responsible for committing 18.6 fouls every game and they hit 73.3% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 11.2 times per contest (322nd in the country) and they cough up possession 10.8 times per game. UCLA has scored 1,920 pts this year (66.2 per game) and they pull in 34.2 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Bruins are connecting on 41.7% from the field, which is ranked 319th in the country.

The Bruins defensively are ranked 24th in college basketball in PPG given up with 65.5. They are able to force 11.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 42.1% from the floor (83rd in Division 1). The UCLA defense gives up 33.7% on three-point shots (224 of 664) and their opposition knocks down 70.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 11.1 dimes and 32.3 boards per game, which is ranked 49th and 46th in Division 1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCLA

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