UCLA Bruins vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Prediction, 12/28/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs Gonzaga Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, December 28, 2024

Location: Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA

TV: FOX

The UCLA Bruins (10-2) are headed to Intuit Dome on Saturday where they will try to beat the Gonzaga Bulldogs (9-3).

The UCLA Bruins took the court against North Carolina and went home with a loss by a final score of 76-74 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Bruins finished with 25 and North Carolina recorded 22 personal fouls. They also knocked down 8 out of their 23 shots from long range. North Carolina went 68.6% at the charity stripe by knocking down 24 of 35 tries. In addition, North Carolina snagged 30 boards (6 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a block. North Carolina doled out 11 assists and had 4 steals in the matchup. With respect to the defense, UCLA allowed 46.8% from the field on 22 out of 47 shooting. They also doled out 17 assists for the game in addition to forcing 18 turnovers and earning 10 steals. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they collected 28 with 7 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Bruins knocked down 13 of their 22 tries for a percentage of 59.1%. UCLA ended the contest having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (26 of 53) and converted 9 out of their 18 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Tyler Bilodeau is one guy who played a role for the contest. He racked up 26 points on 9 of 14 shooting. He played for 24 mins and snagged 3 boards. He finished 64.3% from the field and also earned 1 assist.

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UCLA enters this one with a win-loss record of 10-2 this season. They are averaging 78.4 points per contest (116th in the country) while connecting on 48.2% from the floor. The Bruins are hitting 35.8% on shots from 3-point land (87 of 243) and 68.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, UCLA is pulling in 34.4 rebounds per contest and has racked up 200 assists on the campaign, which ranks 80th in the nation in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 11.3 times per game and as a unit they commit 18.0 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Bruins are able to force 18.4 turnovers per game and they draw 19.3 personal fouls. They are 75th in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 139 relinquished so far this year. The Bruins defense is giving up a FG percentage of 39.6% (237 of 599) and they relinquish 30.9 boards per game as a squad. They are giving up 29.6% on three-point shots and they rank 7th in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (58.4).

In their last game, the Gonzaga Bulldogs got the victory with a final of 86-65 when they faced Bucknell. The Bulldogs were able to pull down 29 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 39 in this contest. They also turned it over 12 times, while getting 11 steals in this contest. Bucknell committed 10 personal fouls in the game which got the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for 9 attempts. They were able to knock down 6 of the free throws for a percentage of 66.7%. In reference to three-point attempts, Gonzaga converted 12 out of 35 attempts (34.3%). Overall, the Bulldogs finished shooting 34 for 71 from the floor which had them shooting 47.9%. The Bulldogs allowed Bucknell to knock down 24 of their 59 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 40.7% in this contest. They finished the game shooting 32.3% from three-point range by connecting on 10 of 31 and finished the game at 7 of 10 at the free throw line (70.0%). In reference to team rebounding, Gonzaga allowed Bucknell to pull down 27 in all (4 offensive).

Graham Ike ended up having an impact for the Bulldogs in the matchup. He buried 11 out of 15 in this contest for a field goal rate of 73.3%, and had 10 rebounds. He recorded 25 points in his 20 minutes on the court and added 1 assist for this game.

Gonzaga has a mark of 9-3 so far this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs are hitting on 49.5% from the field, which is 30th in the country. Gonzaga has scored 1,071 points for the campaign (89.3 per contest) and they grab 40.9 rebounds per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 19.4 times per game (6th in college) and they are giving up possession 9.8 times per contest. The Bulldogs are committing 16.5 fouls every game and they hit 81.2% from the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs on the defensive end are ranked 137th in college in points allowed per game with 69.4. They are able to force 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 40.8% from the floor (81st in college). The Gonzaga defense surrenders 25.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter (78 of 301) and opponents are converting on 75.6% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 11.8 assists and 32.4 rebounds every game, which ranks 101st and 87th in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCLA

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