Utah State Aggies vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 3/20/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah State Aggies vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025

Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Utah State (+5)

Rupp Arena is the location where the UCLA Bruins (22-10) will take on the Utah State Aggies (26-7) on Thursday in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. UCLA opens as 5-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total comes in at 144.

The Utah State Aggies stepped onto the hardwood against Colorado State and ended up losing by a score of 83-72 in their last contest. In regard to personal fouls, the Aggies finished with 29 and Colorado State totaled 23 personal fouls. They buried 10 out of their 18 tries from downtown. Colorado State finished the game shooting 62.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 23 of 37 shots. In addition, Colorado State pulled down 27 rebounds (6 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Colorado State earned 14 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. In terms of the defense, Utah State allowed their opponent to shoot 59.5% from the field on 25 of 42 shooting. They also recorded 13 assists for this contest while creating 13 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In the matter of hauling in boards, they earned 33 with 15 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Aggies converted 19 of their 30 shots for a rate of 63.3%. Utah State ended the contest having earned a 36.5% field goal percentage (23 of 63) and made 7 of their 33 three-point attempts.

Mason Falslev is a player who played a role in this game. He walked away from this one shooting 47.4% from the field and dished out 1 assist. He was on the court for 35 mins played and snagged 7 boards. He accumulated 22 points on 9 out of 19 shooting.

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Utah State will enter this matchup with a win-loss record of 26-7 on the year. They are giving up possession 10.7 times per game and as a group they are committing 18.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Utah State is collecting 34.6 rebounds per game and has totaled 574 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 10th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Aggies are shooting 36.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (296 of 811) and 70.3% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 80.9 points per outing (32nd in the country) while hitting 49.0% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Aggies are forcing 13.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.3 personal fouls. They are conceding 33.9% from 3-point land and they are 119th in college hoops in points per game allowed (70.0). The Aggies are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.0% (792 of 1,802) and they surrender 31.6 boards per game as a unit. They currently rank 286th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 467 surrendered so far this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the UCLA Bruins took a loss by a final score of 86-70 when they faced Wisconsin. Regarding how they attacked the glass, UCLA permitted Wisconsin to grab 36 in total (7 offensive). They finished 59.4% from distance by connecting on 19 out of 32 and ended up going 7 out of 13 at the free throw line (53.8%). The Bruins permitted Wisconsin to make 30 out of their 58 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 51.7% for the matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Bruins finished 22 out of 68 from the field which had them shooting 32.4%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, UCLA buried 9 of 30 tries (30.0%). They were able to convert 17 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 65.4%. Wisconsin committed 21 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Bruins to the charity stripe for a total of 26 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 5 times, while earning 4 steals in this game. The Bruins snagged 19 defensive rebounds and 19 offensive boards for a total of 38 for this contest.

Sebastian Mack was important for the Bruins for this contest. He racked up 18 points in his 25 minutes on the hardwood, but wasn't able to notch an assist. He buried 5 of 14 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 35.7%, and had 2 rebounds.

UCLA has a record of 22-10 on the year. The Bruins are responsible for committing 17.4 fouls per contest and they hit 70.3% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 16.3 times per game (31st in college) and they turn it over 10.6 times per contest. UCLA has scored 2,392 points for the campaign (74.8 per contest) and they snag 32.7 rebounds per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bruins are shooting 46.6% from the field, which has them ranked 78th in the country.

The UCLA defense surrenders 33.2% on shots from distance (246 of 742) and opponents are converting on 74.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 12.9 dimes and 31.2 rebounds every game, which ranks them 157th and 23rd in those defensive categories. The Bruins on the defensive end are ranked 27th in college in PPG allowed with 65.7. They are able to force 15.2 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.1% from the floor (135th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Utah State (+5)

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